Evaluating Leadership and Management in Early Years Settings: Report

This report evaluates leadership and management practices within the early years sector, specifically focusing on Little Stars Preschool. It examines the influence of the political and social environment on the organization, analyzing roles, responsibilities, and the integration of nursery values. The report delves into the macro and internal environments through SWOT analysis, exploring opportunities, threats, strengths, and weaknesses, while also considering approaches to problem-solving. Furthermore, it reflects on personal experiences related to leadership and management within the nursery, considering factors like organizational culture and leadership styles. The report includes an overview of leadership models, the importance of reflection in leadership, and the impact of organizational structure on achieving goals. The analysis also incorporates external factors, such as government regulations and economic conditions, along with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the early years sector. The report concludes by highlighting the importance of effective leadership in fostering a positive and productive work environment.

Leadership and Management in
Practice for THS9 & THF20
Word count: 2980
10/06/2020
Table of Contents
Title Page
Table of contents
Executive summary
Main Body
Conclusion
References

Learning Journal
Executive Summary
In this report, I will evaluate the influence and impact of the political and social
environment on my organisation which is in the early years sector. I will also be
analysing roles and responsibilities which enable effective organisations by giving an
explanation and analysing leadership and management in Little Stars Preschool (this
was agreed with the management to disclose their name.). I will be integrating
nursery values and mission within the practice. And finally, I will explore the macro
and internal environments by including opportunities, threats , strength and
weakness and approaches to problem solving to support any change that can

happen in the organisation. In addition, I will reflect on my personal experience about
leadership and management in the nursery. The external and internal factors along
with the culture of the organisation and standard will be examined throughout.
The early years and childhood code of practice says that ‘’the basic principle is that
the interest of the child is placed before all else.’’(Early years & childcare code of practice |
Voice the union, 2020)
Leadership meaning is now widely accepted to be one of the key elements in a high
profile organisation. It is also becoming an increasingly popular topic of research and
discussion amongst the professionals in the education system.
Leadership in an early years setting is not an easy job, individuals find themselves in
the position with no training or support. Leaders are more proactive, want to get
things done correctly by meeting the requirements and that everything around the
nursery is running smoothly. With the right leadership in place, staff feel safe, they
will know they will feel valued and able to share opinions regarding the nursery. Staff
can take risks without fear of their innovation and creativity. (Morton, 2020)
Educational settings are mostly adopted and/or adapted from the leadership models
appropriate in the business world. It's very confusing for people working in the
educational field. This is because the models adopted may not give answers to the
question which comes from reality in which the director and staff in an educational
work.
I do not work as an employee but I do work as a volunteer in the nursery for a few
hours a day, established by the current owner in 2017, they look after children aged
from 3 months to 5 years and opening from 8.00 am to 6.00 pm as to benefit all the
parents who goes to work or studies. The owner has 10 years of experience in the
field along with the manager who also had 10 years experience. They currently have
5 staff members who have different levels of experience and qualification in the
childcare setting as the nursery is still growing and new staff will be recruited. My
role is volunteering in the setting, I have to demonstrate how the setting involves
children, parents and the community at all times.
Preschool Perception:
“By partnering with parents, build positive relationships with children and the
community to bring out the full potential of their children within an enriching
environment.”
In a typical nursery environment there are leading roles from supervisor to
managers. Solid leaders implies that those who are running and learning as

apprentices, or nursery nursery nurses looking to get to the next level in their careers
would get help by those in senior positions. Working with young kids is a satisfying
and fulfilling task because we are about to create positive changes for them.
Leadership means different meaning to different people, the following are two
example of definition of leadership:
The behaviour of an individual when directing the activities of a group toward a
shared goal can be described as leadership (nci.nih.gov accessed on 12.03,202)
Motivating a group of people to act toward achieving a common goal is also an art of
leadership.(mindtools, accessed on the 12.03.2020)
The early years compromise each staff with different experience, range of personnel
training and qualification. Female and young and inexperienced staff working in the
sector emphasises that leadership is multi professional context.
In the setting, we have 7 female staff and 1 young apprentice male staff, he felt
sometimes being intimidated by female dominating staff.
Definition of Reflection:
Wavefront at an interface between two different media is the change in direction of
reflection. So that the wavefront returns into the medium from which it originated.
(wikipedia)
Reflexivity is the fact of someone being able to examine reactions, his or her
feelings, and motives and how these influence what the person door thinks in a
situation. (cambridge dictionary).
Change of leadership will be able to influence and help others throughout their
personal skills and vision, and to give access to build a strong platform for any
changes. Leaders often see leadership as a key to successful change in the
organisation. (Change Leadership - What is it? Definition, Examples and More,
2020)
There is a difference between managers and leaders, one being how they deal with
the changes of organisation. The boss may have a different vision to a manager's
vision. The manager fears that changes may structure the way the staff work, while
bosses embrace the change because they know that change leads to a new way of
accomplishment. (4 Important Reasons A Leader Embraces Change | Bill Hogg,
2020

