Our practitioners are some of the most kind-hearted, passionate, and dedicated individuals you are likely to meet. Each one of them has chosen a career that’s more than just a job. It’s a career that consumes you throughout everyday life. Everywhere we go, something reminds us of nursery, we constantly make links and look out for places, resources and topics that we know would inspire the children in our care and help them develop into brilliant individuals.
Many of our practitioners work long hours (8-6pm), 4 or 5 days per week alongside continuing their education and training in order to be able to better support the children in their care, giving them an even more valuable early learning experience. You could speak to any of our practitioners, and it is likely that they will tell you that at some point in their career, someone has told them “you get paid to play all day”. But in actual fact our practitioners spend their days wiping noses, drying tears, comforting and calming children, supporting them to appropriately express their emotions, modelling language, changing nappies, providing meals, first aid, and general day-to-day care for all (up to) 100 children across the nursery, as well as, supporting children to resolve conflicts, ensuring each and every interaction the practitioner has with a child is valuable, providing creative and purposeful provocations, tracking learning and development, identifying concerns, supporting parents and providing advice on request, and liaising with external professionals, all to ensure that every child in their care receives the best possible start to life and education, and enable their parents to fulfil their own job roles and careers.
Practitioners regularly attend meetings and training sessions outside of their usual working hours in evenings or at weekends because the day-to-day running of a nursery does not allow time for this in their normal work schedule. They often give up their own time to be at the setting and change and enhance the environment for the benefit of the children. They go above and beyond to show commitment and dedication to the children and their education. Even when a practitioner has free time, to do something for themselves, they often end up thinking about work. Practitioners develop a genuine care and professional love for the children they support, their minds are constantly looking for ways to better the future of these children, much like you do for your own child. It is rare that a practitioner will completely switch off from their work and this is why we feel that our practitioners are such special people and should be valued in this way by us, and our community.
Jade – Teacher & General Manager
Little Stars Day Nursery 