Nursery World - Nursery Management: Maintaining Quality

Making sure standards don’t slip and morale remains high amid change in a setting is a vital leadership skill. By Katy Morton

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Change, planned or unplanned, is inevitable in the workplace. Whether it be the introduction of a different funding regime, new policies or a competitor opening down the road, change can affect people emotionally, mentally and physically.

‘Early years settings that manage change while maintaining an outstanding workforce are those with effective leaders and managers in place, who see beyond the delivery of the curriculum’, explains Pennie Akehurst, who runs consultancy Early Years Fundamentals.

‘When we move into a leadership role, there is much more we need to take account of. Of course, we need to continue to have a good understanding of child development and what good practice looks like, but we also need to be able to meet the needs of staff. This is important because adult behaviour can be many things – it can be caring, considerate, compassionate and empathetic, but it can also be aggressive, manipulative, defensive and obstructive.’

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