Do you agree paperwork in childcare is increasing?
Paperwork in childcare has been top of the agenda in Early years for a long time, with new guidelines and professionals focusing on cutting down the amount of paperwork that is needed. Somehow for those involved in the childcare sector paperwork levels seem to be forever increasing. It is a common complaint with business owners and early year’s managers struggling to meet the demand and allow practitioners sufficient time to complete the paperwork needed. This being said managers themselves are also struggling to balance the daily running of the nursery or setting and also keeping up with the ever-changing early year’s guidelines and Ofsted requirements. The statement often made is that paperwork is taking away from valuable time that could be spent with the children. We will explore whether the suggested paperwork is truly necessary to effectively run a setting, cater for individual needs and safeguard all those within the building.
Do childcare settings really need to complete so much paperwork?
With the early years framework being heavily based around the individual child it requires practitioners to complete all about me forms, two year checks, regularly observe, complete tracking sheets for development, speech and language tools, IEP’s, complete learning journals, update displays, safeguard, record incidents of behaviour, detail accidents and medicine usage and inform planning.
For practitioners to be the best at their jobs this requires observations, supervisions, appraisals and records of training to be completed and training courses needed.
For managers to ensure the building is safe and the early years framework is implemented effectively with all Ofsted regulations being met it requires a multitude of policies and procedures. As well as many managers also completing the advertising and markets, building parent partnerships and managing the accounts.
This is without many of the other pieces of paperwork which are used throughout the day, resources that are created and this can all vary from setting to setting. It therefore, comes as little surprise that practitioners feel stretched meeting the demands of paperwork in settings.
Each setting has their own ways of ensuring practitioners complete paperwork with some being given time out of ratio to complete paperwork, some working extra days to complete paperwork, additional meeting or others are left to struggle and complete paperwork in ratio. Some practitioners feel they have no choice but to take some paperwork home with them. It has been argued that this causes a safeguarding and confidentiality issue.
How to manage paperwork?
- It doesn’t need to be pretty or neat but it does need to be accurate and meet its purpose.
- Cut time where you can. Use templates, printed sheets and technology to help
- Be efficient with time, keep to do lists and ensure there is always someone who is across what needs to be done.
- Do not fall behind! Playing catch up can be more time consuming as it takes time to gather, collate and order documents
- Prioritise – All paperwork in childcare is essential so must be completed at some point but some things can be prioritised.
- Do not take work home if it can be avoided, not only can it breach safeguarding and confidentiality rules it can also get damaged or lost
- Delegate where possible, many jobs need to be completed by the key person however other things can be passed on to others such as photocopying.
- Have set days – For example last day of the month for payroll, every Monday for learning journals etc….
Paperwork in the early years can seem over whelming and often unnecessary but all are important in meeting individual needs and in safeguarding children. Key persons need to know their key children well and be able to give an accurate assessment as without this it is impossible to ensure all learning needs are met and children are stimulated and challenged with achievable goals.