PHYSICAL LEARNING

A Description and Critical Analysis of the Management of Provision at an Early Years Setting

A Description and Critical Analysis of the Management of Provision at an Early Years Setting

Introduction

Even though the roles of managers are continuously changing, the primary functions remain the same. These functions are four in number and include planning, leading, organizing, and controlling. As a manager, these functions from the base above which all the roles lie. A manager who lacks any of these skills will never be able to effectively manage his team and will thus lead towards the organizations downfall. Therefore, managers have to be well equipped with skills in order to handle their roles (Smith & Langston, 1999, p.67-68).

This main aim of this essay is to discuss the role of managers in early years settings because the success of the setting depends on their management and decision making skills. The reason managing these settings is important because it involves the provision of adequate care to children. This also involves the policies that need to be catered to. Therefore, managers not only have to care for the children but also have to ensure that they are managing the setting according to the policies provided by the government. Managers need to have certain skills in order to effectively manage their workforce.

Discussion

This paper is about a small childcare setting located in London. With a capacity of 54 kids, this setting is considered to be small in size but the responsibilities of the manager of this setting are not simple. It employs a total of 12 people including the support staff. However, due to rising costs and the difficulties parents face in paying the fees, the setting does not earn much. Despite the small size, managing it is not an easy task. This essay will briefly describe the managers tasks in making this setting run smoothly. Along with the manager's tasks, the national policy will also be discussed since it plays an important role in managing any business.

A manager was interviewed in order to get an in-depth view about the life managers live and the way they manage their employees. The person interviewed was a deputy manager and she had progressed from a shop floor-nursery nurse to the current position. Thus, she knew exactly how to manage people effectively. Working in a certain organization gives a person sufficient information on how things are done and managed (Sadek & Sadek, 1996, p.18-19). Experience also enables the person to improve the efficiency of the setting. Along with this, one also gets to learn about the laws and policies enforced by the government and the changing trends of the business (Rodd, 2005, p.32-35). This learning experience has led her to become a good manager of every aspect of the setting.

The first thing we wanted to know was the size of the setting. We were told that it consisted of three rooms dedicated to babies, toddlers, and young children respectively with a total capacity of 54 ...