Nursery supervision of staff policy

At The University of Dundee Day Nursery Ltd we implement a system of supervision for all of our staff following their induction and probation period. Supervision is part of the nursery’s overall performance management system and promotes a culture of mutual support, teamwork, and continuous improvement. It encourages the confidential discussion of sensitive issues including the opportunity for staff and their managers to: 

• Discuss any issues – particularly concerning children’s development or well-being
• Identify solutions to address issues as they arise
• Receive coaching to improve their personal effectiveness
• Develop their own skills to progress in their role
• Discuss any concerns relating to changes in personal circumstances that might affect an individual’s ability to work with children.

The frequency of supervision meetings is on a termly basis or more frequent to meet individual needs. A template agenda is used in all meetings to ensure consistency across the nursery. This clearly sets out who does what and the timeframe, i.e. what the manager is responsible for and what the practitioner needs to do.

There should always be something that a member of staff can discuss e.g. a particular child’s development, strengths, or concerns. However, if there are times where staff may be struggling to identify areas to discuss in a supervision, we will ask them to identify three things they have enjoyed about their job/done well since the last supervision and one thing they have least enjoyed/requires further improvement. They will be asked to complete this prior to supervision (as set out in their responsibilities).

There may be times when supervision needs to be increased for members of the team, i.e. if they have particular concerns about a child or if they are going through personal circumstances at home, for new starters, staff returning after long-term illness or on request from staff.

It is the responsibility of the Senior Nursery Manager Jacky Jones and Junior Nursery Manager Malgorzata Mazanka to plan time to ensure that all staff have supervisions. At the University of Dundee Nursery Ltd supervision is carried out by Senior Nursery Manager Jacky Jones, Junior Nursery Manager Malgorzata Mazanka or Senior Early Years Practitioner. If for any reason a supervision is cancelled a new date will be rearranged within 7 days.

All members of staff responsible for carrying out supervisions are trained and supported prior to carrying these out.

Supervision meetings also offer regular opportunities for members of staff to declare any criminal offences since their last PVG registration or any reason or incapability to work with children. This is recorded as a declaration on the individual member of staff’s supervision form and appropriate action is taken, where applicable, in line with the safeguarding/child protection and disciplinary procedure.

Staff have a responsibility to ensure that they are available for supervision meetings and that the necessary paperwork is complete. Information shared in supervision sessions is confidential. The supervision process will be evaluated once/twice a year through staff feedback and is used as part of the overall performance monitoring system at the nursery.

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