“It’s our polite nudge in the ribs to help you and your team stay organised and on task.”
This week’s subject is Continuity of staff
Element 4.1.2: Every effort is made for children to experience continuity of educators at the service.
Does your service prioritise continuity of care by continually reviewing and modifying the current processes for staff recruitment and retention?
A service that values and proactively supports continuity of staff is better placed to attract and retain educators, which in turn benefits children and families. Consistent and committed educators support quality standards and continuity of care for children. It is important for the service to attract appropriately qualified and experienced staff, and retain staff members who can best meet the needs of children and their families. P.233 Guide to the NQF
As staff shortages continually and increasingly challenge the education and care sector, services should consistently evaluate their practices for promoting staff continuity. Continual review will often help to identify areas for improvement to strengthen recruitment, onboarding and retention strategies and ensure that staff feel valued and connected to the service. Fostering this sense of belonging is crucial for delivering quality care and education, ultimately benefiting children and families.
Ensuring thorough recruitment processes will assist in attracting and selecting quality staff, who are passionate about early childhood, are a “good fit” for your service’s individual context and integration into the team.
It is important that staff and educators feel valued, respected and supported in their professional roles at the service. To support staff retention, service managers will need to ensure consistency with staff needs being met, recognise staff commitment and achievements and ensure that staff are supported to fulfil their responsibilities at the highest level.
Reflective questions to support continual improvement of continuity of staff:
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- How does our service stand out from the crowd when advertising positions for the service?
- How effective is our onboarding process in helping new employees feel welcomed and valued?
- How do we evaluate and collect feedback about our onboarding process to determine areas for improvement?
- How do our current recruitment practices align with our values, philosophy and the type of team we want to build?
- How do we collect feedback from educators and staff to assess staff satisfaction within their roles and work environment?
- How inclusive and supportive is our workplace culture, and what strategies can we implement to foster a greater sense of belonging?
- What strategies do we have in place to support staff wellbeing?
- What incentives do we offer staff to ensure they feel valued and that their commitment to the service, children and families is acknowledged and appreciated?
- What opportunities are educators given to provide feedback and input into service operations including the selection of resources to support educators to fulfil their professional responsibilities?
- How do we obtain and use exit data to contribute to continuous improvement?
- What strategies are in place to help build staff cohesion and pride in the service?
- How do staff provide input when selecting professional development opportunities?
- How do we acknowledge, reward and promote consistent outstanding performance, individual and team achievements?
- How does management set individual performance and learning goals for educators and staff? Are these developed collaboratively?
- How do our performance development processes provide educators with targeted feedback that supports continuity and quality improvement?
Resources:
The Spoke- Understanding and Supporting Educator Wellbeing
Building Resilience. For Educators!
Attracting and Retaining Staff
Belonging, Being and Becoming for Educators
thin System7 go to Quality Area 4/ Module 3 to submit self-assessment notes and if required, open a QIP issue if you identify any areas of improvement.
The Childcare Centre Desktop has a range of resources to assist services with continuity of staff. These include Staff Exit Survey and Interview Guide and Questionnaire, Employment Application Form, Professional Development Policy, Educator Orientation Checklist, Educator Orientation Survey, Professional Development Guide and Procedure, Professional Development Audit and much more.
Resources, NQS Element, Regulation and System7 links:
Childcare Centre Desktop – Childcare Centre Desktop
National Quality Standard – QA 4/ 4.1.2- Continuity of staff
National Regulations – 168
System7 Module – QA 4/ Module 3
If you have any questions send us a note via the Contact page here!
