Is childcare paperwork just to please Ofsted
More and more paperwork is being completed than ever, and the list of Ofsted requirements appears to be ever increasing, but is the child really at the heart of it all? Many would argue that a lot of the paperwork completed and displayed is unnecessary and is merely completed to “please” often rather than to support children’s development and practitioners.
The list of paperwork extends further than just the usual tracking and observations that come to mind and depending on the individual company ranges to many other things including
- Policies and procedures – Many of which are never read such as a policy for completing laundry, rarely apply to the setting and have very little benefit to practitioners, management, parents or children
- Tick lists – A never ending amount of tick lists to ensure the paperwork is completed
- Similar paperwork – Paperwork such as an accident form, which is then also detailed on a month accident analysis form, which is also logged in the office. This is time-consuming and time could be saved by only having to do this once.
- Risk assessments – Practitioners are risk assessing throughout the whole day as new activities are brought out, room layout changes, toys are broken, the weather changes, etc… is it necessary to fill out a form at the beginning and end of every day to prove this has been done?
- Observations – Narrative, ABC, snap shot, photograph, movement trackers, etc.….. is a snap shot observation detailing the main achievement not just as valuable as a narrative observation which is much more time-consuming
- Planning – long, medium, weekly, termly, ideas sheets, individual – Many of these are edited on a daily basis but does it benefit the child? Could this not be completed as the day goes along and the child’s interests change rather than at the beginning of the week and then every day as well?
- Preschool transition profiles – Are these necessary when schools complete their observations and assessments in the first few weeks of a child starting a school? Why double up?
It is difficult in childcare to ensure enough is being done to support the children and to safeguard all in the building but balancing this out with the true demands of the jobs. It often seems unfair to take time away from children who need support and is learning a new skill to complete paperwork. Many suggest time would be better spent with the children rather than completing endless pieces of paperwork. However if Ofsted requirements were not in place and seemingly, pointless pieces of paperwork completed it is feared that standards would drop. There would be little evidence to prove that outstanding practice was taking place. Would practitioners become complacent and children’s development suffer because of this? It would be a big risk to take to cut paperwork to find out. Perhaps a better way to deal with the paperwork issue would be to ensure the paperwork that is there is purposeful can be completed quickly and that forms and templates are useful, so several forms for the same thing don’t have to be completed. Further training may be useful to ensure that all practitioners fully understand how to complete paperwork properly so it can be done promptly. Having inset days or practitioner training days may also be a useful way for practitioners to catch up and complete necessary paperwork. Focus on quality as well as quantity as this may reduce the amount but keep standards high.
Paperwork !!!! The Bain of a childcare practitioners life. So it’s an essential part of job. So allow us time to do this essential part of the job! If it is part of the daily routine then why is it physically impossible to complete in a daily session ?? I, like all others, have to take my learning journeys home every week. How many hours do we put in each week working from home un paid ! As if the hourly rate we get paid isn’t low enough as it is. Calculate all the hours we do un paid from home, add it on to your contracted hours and then divide that by your monthly income. That is what you are actually getting paid per hour! It is the biggest scam in employment and this needs to stop. Why are we expected to work unpaid hours?
The idea that we should be completing reports/obs/ IEP’s/etc etc in the working day is ridiculous and I defy those who suggest this to come and spend a week in a busy nursery and do planning, observations, collate the evidence, reference it, cross reference it, log it. On an average of 12 children every week. In between performing your general routine. Ensuring all the children are happy, stimulated, clean, dry, fed, watered, nappies and toiletting routines adhered to. Checklists complete, rooms constantly cleaned tidied and risk assessed and I could go on with this list if endless jobs forever more! Does any of this actually benefit the child? Absolutely not! It is all part of ticking boxes and signing off endless lists. Non of which a school will use when a child enters the education system. We as childcare practitioners are stressed, fed up and I don’t know a single one who actually enjoys this work. I personally hate it and am looking to get out of the role asap. I can be paid more per hour working in a supermarket stacking shelves. I wouldn’t feel emotionally and physically drained at the end of the day and then be expected to put in more hours of my own time working un paid.
I wanted to make a possitive impact on children’s daily lives when in the setting. I wanted to plan wonderful stimulating activities that were enjoyed and could support a child’s development, stimulate their imagination and allow them to grow as an individual. I wanted support children in becoming confident enthusiastic curious and most importantly happy individuals. Children who went on to mainstream education with the best possible start, a strong foundation on which to build their future learning.
