Managing my own daycare and grade r site

Managing your own day care centre is a very big responsibility and you need certain characteristics to fit the role. There are also different ways of managing and leading. In this assignment I will describe the way in which I manage my own day care and grade R site as well as lead the staff and learners to help ensure the success of my day care centre.

I will do an evaluation of my own characteristics. As discussed in the course notes to manage your own day care centre you need to have empathy and a love for children. I will have to be a good judge of character, be sales orientated and have an outgoing personality. I will also evaluate all my staff members according to these characteristics. I will ensure the personnel that I hire loves children and are empathetic.

It is also crucial to list my goals for the day care centre as every decision I make must be done with these goals in mind. I have to manage this centre always keeping its success as my main priority. Every decision I make will impact the success of the day care centre. The goals will be my stepping stones and my guidelines to its success. My decision making process will always involve the following question: “ Will this help provide the best care for the children?”

My biggest responsibility will be to ensure that every child receives love, respect and the best possible care. I want to motivate and inspire the staff and learners to reach their full potential. If I encourage them and believe in them, it will drive them and they will believe in themselves. It is important that my staff see me as a leader and not only the manager. A leader is a person who cares more about the needs of others than that of his/her own. This attitude will make it an extraordinary place. I will always try to listen to my staff and really hear what they are saying. This shows my respect for them; their needs and opinions. It is very important to have mutual respect in the work place. Therefor I will not only listen to them, but always be honest. This will not only ensure a mutual respected relationship, but they will also trust me. I want their trust as I will teach my staff to provide quality care and how to do their jobs correctly. I will monitor them to ensure that it is done correctly. I personally feel that acknowledgement is very important. I will acknowledge them for good and hard work and if I see that they need improvement in some aspects I will guide them and give them feedback on their work to help them achieve that improvement. I want to fill the role of a mentor; where I advise them about the curriculum and practices. One of my greatest priorities concerning staff members; will be to make sure all may staff is trained and registered at SACE. There should be at least 3 staff members per class. An annual check-up at the municipal offices will ensure I keep to the staff to child ratio regulations.

My priorities will not only with my staff and welfare of the children. The financial aspect of running a business is tremendously important. The course notes explain that controlling the budget and all the other day to day operations is part of the responsibilities. The success of a business depends on the person in this position. I will ensure that I have received proper training to fill the position with the utmost professionalism and discipline. However, I should always be objective in this aspect. If I should get to a point where I realise I am not the best person for the job, I will appoint someone with the right skills, whom I trust.

The administrative aspect of the business should be organized. It is important to use contracts for clients as this will ensure timely payments. Late payments will result in difficulties to pay salaries and other necessities. I should not want that burden. I will put a practical filing system in place and arrange weekly staff meetings. The meetings will keep us all on the same page and each will know what is expected of them during that week. Regular individual meetings will also be scheduled where each staff member will receive feedback on their performance. This will also give us the opportunity to discuss important matters and ensure my staff members are taken care off. If I take care of them, they will take care of me and the children.

Regular inspection to the classes and playground will be done to reduce the risk of injuries and to ensure good hygiene is maintained. A list of the children with allergies will be made available to all staff.

Lastly, I would stay a learner through all of this. Being a learner and not only a teacher and manager will help me to continually improve my own skills as well as those of the people around me. On a larger scale this will continually improve my day care centre.