This case study from The Wonder Years, a setting in York, explains how the whole setting team worked together to agree strategies to maintain and support staff wellbeing during a very stressful and difficult time. By supporting the staff well, the staff in turn were able to support the children. This completely unexpected situation was handled extremely sensitively, and over a year later, the nursery is thriving, and the acting manager has been promoted to manager.
In April 2024, the setting manager had to go onto long-term sick leave very suddenly. Within days of this happening, Ofsted arrived unannounced. This proved to be a very difficult moment as, on the same day, as acting manager, I was preparing for an emergency staff meeting that evening to inform my team of the sad news about the manager.
During the meeting with the Ofsted inspector, we went through all the relevant information required and discussed the purpose of the visit. I then informed the inspector of the news I was going to be sharing with the team that evening.
That day, the staff got through an unannounced Ofsted visit and were then told that their manager would not be returning to work due to illness. This was an incredibly difficult moment for my team. We pulled together and, with regular check-ins, the staff were open and honest with their feelings. As a team we support each other and promote opportunities for the team to talk.
During this time, I was asked by the committee to take on the role of acting manager, I chose to do this for the stability and consistency for the children and the staff.
We then had to tell all our users which prompted many questions, which my team found themselves struggling to answer. With courage and strength, the team got through this.
We decided to look into strategies and approaches that could be used to support the team, and this came in the form of regular check-ins and updates. With the support of our committee, we also looked into external support that could be offered to the team, and we came across Health Shield (a workplace health provider for employees).
The staff focused on the wellbeing of the children, ensuring their needs were met and continuing to provide a safe and stimulating environment. They continued to follow the routine, providing engaging activities and an environment that fulfils the needs of all our children.
The strategies and approaches we use to support the wellbeing of our team, with daily check-ins that run alongside the children’s, ensure we are promoting a culture that says it's ok to be sad, angry, happy etc!
We have an open-door policy to give staff the opportunity to talk and give staff time if needed. Training opportunities are available to the team, and staff have completed courses in children’s self-regulation and mental health in children and young people. We complete peer observations and evaluations which promote positivity and praise.
Fortunately, staff turnover is low, and we offer staff time, care, and opportunities to focus on their own wellbeing. If staff have long term illness or disabilities, we encourage them to share their needs, and additional support is put into place to provide inclusivity and phased returns for those who need to start back slowly with reasonable adjustments put in place. Staff know each other's strengths and weaknesses and work together to support each other.
We support the children’s wellbeing in a range of ways, completing daily check-ins and following up on the children’s choices. We use the colour monster books which the children can relate to and help them identify emotions. We have regular meetings and conversations with families and build positive relationships. We complete regular SEN training to meet the needs of all our children.
We provide training for the team and utilise outside agencies and work in partnership with professionals such as SENCO hub, Mash team, speech and language and health visitors to develop our skills to provide the resources needed.
We celebrate success through verbal praise, wow moments for both children and adults and regular feedback and check ins. As a team we have faced adversity and pulled together to create a setting in which the wellbeing of the children and staff is paramount and fundamental to our success.
February 2025