Looking for a centre with similar values to my own

[Lems]

Hi,

I'm new to the child care industry, having completed my Certificate III at the end of last year. I've recently started a permanent role in a centre and am feeling a bit concerned about the care being provided. I thought that people in child care would be warm, nurturing individuals who sought to help the children in their care to feel loved and respected, and who wanted to help the children to be all that they can be. This description does not seem to apply to the educators at my centre. I really only get to see the educators in the toddler rooms as I'm in a toddler room myself so I'm not sure about the educators in the nursery and preschool rooms, but the toddler educators:
- Spend little time interacting and playing with the children.
- Often ignore the children that are crying as a result of missing their parents. They appear very exasperated and tell them to stop. There's also been a few occasions when they've said to a crying child that they will take them to the babies room and put them in a cot if they don't stop.
- Do things for the children rather than encouraging them to do things for themselves (with the idea being that it's quicker).
- Seem more focused on getting through the routines rather than using them as a way to bond with the children and encourage learning. Nappy changing is simply that - child in, change nappy, send child out and get another child.
- Talk loudly with each other whilst patting the children to sleep and rather than gently encouraging sleep, sternly tell the children to lie down and go to sleep.

There seems to be a lack of nurturing qualities. It seems as though it's just another job that pays the bills rather than a career in which one plays a vital role in a child's early years. Is this common in the child care industry? I noticed it in the centre that I did my placement at too. Both centres have mainly younger women educators, which makes me wonder whether it perhaps has something to do with a lack of parental experience?

I'm going to try and stay at the centre for at least 3-6mths, but the differences in values means that it's not somewhere that I would like to work permanently. My question is whether anyone knows of any centres in the south-western or western Sydney region that have more of an emphasis on nurture? I'm also wanting to find a centre that sees value in sustainable practices. The centre that I'm at now claims to have a sustainability program, but I haven't seen anything yet to suggest this. They don't even have recycling bins in the rooms. There's also no natural spaces for the children to engage in play as the garden area is off limits due to a concern about spiders.

If anyone can suggest any centres more in line with my values that would be great. I'm wondering whether I should look into privately-owned or non-profit centres rather than large chains. Family Day Care is also an option, but I'd really like to build up some experience in a centre before venturing out on my own.

Any assistance is greatly appreciated

[roey]

Sorry my post isn't helpful, but your experience sounds just like mine!! I am also new to the childcare industry, currently still studying and working. My first day was in the toddler's room and what I had witnessed made me feel very sad, discouraged and confused. The way the educators speak to and treat the children goes against what I am learning and my personal values, and most of them are very young educators

[Lems]

You too, roey? I certainly hope it's not a common thing... Good thing the children have you there to provide them with a better level of care I've been getting to know some of the educators at my centre and it turns out that some of them don't even want to be in child care. It was just a case of a job opportunity popping up, so they took it.

I think I may have been a bit idealistic about the type of people that I expected to be working with. It seems quite saddening though that it goes against our training, given that the people in child care were also trained up themselves. How did they end up staying in the job? Is the need for educators too high that people who don't fulfill all of the criteria can still get hired? The centre that I did my work placement at had a quite a few trainees, which one of the employees believed was due to it being cheap labour. Is it also a case then of trying to save money by hiring younger individuals who may not possess positive, nurturing qualities? I wonder as well whether it might have anything to do with the change of direction from care to a more education focus. Perhaps this is attracting different types of people?

So many questions... I've been trying to focus on being a positive influence on the children at my centre and paying less attention to how the other educators interact with them. I'm not in a position to directly change their approach, but perhaps I can help bring about change through role-modelling? If not, I find a small amount of comfort in knowing that I'm at least providing the children with the best possible care that I can...

[Lorina]

There have been some pretty sad stories just on the forum itself about how some educators are with the children and it seems to be happening more often than not. I mean if you dont like kids, cant handle the environment then leave... It's so frustrating to see some of the people being employed in childcare that couldn't care less about anything but themselves. You cant work in childcare and treat it just like a "job"... You have to be passionate, caring and extremly patient! Young trainees are being hired, yes because it's cheaper then hiring a cert 3 qualified and also because I think the centre gets money from the government for "supporting and assisting" trainees.

Not all centres are like this though, there are a few gems out there that really put the effort in creating a high quality centre. It really depends on each individual educator and how they work together to make up a team. We play such an important part in a child's life and each family puts a alot of trust in us to keep their children safe and happy I just hope that those educators treat it like a "job" give each child the care and learning that they deserve...

,
Lorina

[zuzkam]

Hi,
I had similar experience as a parent. I am studying my Cert III in Childcare but I studied teaching degree at uni in Europe and worked in kindergartens, camps etc. so I think I have pretty broad knowledge and experience from overseas (children are still children wherever in the world ). As a parent when we moved to Australia we went to a daycare that was near us and enrolled our children in. Our older daughter (over 3 years old) loved her kindy back at home and was sooo loking forward to starting here. Our younger (1.5 yrs) is very attached to us and not that interested in other kids so we knew he would be difficult. The childcare was a big shock to us - we noticed it was not very clean and tidy and the staff seemed to be more interested in chatting to each other than to pay attention to the kids. Our kids went there for not even whole month but especially my daughter who can express herself more was very distressed, she started crying as soon as we aproached the kindy, she told me she doesn't want to go there anymore, she doesn't like the teachers, toys...and also within that month she wetted herself like 3x! (She was potty trained long long time ago). Also on her 1st day we couldn't find her shoes and the educator just told me, she has to watch her own things, that they don't have only her to watch! She didn't have a locker alocated and all was new, as so many things are done differently in our home country in kindergartens. Overseas I used to be at position where I hired people so I am shocked that the employers keep such educators... We then decided to look at other daycares and were very lucky. Second one was Montessori as we were already a bit familliar with this style of education and I also started to work there. Our daughter again loves going to the daycare and we haven't had any accident since she stopped the "bad daycare" so I know it was connected only with it because it happened only in that short period when she was attending it and a few times. She likes doing the activities and she likes the teachers and children. I as the employee can see how the managment is good, they inform us about lots of things, support us, train us, really want all the best for children not just to make money. They are also very fair to us as employees. I couldn't be more lucky to find this one for me and kids! So it is very sad that some daycares are such and due to demand they don't run out of business (yet) and even sadder thing is that they can cause long term psychological/ emotional/ mental problems to children. But good news is there are good ones!

[Lems]

So it's just a matter of looking around for the better centres then? Perhaps I should look into Montessori since you've had such a lovely experience, zuzkam I'm thinking that I may opt for casual work for a bit and get a feel for different centres in that way. Might be easier than contacting each centre in my area individually and grilling them about their values and approach to childcare.

[burgerbunz]

Each centre is unique, just because someone had a good experience in one centre, doesn't even mean you will in that exact same centre. I have done a few prac experiences through my course, each one very different from the last- nothing that has been mentioned here surprises me in the least. I agree, some places focus less on the children than they do on themselves and their mobile phones. I also think that sometimes places 'want' to be something (thinking a Reggio centre I went to- It's ok to WANT to be Reggio Inspired, but you have to DO IT not just say it). If you ask them about their approach, you may get a really great story, but in reality, the place sucks! Best of luck- I'm hoping to find somewhere which I am inspired to work at and that I don't end up as one of these people who has little time for anyone but themselves.