Children in our nursery are about to start school, but I feel we could have better prepared them. Can you give some ideas for future years?
Transitions are stressful for children and parents, so start the process early. Make links with your feeder schools and form relationships with the reception teachers. Invite them to visit so they become a familiar face. They can read to the children and bring older children to visit, and might invite you to their classrooms too. This helps prepare the children for reception class routines such as undressing for PE, writing their names, lining up and learning how to manage lunchtime independently.
Share your preparation plans with parents. Prepare your transition reports and give some clues about children's idiosyncrasies to help them settle. This is crucial for children with special educational needs because often it is minor things such as key Makaton signs or calming techniques that will ensure a seamless transition.
Celebrate their graduation with a leaving day event and invite them back to visit in their uniform.
June O'Sullivan is chief executive of the childcare charity and social enterprise, the London Early Years Foundation
A college has approached us about its students doing work experience at our service. It sounds like a great idea, but I'm not sure where to start.
Approach this as you might for longer term student placements or volunteering. If the students are having direct contact with young people, you may need to see existing up-to-date Disclosure and Barring Service certificates before they begin.
The students would need clear roles and outcomes to be agreed with the college to meet the needs of their course. Depending on the type of service you run, this could be an excellent opportunity for them to experience working directly in a children's environment.
If you are being asked to provide work experience it will be for a short period, so be clear about what can be achieved in that space of time.
While the young person is placed with you, your service is responsible for their health and safety, so ensure that everything is in place, or further arrangements made. If you are happy the service can offer a meaningful experience for the student, that all the checks are in place and an agreement is established with the college, there is no reason not to go ahead.
Jeanie Lynch works for Barnardo's and has 25 years' experience of working with vulnerable children and families
Our newly appointed cabinet member has taken to ignoring my service managers and I, and approaching junior staff directly for information and to arrange visits. As a service director, this just doesn't feel right.
It won't feel right because it's unhelpful. But this is a complicated issue and you must play it to best effect. First, their enthusiasm is to be welcomed, but focused in an appropriate way. It would be far worse if they were not this interested.
Second, it needs you to rein this in so that it meets their needs and yours.
A conversation about priorities for the service, how you are trying to meet them and making sure they both understand and can comment appropriately are important. Go through the service plan with them for this year and highlight the challenges. Explain how some junior staff might feel uncomfortable with their approach. Ultimately, you might have to point them back to your member-officer protocol and remind them how it is agreed you will work.
Good cabinet members are part-made and part-born. It sounds like yours has the essential building blocks of curiosity and commitment.
Peter Lewis is a freelance providing interim local authority children's services leadership, and a former DCS in Haringey
A division in our youth centre has opened up between those who achieve academically and those who do not. Those not awaiting A level results became despondent and resented those who were. I am concerned about future relationships.
Results are out so this will have either resolved itself or you will have some tense relationships among members. We are used to hearing negative press stories about young people, so it is good when this shifts to reflect positive ones (such as exam results).
But it could also serve as a reminder to those who have not followed traditional education routes that they might have to make extra effort to get on track. Perhaps they feel the potential life options available to those who succeed in education are better than their own. Whatever their thoughts, it is a good opportunity to raise this and be open about the feelings and relationships that ensue.
Develop networks to support the young people. Some sessions on their options could be timely and helpful.
Tracie Trimmer-Platman is senior lecturer in youth and community work at the University of East London
Email questions, marked "Experts", to cypnow@markallengroup.com
