The most successful early years leaders are those who create a 'participative culture' and give the staff the chance to exert an influence on their own professional practice, according to a new study.
The project, led by Professor Carol Aubrey, of the Institute of Education at Warwick University, analysed what leadership meant to staff and leaders across a range of early years settings and set out to establish the essential components and characteristics of effective early years leadership.
'Our study has uncovered the need for greater application of models of leadership that are not hierarchical, that distribute responsibility and acknowledge the wide range of skills available in a multi-professional team.'
But how does an early years leader empower staff to take responsibility and share in decision-making? 'The main thing is to have the staff take ownership of what they do, rather than dictating,' says Linda Baston-Pitt, proprietor of the Old School House Nursery, Stetchworth. 'The staff need to be involved in developing policies and procedures.
'We discovered the bigger the meeting, the quieter people become, because no one wants to stand out. So, rather than start off ideas at staff meetings, we break it down and have room meetings where people can talk about matters that are relevant to their working environment. The team leaders will lead the room meetings and if there is something they think is relevant to the whole nursery, they will summarise it and bring it to the main team meeting. It is a process everybody feeds into.'
Likewise, Amy Souch, the manager of Sunbeams Nursery, Plymouth, says, 'We try to get the staff involved as much as possible in decision-making, particularly if we are making changes. We value the input from the staff.
They are working on the floor so it is really helpful when they come up with ideas about what might work.
'When we wrote our behaviour policy it was a joint effort. People came up with ideas and we worked through it together, discussing what should be included. It is important to involve the staff as they are the ones who are going to be working to the policy.'
Company-wide goals
Staff at the Early Years Childcare chain are involved not just in decisions about their own practice, but about the direction of the company. Staff in each room share responsibility for planning, based on their own observations of the children. Senior manager Derek Hayes says, 'Staff receive training and support from our education co-ordinator but ultimately appreciate having freedom to use their own judgment and plan for children's individual needs.
'All staff have the opportunity to influence the setting of the company's business plan each year. We agree shared objectives and then, at regular intervals throughout the year, all teams review and reflect on achievement of these and their individual contributions towards company goals.'
Judy Fletcher, proprietor of Judy's House, Wimborne, has recently changed the whole routine of the day. 'The idea came from a member of staff,' she says. 'I raised it at a staff meeting and got her to expand on her idea and then two other staff members, who had been on a particular training day, said they had come back with ideas for changing parts of the day.
'We talked to the children about it and we trialled the change and observed how they responded to it. Then we spoke to them again and we went for it.
It has been fantastic.
'The big change has been that we used to stop in the middle of the morning for snack time and the children all came together and had breakfast cereals and fruit. Now, the breakfast cereals are available from the minute the nursery opens for the first hour of the day. They stop for their fruit when they are ready. It means they have a larger block of play time, without having to be interrupted because it is snack time.
Avoiding pitfalls
'Communication is very important in establishing a participative culture,'
says Ms Baston-Pitt. 'I have been to staff meetings in other settings that are just moaning sessions and I've thought, no wonder people do not achieve anything. At some settings they call staff meetings to tell the staff off and then wonder why no one wants to attend.'
Mr Hayes believes that the pitfall to avoid in establishing a participative culture is making sure that people do not take on too many burdens. He says, 'You need to find a balance between giving staff the opportunity to take on extra responsibility and not overloading them. So, time management and ongoing support is important. Staff appraisals are particularly useful, as they ensure you set aside time to reflect on performance and discuss ways to further develop someone.'
Case study:Little Troopers
'Sometimes I think managers do not invest time and patience in establishing people's roles. They expect people to learn their roles in no time,' says Rebecca Warner, who bought her son's nursery, Little Troopers in Oxford, last summer to stop it from closing.
She worked as a facilities manager before becoming proprietor and the experience has stood her in good stead. 'When I led that team, I spent a lot of time working with people to establish their roles. That is what we do here.
'We are a small team and one thing that works really well for us is our communication. It is clear to us because of our personalities and the kind of way that we work when something is not working. We do not leave things unsaid. I have made it clear from the outset that if people see a difficulty or if they have an idea, they should raise it.
'I am the owner, but I am not the manager. At the nursery I am just one of the workforce. I can be busy in the kitchen and someone will come in and raise something with me. It is very relaxed. It is not like they have to make an appointment to see me in the office.
'Our manager is an extremely good leader and the staff learn so much from her. We have set up an annual appraisal system and every three months we have one-to-ones where we review progress. The staff were nervous at first, but they realise now we want them to give us feedback if there is anything they feel we should change.
'We are reviewing the structure of our day and the idea for that came from one of the staff. If someone raises something, we will discuss it and get everyone's views. We don't want staff meetings to become nagging sessions and are very aware that staff meetings happen at the end of a busy working day, so we don't let them drag on. We document our meetings through action notes so we can all see something does come of our discussions.
'We have a suggestion book in which people can write down their ideas, which is useful. It means that ideas don't get forgotten and they do not have to wait until the next staff meeting to raise it.'
Further information
* 'How Do They Manage? An investigation of early childhood leadership' by Carol Aubrey, Alma Harris, Mary Briggs and Daniel Muijs, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, is available on the SCRC website at www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk