Training employees: An expensive luxury that takes employees out of the workplace or an investment that adds value to both individual employees as well as the business?
In the modern workplace both of these views can be heard, so what can be the benefits of training employees in your nursery and how can it benefit your employees?
On a general level the primary benefit of providing training as an employer is to improve the performance of your employees. Employees will naturally enter an organisation with differing skills and experience, and as part of employee performance reviews training needs will be identified.
By addressing these needs and providing tailored training to fill skills gaps, as an employer you will benefit from an improved performance from your employee as well as fresh ideas being brought into the business. As an employee the training can act as a significant booster to their confidence and their ability to perform their tasks to the highest level
Investing In Your Employees And Nursery’s Future
Many employers hold a concern that they will invest in expensive training for an employee and the employee will then use their new qualifications to join a competitor for a promotion or a pay rise. However, evidence suggests that as an employee, being provided with training has the effect of making them feel valued by their employers which in turn increases the loyalty they feel to the employer in question.
Training employees always used to mean days away from the office, but the advances in technology has meant that training is more accessible than ever. Many training companies now offer online based training that can be done from your desk at a time which is convenient for you, working around other commitments.
Blended Learning
There is also blended training (also known as hybrid or mixed-mode courses), which combines online training with conventional classroom based training. It must however be noted that not all courses are suitable for wholly online based training – an example of this being paediatric first aid training so it is worth doing your research before purchasing your training sessions.
Continuous Professional Development
One-off training courses will offer value to a business but to get the best value from training employees, investing in Continuous Professional Development (CPD) is key. CPD is an on-going series of training which offers a combined approach with the aim of helping to understand the wider environment as well as the specifics of the job to make an employee perform at the highest possible level.
Training employees is never more important than for those who choose to develop a career in caring for children. Quite simply OFSTED will expect nurseries to invest in training for their employees and an ‘Outstanding’ award will require this.
Early Years Foundation Stage
All providers working with children from birth to 5 years old must follow the regulations on qualified staff to child ratios, as set out in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). It is the responsibility of the nursery to ensure that their employees have the appropriate qualifications to be counted in these ratios. For assistance in identifying the qualifications which are considered to be relevant at levels 2 and 3, the Early Years Qualification List offers a search tool, one for qualifications started before September 2014 and one for those started after September 2014.
At an entry level an employee should attend training which will teach them a basic understanding of the EYFS. Commonly this will teach them about safeguarding and welfare, as well as EYFS learning and development requirements. It will also give an overview of Development Matters and The Common Inspection Framework.
Paediatric First Aid Training
Additionally, in light of recent changes another crucial area for nursery employees is paediatric first aid training. New proposals put forward by the Government state that all new nursery and pre-school staff will be required to undertake paediatric first aid training, meaning that newly qualified staff with a childcare level two and three qualification MUST have a paediatric first aid certificate.
As you will see from the above, we at the Nursery HR People firmly believe that training employees is critical to the success of the Nursery sector, and it will truly make the difference between a good and an outstanding setting. Your employees will always be your most important resource and should be nurtured and invested in accordingly.
We always love to hear your stories at The Nursery HR People, so if you have any comments on how training has made a difference to your setting in either a large or small way we would love to hear all about it!
We hope you have found this blog useful, but please do get in touch with us should The Nursery HR People be able to assist you further with this or any other HR matter in your Nursery.
Did you know that we provide an award winning employment contract specifically written for nurseries and preschools, which is affordable and fully compliant with current UK Employment Law? To learn more about this outstanding product click here
Fiona Tyson
Operations Director
The Nursery HR People
01509 833121
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