Guest Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 Afternoon, I have a little problem that I know many of you will be able to solve!! I am a reception teacher and have a limited knowledge and understanding of nursery settings so I hope you can help. My school is situated next to a village hall which houses a pack away nursery for ch aged 2-5. It has recently been sold and the two new buyers are keen to build on the relationship with the school. I met with them last week and this is where my problem starts - I think they have been mis sold the nursery as the seller was keen to get rid of it and I feel they are going into this new venture with no idea on how hard it will be. What exactly do you need to open a nursery - setting is sorted but what about qualifications of staff (they have none - not ever even been involved with children before), do they have to get Ofsted credidtation? what about planning? (one comment from one of the buyers was: 'they don't learn much at that age!) - they were not aware of the EY curriculum, phonics etc - where should they start!!! I have a meeting with them next week - and feel that I need to prepare them for whats ahead - I get the impression they are going to try and run it like playgroups from olden days!!! thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_3735 Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 I think they are in for a big shock... unless they open for less than 2 hours a day they must be registered with Ofsted.. I assume the setting was already registered with Ofsted before they bought it.. but they would then have to contact them for change of ownership and registered person... and then comes all the mountains of things they will need to do.. all is in the EYFS document which is currently the one being used but under review.. however it will probably not change much.. it is all in there. Did they keep the previous staff on and are they still in place running the setting.. if so all may be in place.. but if they plan to be staff then they must be qualified.. level 3 is the minimum and 50% of remaining has to be to level 2 minimum They really need to contact LEA to get some advice on where to start... and Ofsted if not already done.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_1027 Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 oh my goodness - where do you start??????? Firstly they should have contacted LA about sufficiency in the area. Next qualifications depending on age of children 1:3 for babies 1:4 for under 2s and 1:8 for 3-5s you need a level 3 and other half of staff level 2s. as for planning if you get a level 3 practitioner who is early years trained she will be able to deal with the planning for you ( as children Do learn but through play!). Try to get hold of an EYFS pack or ook online that will give you lots of info. Also if you talk to the LA they will be able to support you/and come to your meeting. Good luck x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_1027 Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 oops yes forgot Ofsted you will need to be registered with them ....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_30128 Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 i would agree LEA and ofsted are the first points of contact. They must tell ofsted of any changes within 14 days..so they might need to do that on monday.New registrations can take up to 6 months but as this is already exsisting then it is more about the registered person details. They will need to fill in a health declaration and an ey2 form to start the ball rolling for their crb checks(these both come from ofsted) ...is your registration with foundation stage forum an individual membership or a borough one...if borough perhaps they should sign up quick well done for trying to help them...they've got a lot to learn! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_3735 Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 Forgot to say - Ofsted ask for a level 3 with at least 2 years experience to run a setting day to day.. EYFS ONLINE for download only now unable to get paper copies.. but they may find this in with any paperwork they were given. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 Thank you all for your great messages and support. I am going to relay all this information and get them the LEA number. We are lucky enough to have joined the forum through the borough so I will introduce them. Many many thanks and I will let you know how we get on!! Just thought - do nurseries have the equivalent to a 'school improvement partner'? Maybe I could contact them for support too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_30128 Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 support workers are allocated from the borough(and seem to have a different name in each county!) so the LEA can tell you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_8466 Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 Just thought - do nurseries have the equivalent to a 'school improvement partner'? Maybe I could contact them for support too? I'm a bit confused - what is your involvement in this group going to be? Why would you be contacting the LA on their behalf? If you're not a member of that setting's management team, I would think it unlikely that they would discuss the setting with you. Unless of course I've missed something! I think you need to be careful about how you build your own relationship with this new team. I would definitely encourage them to contact the Local Authority, provide any moral support that you reasonably can and welcome them with open arms as far as building a good professional relationship between your two settings. However if you're not careful you might well end up doing a lot of hand-holding and they might be tempted to lean on you just a bit too much. They need to grasp the nettle and make their own contacts and identify what they need to do in order to run a successful nursery. You've had some great advice here already that you can pass on, but really if I were you I would leave it at that and let them get on with things. I know that might sound harsh, but I do think you need to resist the temptation to make their problem your problem. I'm sure as a busy teacher you have enough to worry about without adding to your list of responsibilities! Since they have an LA subscription you could always encourage them to join so they can get support from the wonderful members here, too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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