To aid this transition we move the children up slowly and in short sessions, first with a familiar face and slowly weaning this person away from the group.
The final main transition and loss within the nursery is the move from nursery to school, if we look at Peter Marris ideas about Sociological perspectives then we could use his three concepts to explain the links between loss and change.
- The conservative impulse which is an inbuilt resistance to change and a drive towards finding things that are familiar.
- Structures of meaning which is where individuals relate to social and physical environments.
- The grieving process which is the Physiological process of adjustment to loss. (reader 2, p 292)
Children will go through these three concepts while in the transitions from nursery to school, to support this transition we organise visits to the new schools and visits from the new teachers within the children’s familiar surroundings. This is all achieved over a long period of time to help the children to adjust to there new environment and to feel happy and confident.
It is not only children within the nursery that needs support from there manager, the staff are equally as important. Frontline manager’s day to day work brings them into contact with the emotions, feelings and reactions of staff towards all kinds of life events. (Reader 2, p 277)
My style of management is very similar to Brown and Clough (reader 2, p 281) who suggest that being sensitive and listening to what people say and working openly with constant change and complexity where the manager is viewed as a human being first.
I organise regular supervisions for my staff to keep up to date with each individual person and their needs. I also offer an open door policy and encourage my staff to talk if needed, this is very much how Surrinder (reader 2, p 289) sees’ her management style.
‘Surrinders view is that it is best to deal with issues in an honest and open way as they arise because it stops pressure and tension building up.’ (Reader 2, p 289)
‘Transitions remains a powerful and persuasive concept in social care because it describes the impact of the change and adjustment which happens in various human experiences such as being made redundant, retiring, changing partners, experiencing terminal illness and bereavement, or moving house or country.’ (Reader 2, p 294)
Looking at the Holmes-Rahe social readjustment scale (reader 2, p 294) can give you an idea of the impact of certain kinds of events and the kinds of events that may require time for adjustment, staff may need time of to make the necessary adjustments. It is also interesting to note that as a manger you can be classed as a ‘Stressful life event’ this is worth taking into consideration when talking to your staff member.
Looking now at (chapter 9, reader 1, p 211) suggests that mangers have to use their understanding of people to enable them to form effective working relationships with service users and staff. Understanding people can be seen as a way to maximising people’s performance (reader 1, p 215)
There is also the element of common sense involved and experience of different people which is commonly used each day even if you do not realise it.
There are three challenges commonly thought of in human behaviour
- Relationships with other human beings
- Dealing with the passage of time
- How we relate to our environment.
The relationships with other people are the most common problems faced in a team, a general systems theory by Von Bertalanffy (reader 1, p 223) suggests that all organisms are systems made up of parts (subsystems) that interact with each other, a person is a system and is part of a subsystem (group or team) they must maintain their own integrity but they also need to exchange energy with other systems.
Looking at the way we manage our staff has been ongoing for a number of years but is more common now with the human rights act, staff should be able to approach their managers if needed and feel they can discuss their jobs in confidence.
‘The human relations approach of the 1930’s and 1940’s suggests that what motivates workers is being treated with respect and dignity and that mangers should show an interest in them.’ (Reader 1, p228)
Looking back at Marris (reader 2, p 292) suggests that that there are four sets if conditions that may help or hinder people to adjust when faced with loss, transition and change, theses can apply to both child and the staff team.
- Childhood experiences of attachment affect our general world view and resilience in the face of loss.
- The more there are conflicting emotions or the more doubtful or unresolved the meaning of what has been lost, the harder the process.
- The less opportunities to prepare for the loss, and the less predictable and meaningful the event itself, the more traumatic the experience.
- Events after the loss itself may support or frustrate the recovery process.
Taking the above into consideration the way the child has settled into the nursery will reflect on how they develop further into the nursery and beyond into school life. The more we explain to the child about what is happening the easier the loss will be and the easier the transition. The longer time it takes to be able to move from area to area the better for the child, small steps will benefit them greatly. The way we deal with the child in a new environment will show the child how confident we are within the setting and how happy we are to be there, and should hopefully reflect on them.
Stress can also be a factor for staff within the nursery, looking after children can be a stressful job as well as dealing with parent issues and the pressure of abiding by OFSTED rules and regulations. Frontline managers have a key role in tackling stress in the work space as highlighted in (reader 2, p 286) Organisation directed strategies can be used to reduce stress this includes,
- Redesigning the task - if a staff member is struggling doing something a certain way then redesign how it is done to better suit the individual.
- Redesign the work environment – Look within a team at how you could redesign the environment to better suit the team and the service users.
- Establish flexible work schedules – I have always looked at how I produce rotas and how I allocate work to individuals, in staff meetings I will ask people if they have anything in their diaries coming up which I need to take into account or if the hours they have been given are suiting there needs.
- Encourage participative management – As a management team we get together regularly and discuss individual staff members or issues that may arise.
- Include the employee in carer development – At regular staff supervisions, staff members are asked how they could progress in their carer and if there are any courses that they feel would benefit them or the setting.
- Analyse work roles and establish goals – I regularly observe staff members and assess their work roles to see of they suit them, if I feel they don’t I discuss this with the staff member and look at a way forward, either changing job roles or goals.
- Provide social support and feedback – this is done through regular supervisions and after each observation I will give feedback to the individual involved.
- Build cohesive teams – by working together and giving everyone the opportunity to get involved with the team help people to feel they are working as one.
- Establish fair employment policies – all policies are followed and abided by.
- Share the rewards – staff incentives are a way to show staff you appreciate them.
There is also an important person within the staff team that needs looking after and that is YOU. You may get over looked while helping everyone with there problems and may feel under pressure with no one to turn to.
Managers should look at ways to relax such as sports, walking, climbing, team games, massage, yoga or scented baths. They also need to look at ways their emotional needs are met such as drawing, painting, dancing, drama, music, friends, theatre, and cinema, watching football or reading.
Talking with someone is also a good way to release any stresses and strains, keeping everyone else’s problems bottled up inside can lead to your problems escalating out of control.
Summary
To summarise this briefing, Transitions for children are a very stressful time and can lead to them feeling great loss and confusion. Transition can also be a learning experience for staff that may have grown very attached to their key children and who may find it difficult when they have new children attend the nursery that they do not know.
It takes time for any person to get used to change and new things and as long as things are done slowly a transition should run smoothly.
Recommendations
- Allow each child and parent/carer time to settle into the settle, giving as many short settling periods as needed.
- Allow each child to go to their new area of the nursery for short time but frequently with a known member of staff, this will enable the child to get used to their new surroundings.
- Allow children who will be starting school, to visit their new school and allow their new teacher to attend the nursery so the child is happy in their own surroundings.
- Allow staff time to adjust to new changes within the settling as they can be affected as well as the children.
- Organise a time for parents to get together to discuss the curriculum and how the nursery runs, this will give them a chance to express any concerns they may have and to help them to understand your job role.
- Organise regular parents evenings where parent/carers can visit their child’s class teacher and gain feed back about what they do at nursery.
- Remember to take things slowly and not to expect miracles to happen over night.
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References
Seden, J. Katz, J.S (2010) Managing significant life changes, Managing care in practise, open university, pp. 277-301
Skye, E. Meddings, S. Dimmock, B. (2010) Theories for understanding people, Managing care in context, open university, pp. 211-236
