Positive Relationships: Let's talk about ... Mobile phones

Q: Are staff permitted to use mobile phones while at work in your setting?

'Our mobile phone policy is that staff can bring mobiles into work with them, but that they have to be kept in lockers and turned off. Staff are only permitted to use their mobiles at break times and outside of the nursery or in the staff room, not within the nursery itself. However, staff do have access to the nursery landline in case of emergencies.'

'We have a basket that the staff deposit their phones into when they arrive at the nursery, so there are no issues at all with mobile phone use. We have had this policy for about a year and a half.'

'Our staff are only allowed to use mobile phones during their lunch breaks and they have to have them put on silent while they are at work. When staff have mobile phones on them, there is always the temptation to keep checking them.'

'I run two nurseries, and at one it's not a problem because there is no signal. However, at the other one it is slightly more difficult. You would think it is the younger members of staff who would be on their phones all the time, but in my experience it is actually the older ones.'

'For members of staff who have children we have phone holders in the office and if they ring they can answer them. However, we encourage them to use the landline instead. We try to meet the staff halfway. We don't mind people having personal calls, but we ask for them to give out the landline number and for people to only call if it is an emergency.'

'Our policy seems to work quite well, but it depends on who is working and who is going to monitor it if I am not there. It has been harder to instil in the older staff, as they feel they should be able to be contacted if necessary. However, I point out that it was not so long ago that nobody had mobile phones and we all managed just fine without them.'

'Some staff have worked here for many years when mobiles were not so much of a problem, and it is hard to bring new policies in when you don't have them from the outset.'

'There is Ofsted guidance on mobile phones usage in settings, so I have printed that off and given it to staff.'

'Mmm ... mobile phones! Such a conflict about this, and I have to be honest and say it has given me sleepless nights! We do not have a mobile phone policy - you can't have a policy for everything, but I understand the issues and have made my staff aware of the issues. We do have a 'limited mobile phone use' guideline in our staff handbook, although this was mostly aimed at younger staff and students who sit with a child on their lap and text their friends or go on Facebook.'

'I use a mobile phone all day, either as a contact for parents - many text to say their child won't be in - or the camera, even though we do have a camera at the setting. I could say that only I am allowed to do this because I am the manager, but I think I have to trust my staff to be sensible and make sure they are fully trained in safeguarding children.'

Q: Did your setting's policy on mobile phones change after the Vanessa George case?

'I have made slight changes to our guidelines - all staff must give the setting's landline number as primary emergency contact, their mobile as a second. We often go out for walks to the park, library, other settings, so it is important for staff to give their mobile number as a contact.'

'We have not changed our mobile phone policy, although this may happen in the future. I want to let my staff know that I trust them and although I know that Vanessa George was trusted by her colleagues, again I think that this case would have happened anyway. Training for recognising behaviour like Vanessa George's has been undertaken by staff.'

'We introduced our mobile phone policy in light of the Vanessa George case and the controversy around camera phones in nurseries. Staff have been fine about this policy - we have had no complaints or grumbles. I was quite surprised about this, as we have quite a young team. There is always the argument that not using their mobiles in the nursery protects them from false accusations as well.'

'Some recent training sessions attended by staff have indicated that nurseries might have to have a policy on mobile phones. I may introduce one at a later date, but for now I'm not interested in knee-jerk reactions to something like the Vanessa George case, because it would have happened even if there was a policy in place.'

Q: Does your setting have any policies regarding mobile phone usage by parents while on site?

'We ask parents to adopt the same policy as staff if there is a stay-andplay day or something like that. We have a basket that we put all the parents' phones in, which is at reception. We don't want parents to keep checking their phones while they are at the nursery. The parents are fine about this, because we discuss nursery etiquette when we first show them around. We explain that it's not appropriate to be talking on their mobile phones while they are here, because the child's main carer will want to talk to them.'

'We have a couple of parents who are constantly superglued to their phone, even at 7.30 in the morning. I find it quite rude as some parents try to continue to be on their phone while paying fees in the office, or put the person on hold so they can have a "quick chat". Thankfully due to the location of the office and the electrical interference within it, there's usually no service in the office. You would think that parents could find five minutes to drop off or collect their child and say their goodbyes and hellos properly.'

'We tell parents we do not encourage the use of mobile phones and that we will wait until they have finished their conversation before the child is handed back. Most parents are fine with this. Generally our parents are very good and they will finish their phone conversations before they come in.'

'We have had parents who have taken calls while they are in the nursery, but we have a welcome area and we don't tend to let the children through to the welcome area until the parent has finished on the telephone, as staff want to give them feedback on their child. Usually they are so busy talking on the telephone that they are quite happy for someone to be looking after their child!'

AN EXPERT'S VIEW

By June O'Sullivan, chief executive of the London Early Years Foundation

Like many of our early years colleagues, we at London Early Years Foundation (LEYF) were shocked by Vanessa George's abuse of some of the children attending Little Ted's in Plymouth. We responded by conducting a review of how we use mobile phones, which resulted in a new set of rules designed to help mitigate the risk of phone misuse. However, we were keen that our response was balanced and didn't allow one horrible incident to ruin the trust we form with children, parents and each other.

Given that the top three things most people leave their house with includes a purse, a set of keys and a phone, banning mobile phones was not an option. Instead, we insisted that phones are turned off at work and stored in staff lockers or in the nursery office and used only during designated breaks. If staff need to make personal calls, they use the nursery telephone with the permission of the nursery manager.

Staff mobile phones had their uses - for example, we relied on staff using their own phones as the emergency contact on outings or capturing some great footage when the children were out and about. As our new rules prevented this, we had to buy nursery mobile phones, which had good batteries and with a telephone number people would remember. We also had to ensure that we could find nursery cameras, as they always disappeared just when you spotted a magic moment for a child's Learning Journey.

In the new world of social networking, where people send each other images of everything and anything, we banned staff posting or swapping images of the children or the work environment on the web. Aligned to this we had a number of queries from parents about taking photographs and videos of their children performing during their annual events. We referred to the Good Practice Guidance for Photographs in Schools to help us devise a means of complying with the Data Protection Act 1998 and therefore avoid banning families taking photos of the nursery concert for posterity. Our response was very clear permission forms giving a clear message to parents about using their phones, especially as LEYF promotes an intergenerational approach including community performances and getting grandparents involved in their grandchildren's nurseries.

So, as it stands, our policy covers the use of mobile phones for talking, texting and photography. No doubt as iPads and other new technology come into use, we will need to upgrade our approach. No doubt our staff and the advances of technology will keep us on our toes.