Aussie Childcare Network Forum

I really hope someone can give me some advice. I've been doing my work placement at a school kindy for a few weeks now and it hasn't been too bad. Ideally, I wanted to get some more experience at a centre, but most of the centres were already booked up with work placement students for the year. I really enjoy working with the babies and toddlers, as when i first started working in child care i had a bad experience working in a kindy room there was a case of child abuse going on and i was the one who reported it to the group leader and i had to be involved in documenting it and everything. It was really hard.
The staff at this kindy are pretty friendly, but for some reason, I just don't feel confident working there with them because they are all so professional and I'm still learning. Maybe I'm putting too much pressure on myself. They try to include me as much as possible, but I just feel uncomfortable. They include a lot of religion in their program and at the staff meetings they invite me to they make us all pray and I am not a religious person myself. They have offered me some casual work at the e d of the year, so I feel obligated to stay and do the rest of my prac there for next year, when I was thinking about getting prac/paid full time next year at a centre as I really want to have my own room. But my parents think I should stay working at this school kindy as I want to be a school teacher.

I'm doing my work placement there for my diploma, and I have a booklet from my TAFE of practical tasks I need to complete while on prac, and none of it is getting done. When i first approached the kindy about a placement, they did say that there was a lot of admin work that they would need me to do, such as glueing in learning stories in portfolios, etc which is fine, but the 2IC is making me do a lot of the cleaning chores as well, which normally i wouldnt mind, but i need to be doing my tafe stuff. At the staff meeting last week when the 2 IC was telling me that i would need to start helping out and doing the assistant cleaning list, the director then stepped in and said that i have my own tafe work to do as well. The director tried to make some time to go over it with me last week but she and the other teacher/2IC got busy with their own work. When I went in today for my prac, the 2 IC was bossing the director around and whenever I tried to ask the director about my TAFE work, the 2 IC kept interrupting and talking to the director about program's and other stuff they need to do.
The director is a really lovely lady and she's really easy going like me, but the 2 IC is really quite abrupt with everyone and really bosses you around. She probably doesn't mean to be that way but it comes across that way.

It just feels like all I'm doing is their work and none of my TAFE stuff is getting marked off. And I just dont feel comfortable there. I'm not sure whether that's because of my bad experience previously working in a kindy, or because all of my previous child care experience has been at a centre, which I really enjoyed, or if its the religion, or because the parents are all nice and professional, and the parents I've dealt with before have been from a low socio economic area. I just get really nervous and self conscious. The 2 IC has also been really up in my face and saying that they wouldn't have taken me on if they didn't want to help me but it doesn't seem that way. And that I should be asking more questions. What questions am I meant to ask? I already know how they do their program's, and all I'm doing anyway is cleaning and admin work. I don't really understand what they want from me.
I'm just worried that my TAFE work won't get done. And I feel bad if I go elsewhere for my prac next year as they have already given me paid work, but I'm not sure if I would want to work there in a permanent capacity anyway? I really want to have my own room and be able to mentor my own assistant, instead of taking orders from this bossy 2 IC. Not really sure what to do. I just feel really upset with everything

Hi LA thanks for your post. I've been away from prac this week as I've been really sick I've started on a new contraceptive pill and the hormones in it have been making me really sick. Finally had to go to another doc this week and get prescribed a new pill which I'm starting on the weekend so hopefully it will be better for me.

I spoke to the director on the phone this week and said that we need to make a time to go over my TAFE assessments so she said she can do that in the morning when I come next week so ill have to see if that does actually happen or not or if the 2IC butts in again. I'm just getting really worried that none of it is going to get done. I had to get marked off on practical tasks for my cert 3, and i was working part time in a centre then and my group leader at the time marked me off no problems, so I don't really understand why the director herself can't make more of an effort now. I know that she gets busy with her own work but still they shouldn't have taken me on if they didn't have the time to help me. That's probably a good idea to ring the TAFE up and get them to have a talk to the director if they won't make time to mark me off.

It really does feel like I'm just there tagging along all the time and the staff just go about their day so I feel awkward asking them questions because they've got their own work to do.

I'm on my prac placement at this service until the end of November so still another 2 months to go with it.
If I still can't get the director to mark me off for stuff after next week then I'm going to get a prac at a centre for next year. It's just getting a bit beyond a joke and very frustrating that they're not helping me but I'll see how I get on next week and let you know. Yes, the 2IC/ teacher seems to be the one running the show for sure. I'll be halfway through my theory work anyway by December so that'll be good! Just can't wait to be finished with the diploma then on to my degree.
If I do get a full time job at a centre then I start my degree, will they be weird when I need time off to do the pracs for it? I've been to job interviews for centre jobs before and as soon as I mention doing my teaching degree they're always quick to ask what degree it is and whether I'd stay in child care or move into doing primary school teaching.

Anyway I'll let you know what happens next week LA! Thank you so much for being supportive it means a lot to me

Whereabouts are u based? I'm a director of a centre, maybe I can help you find another centre?

Hi

I'm based in Toowoomba. The kindy has now offered me paid casual relief work which is good, but it's just not enough. The government has cut the funding for my TAFE diploma, so I'm starting my bachelor degree next month instead, so if I did find a centre, I would probably only want to work about 10-15 hours per week.