Keeping staff up-to-date

Polly Anna’s Nursery in York serves around 50 children, and employs around 20 staff. All staff working with the children are qualified in Paediatric First Aid. New staff receive a questionnaire containing a first aid scenario as part of their induction, and the setting also makes sure that there is always someone qualified in Paediatric First Aid present when new staff who are haven’t yet completed their training are with the children.

Staff are re-trained together as a setting, which builds a bond of mutual trust, with less confident staff becoming engaged with people they are familiar with. It also builds confidence among the staff, as the training is tailored to the individual operational plan of the setting as well as the physical layout of the rooms – so staff can put the training into context as they learn.

Polly Anna’s holds monthly professional development meetings, where knowledge gained from training is cascaded to all staff. Staff are also asked to comment on their confidence in dealing with emergency situations, and Paediatric First Aid is discussed. Furthermore, the nursery evaluates every accident involving a child regardless of whether first aid was given, so that common issues with equipment, areas and members of staff can be identified. For example, through this process an individual child’s needs were supported through accessing occupational health support.

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