AnonyMouse_22106 Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 Are parents still allowed to help during a session? In the past if we have a member of staff suddenly call in sick we have asked for a parent volunteer to stay - we haven't had to do this for a number of years as our numbers were low but we are now in the position of getting busier and if a member of staff is sick we have no 'supply staff'. If possible we would try and get a committee member as they are at least DBS checked but if no committee can stay, could a parent? obviously not allowing in children's toilets or being alone with a child. We are really struggling for cover staff; who is going to be hanging around 'just in case' preschool might want me for 4 hours?! Where do you get your cover from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_6721 Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 As long as you have enough qualified staff, a parent volunteer is fine. Although if they bring in any younger ones these need to be in Ratio. Also I am pretty sure that that ofsted letter to let the setting know that a committee member is all check out does say that this doesn't qualify them to work at the setting and normal staff vetting needs to apply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_14268 Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 I personally would not use a parent. Firstly I am not sure that the DBS check for a committee member would cover them working in session, I may well be wrong on that. I also would be concerned about confidentiality, knowing how some of them gossip on Facebook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_22106 Posted January 28, 2015 Author Share Posted January 28, 2015 So does everyone else have an extra member of staff to cover absences? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_51737 Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 We use bank staff, ex parents mainly who expressed an interest (ones we warm too as well but hush hush on that) also we occasionally get a parent who wants to do a childcare course so we offer full support in sourcing the training provider and offer placement for the course by using them as bank staff alongside placement. committee DBS checks can not be used as a suitable DBS to work with children unless it was ticked to say they would have unsupervised contact on their EY2 if the situation changes and they are going to start working with the children even in a voluntary capacity a new EY2 must be submitted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_14268 Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 We have always struggled to cover sickness and absence and I'm afraid we have to shut in the past due to staff sickness and vital training. Thankfully we do have some flexibility now with our numbers and cover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_11396 Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 We have the good old parent/carer rota. Sometimes we may have a few names on it each half term which is lovely. As we are a team of 10 staff with some only doing 3/4 sessions, we are generally lucky to be able to cover sickness etc. So no agency staff here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_8282 Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 We all cut our days down to 4 max, and work slightly over ratio- that way technically we always have staff cover for sickness/training courses - so usually, when you take into account there are usually about 2 children off each day for some reason or other we are ok and not down to panic level with last minute staff sickness. This has gone '****up' this year though as owner has increased numbers, and it is becoming a problem now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_44476 Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 We have two EYP's but never use the 1:13 ratio so generally if someone is off we are still legal. Some days we have an extra staff member too it just depends. It isn't ideal but is fine for the odd morning when we are really struggling! Sometimes part time staff can cover too x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_22106 Posted January 28, 2015 Author Share Posted January 28, 2015 We have the good old parent/carer rota. Sometimes we may have a few names on it each half term which is lovely. As we are a team of 10 staff with some only doing 3/4 sessions, we are generally lucky to be able to cover sickness etc. So no agency staff here. Thought we were on our own with parents coming in! It's nowhere near supported as much as it used to be, infact it's not that long ago I had to add a stipulation of only 1 parent per session as ALL the parents wanted to stay!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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