Guest Wolfie Posted October 13, 2007 Posted October 13, 2007 Hi Bev - I'm employed on Teachers' Pay and Conditions! I think each Children's Centre is different - you would need to look at the particular one where a job was advertised. I'm employed by one of the maintained nurseries in the catchment area but they claim back my salary from the Children's Centre!
Guest Posted October 13, 2007 Posted October 13, 2007 Hi Wolfie! thanks for that. I'll keep an eye out for the job adverts and see what each one offers. I figure that I'm too old now to give up my 6 weeks holiday!! Plus there is a lot of protection that comes with the 'teacher's package'. Thanks again! Bev
Guest Wolfie Posted October 13, 2007 Posted October 13, 2007 I admit that the six week break has its advantages - but I don't think it's an ideal situation in a Children's Centre where everyone else works all year round. All the projects that I was working on at the end of July had to grind to a halt and then I had to get everyone motivated again at the beginning of September. I'm wondering whether to braoch the idea of me still doing 39 weeks but taking the breaks at different times to the usual school terms, e.g. only taking 3 weeks break in the summer and taking the other weeks at other times.
Guest Posted October 13, 2007 Posted October 13, 2007 Hi I take your point about everything grinding to a halt. It would be a different way of approaching things in a child centre. Splitting up the holiday sounds like a good way around it. Good luck with that! Cheers Bev
Guest Posted October 20, 2007 Posted October 20, 2007 Well this is for the whole team in the Centre - the Programme and Deputy Programme Managers, all the staff working in the full daycare nursery(10), the Early Years Outreach Team(2), the Creche Workers(2), the Family Support Team(2), Receptionist and Admin worker plus some outside professionals that the Centre has a service level agreement with, e.g. SENCO advisory teacher, library outreach worker, speech and language therapist. I'm too tired to add all that up - but it's a great team! I really do love the multi-disciplinary appraoch in the Centre. Be really intersted to know with this amount of staff what your target reach is - ie. how many children? Nikki
Guest Posted October 20, 2007 Posted October 20, 2007 Be really intersted to know with this amount of staff what your target reach is - ie. how many children?Nikki Just another thought - are all these directly employed by the CC - or are they loaned/bought in from other parts of the local authority. I am having trouble with say family support workers being line managed by others - causes problems when their contracts do not include holiday time. this is when most parents needs that extra support when they are at home with their children all day but I have no jurisdiction over this and it causes problems. My reach is 950 children and I just need more help so you having two outreach workers to call upon makes me quite envious - are they full time? Currently I have to cover sessions, do the planning and marketing, prepare reports including financial - in fact just about everything - and there is no mention on a .5 teacher presence at the moment. I am an EYPS but to be honest it doesn't make a lot of iddference when there is not enough money in the budget to look at employing staff directly - we just seem to beg and borrow staff from other directorates which would be fine as long as we were all singing from the same hymn book which we are not! Love to hear or speak to your CC manager about policies and proceudres for CC's as I am coming unstuck with all of this as I just don't have enough time to pull them all together. Nikki
Guest Posted January 25, 2008 Posted January 25, 2008 Can I just ask is it still true that CC's need to employ a QT for 0.5 to be designated as a CC? Hi Marion, I received CC Teacher Guidelines last week and it stated that every Children's Centre must have at least 0.5 of a teacher to qualify as a Children's Centre. It stated that ideally they should be paid and treated as a Senior Manager / Leader. The number of children in the day care decides what ration of teacher you need. Up to 50 children. 0.5. Above 50 full time post. I have been a CC teacher for 2 1/2 years now. I am a qualified NNEB and EYPS and have found it quite an isolating but enjoyable role. So far I have really organised and directed my own time and filled my days as I have seen fit, mainly supporting the curriculum in the day care and local playgroup. We have teams of family workers to suport families and parents so I have had limited input there. We have recently been absorbed into a cluster of CC's and I am now responsible to a Director of Early Years Education in the new cluster. As I am only part-time I no longer have an active voice in the Centre and am no longer considered part of the Management or Leadership team. The Director will represent me at all future leadership/ management meetings and consultation has so far been quite limited. I am very confused as to what my new role will now entail and am waiting to see what my new job will involve. Apparently these merges are to be repeated in other areas, so I would be interested if this has happened to anyone else and how the new regime has affected their role in the Centres.
Guest Wolfie Posted January 25, 2008 Posted January 25, 2008 (edited) Hi lissmart and welcome! That all sounds very interesting, I haven't heard anything about those recent proposals! You're another one that's had to make the job up as you go along then?? I do think that guidelines and responsibilites are slowly becoming clearer now though. Whereabouts are you? And where were your guidelines issued from? Edited January 25, 2008 by Wolfie
AnonyMouse_4544 Posted January 25, 2008 Posted January 25, 2008 Thanks for the information lissmart building work is due to start on our centre (only 8 months late) on Monday.
Guest Posted January 26, 2008 Posted January 26, 2008 hi im fairly new in my career with children having gained my degree in 2005 and working as a unit leader in a private nursery since then, if you have seen my other posts you ll know i have gained my EYPS and will soon be starting as a pre-school teacher (or if you like leading the 3-5s and having a role in developing the EYFS curriculum for the company). anyway to get to the point, i dont want to stay within a private setting for ever, for various reasons mainly being the long hours, pay and no where to move up to, so was wondering what quals are needed to be a childrens centre teacher, do you need QTS or will EYPS be accepted? obviouls i know i need more experience first but it is useful to know for the future thankyou
AnonyMouse_4544 Posted January 26, 2008 Posted January 26, 2008 I think EYPS will be acceptable in Children's Centres in the future but teacher's working in Children's Centres aren't always employed on teachers pay or conditions so you could end up with the same problems.
