to think a diverse staff force in a Nursery is an asset, not a drop in quality?

[WhataPlank]

I own a small, rural nursery school.
We, like every other nursery in the UK, really struggle with staffing but have recently secured three wonderful Practitioners to join our small team.
All are very experienced, very caring, speak perfect English and are completely qualified; one from Kenya, one from India and one from Romania.

The most important thing for me is having well trained staff who genuinely love and care for the children and ensure their learning and development is on track. On top of that, I think having such a diverse workforce is a massive asset particularly in an area where the children wouldn't necessarily get much exposure to different cultures. We already did regular diversity events (such as a Holi, Ramadan, St Patricks, Divali etc) and the new staff will all host their own Nursery activities to celebrate their cultures.

But I've heard several complaints (two directly to me as the owner, and many more "gossip/rumours") that our nursery has "cheapened" and "been taken over" and is generally being viewed as lower quality due to the staff not all being British. Some people have expressed concerns that their training would not meet the requirements of the EYFS and that the children's education will be of lower quality. It has been implied that the staff's native qualifications are not comparable to British ones.

AIBU to think this is simply pure racism and that staff diversity should be viewed as a massive asset to our community/children?

(In case it needs mentioning, I've gone out of my way to ensure the staff feel welcome and comfortable with their relocation.)

As a non-white foreigner OP. YABVVU to conflate unrelated things.
Foreign qualifications being unequal to British is a very valid concern. It has nothing to do with the colour of the staff.
Secondly 'diversity is an asset' is bullshit me personally I'm great at my job, so are my colleagues the colour of their skin has nothing to do with it. In fact my team has more been damaged by 'minority' programs where they are clearly shit at their jobs but there because of some BS HR metric. Luckily I'm able to get rid of them ASAP erm being a 'minority' myself.

Have you made the evaluation and assessment process clear? Have you also told them that unless you raise their fees substantially nobody is going to want to do the job on the amount you pay them?

Of course only you know the tone. But DH is from a farming background (half the family are still farmers), live rurally and I have always been treated like a queen. Also when I've visited other rural places for farm stuff. They're not all racist backwaters.

Can't say the same for the 'metropolitan elite' who refused to mix with anybody beneath them. People always think multicultural areas are more accepting but that's not always true. People either accept others or retreat tighter into their own little racial bubbles :)

What are ‘British Values’?

I asked too upthread as am interested to know, don't think has answered though

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/guidance-on-promoting-british-values-in-schools-published

The government has named 5 British values which are taught/ promoted in schools as part of the curriculum. They are:

• Democracy.
• Respect for the rule of law.
• Individual liberty.
• Mutual respect.
• Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs.

Officially:

Democracy
The rule of law (aka racism being illegal kind of overrides "but it's my culture")
Individual liberty
Mutual respect & tolerance of different faiths and beliefs

The fourth being somewhat ironic as wasn't the "British values" issue raised by the person meaning about the audacity to celebrate/learn about other faiths celebrations? Sounds pretty much like mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs to me so a nice big tick in the British values box.

eta crossposted

All are very experienced, very caring, speak perfect English and are completely qualified; one from Kenya, one from India and one from Romania.

OP posts this ⬆️ and then endless comments of

" but do they have the right qualifications..."
" but have you checked ..."
" likely to be arts and crafts ..."
" Are they English qualifications...."

CAN POSTERS NOT READ ? Do you think OP just bumped into these in the queue at the the chippy?

They are completely QUALIFIED.

Nursery standards are so stringent. Honestly everyone thinks they know so much better.
And yep OP I think it's racism.

Secondly 'diversity is an asset' is bullshit me personally I'm great at my job, so are my colleagues the colour of their skin has nothing to do with it
That's just it though, isn't it - I'm sure you're brilliant at your job (genuinely) but in some areas the colour of your skin some people would automatically make assumptions about you and whether you can do your job properly, if you're suitably qualified, and just not be "used" to seeing "non white" faces.
That's why people are saying it can be an asset.
I think it's a good thing to not just only ever be around white British. I say this as one myself who grew up in one of the areas which sounds a lot like where the OP is!
Otherwise lots of ignorance can fester.
Employing people who are "shit at their jobs" is a separate issue entirely.

