Ask the Experts: Making staff training engaging
June O’Sullivan, Tracie Trimmer-Platman, Colin Green and Jeanie Lynch
Thursday, June 29, 2017
Our expert panel offers advice on effective staff training, inappropriate relationships, benefits advice and safeguarding concerns.
Q. I'm a nursery manager. How can I deliver effective staff training sessions?
June O'Sullivan: Nursery staff are working longer hours and often the only time for training is at the end of a long day or staff meeting.
Give them plenty of notice and ensure training takes place in a comfortable environment and that there is healthy food and drink available. Turn off your phones and make it a sociable and positive atmosphere.
Crucially, you need to plan your session well - whether it concerns a new initiative, embedding existing practice, refreshing a policy or solving a pedagogical problem.
Start with a clear introduction to the topic and explain how any changes will benefit children.
Think about the different learning styles of your staff and how they may react. Some will want to talk, others listen, some will be positive, while others may be resistant. Ensure your session is relevant and interesting.
Engage participants in figuring out how learning or new practice will work for them. Agree how they will test it at nursery and how you will check it is working.
June O'Sullivan is chief executive of the childcare charity and social enterprise, the London Early Years Foundation
Q. I think my manager is having an inappropriate relationship with one of our members. They seem very close and I know she has been to his home. I tried to ask him about it, but got a rather nasty response, suggesting I could lose my job. I am not sure what to do next.
Tracie Trimmer-Platman: It certainly sounds like this is an inappropriate relationship - whether they are "seeing" each other or not, there are issues with boundaries and professionalism.
Your first port of call should be his manager. Explain what you know and what you have observed as well as how he responded.
If there is no manager and you work for a charity, then I would approach the trustees.
As tough as it might be, your role is to make sure no young person is harmed in any way and so you are obligated to report this.
Ensure you make a record of the fact you have spoken with your manager and someone else in authority about it.
Tracie Trimmer-Platman is senior lecturer in youth and community work at the University of East London
Q. How can I help my clients who are facing benefit cuts, major changes to eligibility or how their benefits are calculated?
Colin Green: Many of the most vulnerable families are facing a freeze or reduction in their benefits. It is vital you are sufficiently informed and understand how families you are working with may be affected by past and current changes.
This means asking for and seeking out training and information so you have a good enough picture of what is happening. You need an overview of the changes, a good knowledge of the most common issues and know when to seek more specialist advice on the more complex or specialist issues.
You should know where sources of local expertise are located, such as Citizens Advice Bureau, and how their services are accessed.
We need to ensure the families we work with are not more disadvantaged than they might be through our lack of knowledge of this complex system.
Colin Green has been a social work practitioner, manager and leader, including director of children's services, in six local authorities
Q. The mum of one of the boys who uses our service says he keeps going missing. She has no idea where he is or what he is doing, but has not informed the police because she doesn't want to get him into trouble. How can I support her?
Jeanie Lynch: You need to stress to her that it is essential she does report these missing episodes to the police.
Talk to your manager about this disclosure and follow your organisation's procedures for reporting safeguarding concerns.
If the boy is reported missing, there is a requirement for services to conduct a "return home interview" to find out more.
This can help build a picture of where he is going and who he is with, and may identify locations or individuals of concern that require further investigation.
He will be offered direct support linked to the reasons he is going missing, along with "keeping safe" work and diversionary activities where possible.
Jeanie Lynch has more than 20 years' experience working as a senior manager developing support for vulnerable children and young people
Email questions, marked "Experts", to cypnow@markallengroup.com