Graham Gibbs developed Gibbs reflective cycle in 1988 which gave structure
learning from experience. The frameworks help to examine experience allowing us to
learn and plan from things that went well or not well in an organisation.
For my essay, I will use the Knott and Scragg reflection model as I found it easy to
answer the question set by the author.
Continually working and studying to improve the leadership skills is what makes a
good leader. We must know and do certain things to inspire someone working under
higher ground of teamwork. These don't come naturally but through continual work
practice.
The director of the nursery does set up goals for the month for each room in the
nursery and new guidelines sometimes will be added to the service of the
organisation. As this shows that goals and objectives have been put in place in
order for the staff to work towards. By doing this, new parents will join the nursery.
Manager is important in the running of the business. She is responsible for things
getting done on time through the staff by helping them to achieve their goal by the
deadline provided and by working together with them. She also acts on behalf of the
owner in making decisions, and providing slots for the staff as well as doing
administrative work. She also manages staff to ensure that corporate values are
maintained.
The macro environment is the influence that affects the whole economy rather than a
particular sector. It consists of demographic, political, legal, social and technology.
This Can affect the business and also the government regulation. How much
influence does this make depends on how interlaced the company is. The economy
is one of the factors which will slowly affect business. Consumers can be affected by
the economy on what and how frequently they spend the money on.(Frue, 2020)
While currently doing this report, the nursery is closed which affects a number of
factors due to government temporary regulation on closing the education system due
to coronavirus.
A PESTLE is a framework or tool used by marketers to monitor and analyse the
macro-environmental which is also known as the external marketing environment,
factors that have an impact on an organisation. The result of PESTLE helps to
identify threats and weaknesses which are used in a SWOT analysis in the nursery.
(Academy, 2020)
External environment: when the manager uses external factors to encourage her
team to do what she wants to achieve from the staff. For that, our manager will
consider time off for the staff who do longer shifts. Common factors that influence
our organisation are customers, social, competition, political and economy. Even if it

occurs outside of the nursery, they can have influence on the current growth.
(Internal & External Factors That Affect an Organisation, 2020)
Internal environment: it's all about what's happening inside the nursery. The
manager interacts with staff and motivates them to get a great deal of satisfaction
and motivates them towards their goal. Factors associated with the organisational
culture, style of leadership and the mission statement are factors typically associated
with the internal environment. Changing these factors will have an impact on the
organisational well being.(Internal & External Factors That Affect an Organisation,
2020)
In our nursery, each and everyone is different as well as their motivators. So our
manager gets to know what motivates them using both external and internal factors.
SWOT was invented at Stanford Uni in 1960 and 1970 by Albert Humphrey. Its
strategic planning used by an organisation or a person to identify strengths,
weakness, opportunities and threats in relation to a company for planning a project.
Strengths and weakness are mostly related, while opportunities and threats
commonly focus on the external environment. The name is an acronym for the four
parameters the technique examines (SWOT analysis, 2020):
● Strengths: aspects of the business that give it an advantage over others.
● Weaknesses: characteristics of the business that place the business at a
disadvantage relative to others.
● Opportunities: elements in the environment that the business could exploit
to its advantage.
● Threats: elements in the environment that could cause trouble for the
business. (SWOT analysis, 2020)
There are advantages and disadvantages for conducting a SWOT analysis. This
analysis helps the Little Stars Preschool forecast or predict changing trends that
benefit the decision making.
STRENGTHS WEAKNESS
● Garden access
● Easy to access to public transport
● Information on the nursery
website
● As a good reputation
● New equipment and toys
● Booking for extra hours must be
24hours
● Price depends on the age of the
child
● Friday and holiday are really
quite
● Lack management skills
● Parents need to provide pack
food for kids

OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
Nursery open from 8am to 6pm
Attract parents who goes to gym as its
next door
Details price plan
New setting opened nearby
Lack of staff
Lack of technology available to kids
(SWOT Analysis for a Day Care Center, 2020)
This SWOT analysis can be limited because it doesn't prioritise issues as well as it
doesn't give a solution and also restrict making decisions. A detailed SWOT analysis
can help the Little Start Preschool to exploit the opportunities internal strengths than
competitors.
Organisational structure is to show how certain activities are directed in order to
achieve the goals of their organisation. They include responsibilities and roles. It also
determines how information flows between levels within an organisation. Effective
leaders bring people together and enable employees to work together to achieve a
common goal. (How Organisational Structures Work, 2020)
The following is my workplace organisational structure:
Area manager
Owner
Manager
Deputy Manager
Room Leaders
Childcare Assistant
In Little Stars Preschool, we have a bureaucratic structure with a narrow span of
control, it's easy to identify who is under who and to whom to complain in an
emergency if someone is not available on the day of the complaint. They adapted
this structure, as my workplace it's a small company with not many staff and they
also displayed on the notice board with their names, photos and their qualifications
which can be read by the parents. Proper model of leadership by regarding effects

