How to make the most of staff training

Ways in which staff can obtain training

Staff training is vital in improving skills and knowledge and sharing best practice. There are many core training courses that are now essential in working with children. From September 2016 it will become compulsory for all newly qualified nursery staff to have paediatric first aid in order to be counted in ratios. Many settings also require their staff to complete food hygiene and child protection courses. These core training courses ensure that each staff member is able to look after the children to their best ability and provide a high level of care. Other training courses may support a practitioner’s practice such as speech and language support, EYFS guidance or support for areas of learning such as letters and sounds training.

Staff training can be provided in a variety of ways. Core courses such as first aid must be completed by an accredited outside company such as Tigerlily or St Johns Ambulance, with a certificate being awarded to each individual that attends and completes the training. However it is a good idea to review some aspects of the training regularly through staff training meetings in order to refresh practitioners memory and keep their skills updated. Outside training is usually held out of work time, allowing more practitioners to attend and not affect ratios in nursery time.

Training can also be held in-house through staff meetings. This is a great opportunity for staff members to share what they have learnt on recent training courses they have attended. This is also called cascade training. This enables managers to get the most out of the training costs by ensuring all practitioners benefit. Opportunities for in house training should be used regularly, developing a wealth of knowledge across the staff team and sharing skills. This has a positive impact on the practice of the nursery.

It is important that managers keep a record of the training that all staff attend, as this is an Ofsted requirement. A training matrix is able to provide a clear record of staff training. Each practitioner will be able to update their training matrix profile adding details of the training course attended. Managers will also be able to access each of the practitioners training records, enabling them to regularly review training. As this is an Ofsted requirement it is imperative that managers have easy access to all practitioners training records, as Ofsted will be checking this during an inspection.