what would you do? bad practices

[Bells13]

After taking some time off to stay home with my own children after the birth of my youngest I was offered part time float work in a centre fairly close to home. I thought it was ideal and at the start even considered putting my two little ones in the centre as I would love to have them close to me.

6 shifts later and all quite honestly i am quite disgusted.

These are a few issues I have:

- nursery & toddler age children are being told to 'shut up' constantly - and if they cry because they are tired and hungry (this was in nursery) they are taken out of their high chair and told 'they will have to wait now until the other children are finished for being so silly".

- after hearing a group leader talk about one of the children's siblings possibly having chicken pox she went on to apply sunscreen to her whole group - with her hands one after the other, no gloves, tissues or anything just bare hands one after the other - as does every other staff member in every other group in the centre apparently!

- the 3 oldest groups share a play ground and to say that it is poorly supervised is an understatement. The staff just find a spot to sit down and congregate in this large playground and there have been constant and countless incidents that seem to go completely unnoticed. No safety mats, no staff positioned to be able to supervise properly - nothing.

- meal times in the older rooms are outside. At tables that dont even seat the number of children that are there. There is no wiping down of tables before eating or even handwashing for the children. The children are allowed to sit on the play equipment, in the gardens and on the ground while eating and there is not supervision. They dont even seem to make sure the children have got their food or have eaten it - at all.

- the older rooms have no basic rules or structure at all that has resulted in them being completely out of control with no respect for anything or anyone. Any resources are just completley ruined. There is no packing up after themselves whatsoever and there is no opportunity for any sort of planned group experiences. Just a 2 hour clean up job for the assistant in the afternoon.

- a number of group leaders after 'the food was late' complain that the staff member in charge of the food that day wasted time "taking the temperature of the food" and couldn't understand why she "didn't just heat it up and serve it as they usually do"

Sorry about the long post/vent but I am seriously struggling here. What i have written is just a few things I dont agree with and as an parent and educator I am pretty horrified. I have tried to intervene in most of these situations to try and improve the situations to no avail and have just been looked at like im the problem! And advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance!

[Lorina]

Absolutely appalled to hear how a centre like this is able to run. The families of this centre trust the educators with their children and have no idea what is going on behind the scenes. It's completely appalling to hear what you have experienced in only 6 shifts and can only imagine how bad it has been in the past and will be in the future. Please I urge to make a complaint to your Regulatory Authority about the issues you raised here. This centre needs to be investigated in order for educators to change their attitudes, practices, ethics and dealings with the children for the sake of the children themselves and the families. It's just not fair really... Unfortunately it's sad to hear that centres like this still exist and this is one of many brought to the attention in this forum itself.... I am providing information on how you can make a formal complaint about this centre to the department. It's not something you should be worried about doing or worried about losing your job over (there are many jobs available), it's part of your duty of care to each child and their families to act on these unethical practices that you have witnessed.

Complaints About Education and Care Services In Queensland

Centres like this should be investigated and stopped before something worse happens!

Sorry to hear you're on this situation,

,
L.A

[LindyT]

Kinda makes me glad I do FDC to be honest.

[educator30]

as an educator i have seen some bad practice from other educators and as a mother myself it makes my blood boil. but when so many educators are doing this bad practice it can be hard to know what to do. things i have seen have come from room coordinators who are in charge of the cert 3s and then others whom are respected at the centre and you cant go to the director cause they are all friends and i would risk loosing my hours because i complain.(happened to others). i would never put my child in a childcare centre know what i have seen goes on. but unfortunately i have no answer its a hard situation

[Lorina]

as an educator i have seen some bad practice from other educators and as a mother myself it makes my blood boil. but when so many educators are doing this bad practice it can be hard to know what to do. things i have seen have come from room coordinators who are in charge of the cert 3s and then others whom are respected at the centre and you cant go to the director cause they are all friends and i would risk loosing my hours because i complain.(happened to others). i would never put my child in a childcare centre know what i have seen goes on. but unfortunately i have no answer its a hard situation

Whether bad practices are coming from room co-ordinators, cert 3's or even directors themselves you really need to report it. It's part of our duty of care to provide a safe environment for all children at the centre. You really need to have the courage to put a stop to it. As a mother yourself, from what you have seen you won't put your child in care but what about all those families at the centre where this is happening.They don't know what goes on behind close doors unfortunately. So, you need to stand up for what you believe in and not worry about the consequence of losing hours (why bother working for a centre like that).

It's definitely hard but it's worse ignoring it...

,
Lorina

[wimble]

Completely agree, you must report this! Document everything and ring the reg authority, it is the only way centres like this (and the people perpetrating such horrible practices) can have any consequences. A lot of the problem with this sort of stuff (and it is more common than people may realise) is that it is endemic to the culture among the staff. People generally look to superiors for how they should behave in the work place (this applies in any industry), and if room leaders are doing these things (poor hygiene, verbal/emotional abuse/neglect) then the rest of the staff will just follow along (or resign in frustration). Where is the management in all of this? Have you raised it with the director/approved provider?