The reality is, I spend my day sorting out conflict with children, some who are in the setting 5 days a week from 7.30 – 6.00. Filling out accident forms, incident forms, nappy charts, sleep charts, room checklists, daily diary sheets, cleaning as I go. Children are tired and bored and craving attention that just can’t be given as there are also 15 other children that also have to be cared for. A setting full of noise and routine and rules and regulations. Confined spaces full of children, toys, walls covered in information boards for this, information boards for that. Display boards for kind hands, display boards for parents, display boards for the sake of display boards. because god forbid there is a blank section of wall! I barely get time to complete my daily diary sheets and my knees bleed from being on them constantly, scraping food from the floor, picking up toys, coats, wiping up water, milk, wee. My whole body aches by the end of the day.
Overstimulation in sterile rooms full of plastic/ wooden activities that mean nothing to the children. We as practitioners are nothing more than crowd control/ cleaners. The sad truth is with the best intention in the world, we have very little time to do anything else. We fail the children that come through the doors of our settings. Is this our fault? Is it our managements fault? No! It isn’t. I work with the most dedicated amazing and inspirational people. Intelligent resourceful people who care deeply about the welfare, education and happiness of every child who enters the setting. We are unfortunately governed by people so out of touch with the nursery and early years sector. So out of touch with what is really important in the care of children in our settings. All they care about is performance targets, in the grand scheme of things, it’s not about the child at all.
Wouldn’t it be fantastic if these suited and booted, overpaid office dwellers came and spent a working month on the ‘Front line’ in a setting as a nursery practitioner. At the end of the month let them take home our monthly salary. I think this would not only give valuable imput in understanding the reality of our role as practitioners but also that it is a seriously flawed system, and their thinking has to change in order for us to stop failing our children at such an important and vital stage in their lives. The buck stops at the powers that be. They need to start listening to practitioners who are the real experts. The whole system is out dated and desperately in need of change. This is a vastly growing industry and we are a vital resource. We need to be listened to and respected. News reports are already showing a shortfall in recruitment in the childcare industry. Young girls come into the setting with high hopes and expectations of training in order to perform a worthwhile role in early years education. They very quickly become dissalusioned when the reality kicks in and they realise they can make more per hour and be less stressed working in a shop. Some who have the aptitude will make the decision that with all the qualifications and training that is required to be a slightly higher paid level 3/4 they may as well go on to teacher training. With higher salary, less hours and more time off to plan and do reports it’s a ‘no brainier!’
The warning signs are already apparent and change needs to be made now before the childcare industry reaches crisis and a point of no return!
Sadly, I couldn’t agree more!
Couldn’t of put it better..
There is far too much paperwork! I’m sure the parents wouldn’t be happy if they thought more time was spent writing about children than looking after them! I understand some paperwork is necessary but I can’t see parents being happy with nurseries being closed when they are working parents! Low wages and long hours doesn’t help us!
I’ve worked with children for 30 years and it’s so hard to keep up with the changes and not loose my enthusiasm! But I must admit I’m thinking about a change of career!
Many practitioners are feeling as frustrated about this issue as you are Sally, it is such a shame that paperwork is putting pressure on practitioners and causing them to look at other careers.
Sally, I have worked in childcare for 12 years. I enjoyed bringing up my two sons so much and missed that imput when they went to school. I thought working in a nursery setting and delivering EYFS would be a such an enjoyable and worthwhile role. I trained to CACHE level 3 with the intention of going on to level 4 later on when the boys needed less of my time. Over the past 12 years I have seen the system go down hill, become overstretched and the paperwork side of it all increase 10 fold! It’s a system that is failing and i am only working to pay the bills now. It certainly is not a vocation ! The salary is not my bug bear although we are grossly underpaid for the role and responsibility we take on. It’s the fact that it is such a frustrating and demoralising role. There is not a single thing about the job I enjoy. That is sad especially considering that we work in a role that is surrounded with little ones, with little minds full of expectation, curiosity, joy, hope and enthusiasm and looking to us to support and develop that. I feel a failure but my hands are being tied by the likes of ofsted who are so outdated and out of touch ! ?
Totally agree with you Melanie. I have had a long career in childcare and have seen many changes in nursery practise over the years. Nurseries are under increasing pressure due to the demands of Ofsted and as a result they are losing many excellent practitioners from the profession. Time for Ofsted to review their approach!