of cultural backgrounds (1997), which reflect the crucial role of culture in determining
leadership style was founded by Smith et al.
Leaders have to apply appropriate ways of leading which work in different climates
because culture of an organisation is a very decisive factor. The crucial point is the
effect is not directly except in the way in which a leader becomes a pattern for
followers. (Understanding and Developing Organizational Culture, 2020)
Leaders don't change the culture but employees may play a role in changing climate.
So, the leader is not influencing culture. Different ways of studies shows that the
effect of leadership in shaping culture is noticeable. Leaders apply some policies
which can affect culture. (Understanding and Developing Organizational Culture,
2020).
The Cultural Web was developed by Gerry Johnson and Kevan Scholes in 1992. It
analyses the model where the organisational paradigm, convictions and assumptions
within an organisation are clarified by means of a coherent whole of six elements.
(Using cultural models for changing
corporate culture - Change Factory, 2020)
I observed the following in my work pace:
Organisation structure:
● most of the staff do not have enough knowledge to effectively manage on
their own as their apprentice
● Teams member change quite often as people leave
● Not enough team working between staffs as they have only few qualified staff
● Staff don't get recognised for their work most of the time.

Myths & Stories
● Poor staff management towards their days of work
● Absence of staff recognition
● Not available work-home life balance as the nursery needs a qualified staff all
the time
● Cost cutting of the pay
● Not value for money
Rituals and Routines
● Staff have a development plan each month
● Employees survey put in plan
● Good customers service for children and their parents
The early years of childhood are continually changing and are becoming complex.
Roles and responsibilities are expanding and changing. Old solutions to problems do
not work all the time. These ‘change challenges’ suggest a real imperative in the field
to develop a new framework for leadership that supports people in facing, grappling
with, facilitating change and initiating changes rather than reacting. (Fasoli, Scrivens
& Woodrow, 2007, pp. 232—233).(What does leadership look like in early childhood
settings? (free article) - Early Childhood Australia, 2020).
In England, Ofsted rates the quality of leadership and management is higher than
the nursery performance are likely to improve their performance for their next
inspection. (School improvement requires leadership but depends on effective
leaders at every level, 2020).
For the success of education and care settings, effective leadership is very vital. It
gives an opportunity to create and assist in a high quality learning environment.
Without committed and skilled leaders it is very hard to shape teaching and learning
in a nursery. Leadership can be an influence on learning and the quality and
practice of leadership is linked in a consistent and demonstrable way to improved
student outcomes and educational equity.
Ethical leaders speak to us about our identity, what we are and what we can
become, how we live and how we could live better. (Freeman & Stewart, 2006). So
according to James Burns, a leader is someone who asks others to do what they
are supposed to do without forcing them. By doing this staff will enjoy their freedom
on a task within the organisation. Staff are more likely to keep their jobs in the
nursery as they work for ethical leadership as the manager in this case as she may
be strict at the time but she does understand the needs of her employees. Both
employees and managers work by creating a healthy working environment which
can drive the benefit of the company which of course benefit the employees at the
end.

In my organisation, the manager leads the nursery as the boss is rarely at the
workplace. So staff are more happy with the manager as her style of leadership is
mostly laissez faire but she also had a democratic leadership style with the
apprentice. She knows how to handle the staff and give them the space they need in
order to do their work. She let staff apply their ideas with the kids and also plan the
weekly activities with their ideas. As she is the manager of the nursery, she has clear
vision. Which is about where she stands, what she wants the setting to be and to
achieve. Her vision also can reflect the values of the settings. This vision can only be
achieved with the team that works for. She always says that ’’ Think of it like a train,
you are the engine and the team are the carriages behind you.’’
She also setted up a Whatsapp group with all her staff including the boss. Where
they share their thoughts and vision on planned activities as well as their absences. I
think it's a good idea, it helps the management to make any decision related to
queries that her staff have.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I understand the importance of all aspects of the nursery and its
management. Analysing can have a good or bad impact on the nursery. I can now
understand the opportunities and threats of the organisation. I have used SWOT
analyses to explore to measure internal and external factors as well as to see or
identify areas for changes. I have also included the organisation chart and culture
webs of the nursery. I have suggested after carefully assessing the nursery that the
leadership style my manager uses is a laissez faire and democratic style of
leadership in the workplace. She uses a combination of these two styles to manage
the nursery but my boss uses a democratic style to run the nursery, her attitude will
be like ‘ i want what i want’. I can't say which leadership style is effective as two
different people with different level qualifications and experience use two different
styles to manage the nursery and the staff. Again , adopting an inappropriate
leadership style may lead the employees becoming disengaged or demotivated in
their work. Early years settings that can be managed when maintaining a good
outstanding workforce are those who have good leaders and managers. (Morton,
2020) In the leadership role, there is more to take into account. Everyone needs to
have a good understanding of child development as well as what a good practice
looks like.
.Words: 2980

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