AnonyMouse_11250 Posted February 26, 2008 Posted February 26, 2008 Hi, i have just started in a brand new childrens centre in birmingham. Still not clear about role, spending lots of time unpacking and putting furniture together. My centre is run by banardos, and pla are running the nursery. This is different again to many other centres.
AnonyMouse_73 Posted February 27, 2008 Author Posted February 27, 2008 Hi connico, welcome to the forum if Ive not done so already
Guest Posted April 24, 2008 Posted April 24, 2008 Hi, Just wanted to introduce myself... I'm another Children's Centre teacher and I have to admit that its reassuring to read so many of your posts. I'm currently full time and assigned to two centres which are amalgamating to become one larger centre - where this leaves me I don't know. I'm also struggling to be employed! I currently work through an agency, although this means i'm on a day to day supply basis and have no job security. I'm going to be taken on self-employed, but again this means I have no job security or benefits. It seems to me that in the area I work in that thre is a lot of inequality between CC teachers. Considering we need to be employed for a Centre to be designated, it seems such a shame that teachers are quitting the post in local centres as they are not feeling valued as teachers. Anyway, rant over!
Guest Wolfie Posted April 24, 2008 Posted April 24, 2008 (edited) A warm welcome, purry, from a fellow CCT! So up until now, you've been doing the CCT job on a supply basis? I've never heard of that before - or of somebody doing the job on a self-employed basis either! Are you term-time or all year round? Edited April 24, 2008 by Wolfie
AnonyMouse_73 Posted April 24, 2008 Author Posted April 24, 2008 Hi also Purry from another CCt. I have heard of teachers on supply, because of recruitment problems, but it cant be easy for you. Is there a reason why your centre isnt recruiting a teacher?
Guest Posted May 6, 2008 Posted May 6, 2008 A warm welcome, purry, from a fellow CCT! So up until now, you've been doing the CCT job on a supply basis? I've never heard of that before - or of somebody doing the job on a self-employed basis either! Are you term-time or all year round? I'm term time only, but do extra days at extra cost! I know that i'm not the only one whos working this way, as i know other CCTs in a similar position...
Guest Posted May 6, 2008 Posted May 6, 2008 Hi also Purry from another CCt. I have heard of teachers on supply, because of recruitment problems, but it cant be easy for you. Is there a reason why your centre isnt recruiting a teacher? thanks for the welcome... My centre is led by the NHS and they don't employ teachers. The LA have said that until a contract can be established between schools and the NHS then they will not appoint through a school either. seems to be a catch 22! I'm now employed on supply through my own company so at least, as long as i'm healthy, i will be paid properly! recruitment of CCts seems to be an ongoing problem. Ive had a meeting today with 2 new CCts who are really struggling with getting to grips with the job. All I can say is that i've been in post since October and I love it!
Guest Wolfie Posted May 6, 2008 Posted May 6, 2008 (edited) My Centre is tPCT led and I'm employed by a nursery school in the catchment area - it causes NO END of problems, so I can see why your health authority is shying away from the idea of employing you through a school! Edited May 6, 2008 by Wolfie
Guest Posted May 21, 2008 Posted May 21, 2008 Hi, I have been reading your discussions with lots of interest as I have an interview next week for childrens centre teacher. I have to do a presentation on 'how I see the role of the children's centre teacher working across the whole reach area to improve educational outcomes for the under 5s'. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Manager also hinted I should mention supporting childminders. Thank you in advance!
Guest Posted May 22, 2008 Posted May 22, 2008 Hi, I have been reading your discussions with lots of interest as I have an interview next week for childrens centre teacher. I have to do a presentation on 'how I see the role of the children's centre teacher working across the whole reach area to improve educational outcomes for the under 5s'. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Manager also hinted I should mention supporting childminders. Thank you in advance! Hi Ellie, good luck with interview, i hope this reaches you in time!!!! I had a similar presentation at my interview. I talked about pre-school settings in the area - not just the link nursery, working with childminders, supporting parents etc. I also mentioned linking into other agencies to ensure continued support for these groups. In addition i talked about working alongside local schools to ascetain where support was required for example, is there a specific area of learning which is generally weaker within your reach area? or perhaps there is a significant difference between pre-schools and nurseries and the attainment of children, or their social skills, communicatition skills etc etc. Child minders have been a key part of my role and i have been providing planning support and trainng sessions for them. During my presentation i also talked about how i could support staff with planning for groups, stay and play sessions and outreach work, providing educational support to enhance provision. I think one of the other key things was ensuring that i made itclear that i am a teacher, not the font of all knowledge and that my experiences with the 0-3 age range was limited and I would want to work with proffessionals who had that experience to develop my own practice in order to share it with others. On another note, just enjoy your interview, this job is a lot of fun and very very rewarding - totally different for every CCT I have ever met, but for the first time in ages i love being a teacher (even if i'm not technically a classbased teacher anymore). good luck!
Guest Posted May 22, 2008 Posted May 22, 2008 Thank you so much for your reply. Especially for the last two sentences which were really encouraging! I don't have any 0-3 experience either and it sounds like this is the area the centre needs most support with. The job sounds very exciting but a little bit scary because it is so new and you don't quite know what to expect! Thank you again. Ellie Ps. Did you make a Powerpoint, have handouts, etc (just out of interest?!)
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