The fourth being somewhat ironic as wasn't the "British values" issue raised by the person meaning about the audacity to celebrate/learn about other faiths celebrations?

Yes, exactly which is why I was interested to know what they meant by "British Values" as it sounded loaded

Haha, I agree that that's silly. But I'd also argue that OP needs to communicate this to the parents!
Childcare workers need strings of qualifications but are so underpaid unlike doctors, lawyers and accountants. That's why there's a massive shortage in the country.
Many people don't even know you 'need' qualifications they think it's just nice to have and that's why they're paying through the nose for a nursery instead of an individual with a reputation but maybe not the official qualifications (the latter of which happens a lot in other countries).

In education, British values and prevent duty are expected to be unpinning your practice. Its things that make for an accepting society, its aim is to prevent terrorism and children being drawn into extremism. Rule of law and democracy, manners, freedom for all, accepting differences and opinions (not just religion).

Why do people PRESUME that because these workers are from somewhere else they will not be qualified?

That the Nursery owner will not have CHECKED. God alive of course it's racism.

My primary focus would be the quality of care for my children. But I think diversity is always a bonus.

Firstly, nowhere did the OP say that these employees are paid less. That is your assumption and it would be interesting to find out why.

Secondly, yes skin colour has nothing to do with their ability to do their jobs. The OP said they are qualified, so where does the assumption that they are not come from?

They are not there as part of some diversity quota, they are there because they are qualified to do a job. However, this is questioned solely based on their country of origin.

Lucky you if your competence hasn’t been questioned. As a fellow foreigner in a professional environment that is not my experience and my qualifications are from a very good UK university. Luckily it was rare, but it happened.

It absolutely is racism.

Nursery workers aren't on the shortage list so recruitment from abroad would only be possible if they're quite well paid. Therefore presumably they are people who already have the right to work in the UK. I'm wondering how you found a Kenyan, a Romanian and an Indian nursery worker with the relevant qualifications from their own countries in such a white rural area! It's all sounding quite unlikely really.

As a parent my concern would be staff turnover - I want to see staff that have stayed at the nursery for years, not people who come and go. I would be wondering how long these people are likely to stay in a rural racist community. I would also probably assume that you can't get local staff because you pay badly. If you were in a multicultural city with these staff it'd be less of a concern. In terms of diversity I would welcome it but it would be the background that would concern me.

If anything I'd find this encouraging when looking for a nursery. My children went to a tiny primary school which was extremely diverse (a lot of forces families). There was a lot of acceptance and it was a lovely school. Moved area to a predominantly white school and the bullying was awful. I think diversity is important for many reasons.

Haha! Childcare workers need an nvq. They can be qualified by 18. They certainly don't need strings of qualifications like doctors and lawyers.

I think it depends on a few things. I work in a Preschool. I am mixed racially and my husband is Asian. My initial concerns would be based mostly on how recently these new staff have arrived in the country and what percentage of the workforce they constitute:

• The level of English. To be honest, there are many English people with a pretty low level of spoken English so this is not major. It's a also great for children to encounter different accents. However, there are also some people whose level of spoken English is not adequate to teach/ have conversations with/ understand small kid speak etc. Also if an accent is very very strong it can be hard for children to understand.

• Attitude towards discipline, treatment of children, not necessarily trained in positive behaviour techniques. Again, not a problem as they can learn but if they are the majority of staff then it may be more challenging.

• Attitudes towards SEN. This is a big one, as very many countries don't treat children with ADHD, autism etc very well. Even forcing lefthanded children to write right handed etc. Again, not a problem if it's one person but if it's 3 staff out of 6, it may be a concern.

• Attitudes towards gender and stereotypes. This should be easy to nip in the bud but it can be very easy to imply that girls dress up and play in the kitchen, or boys are expected to be boisterous etc.

Those would be my main concerns as a parent or even another member of staff. Obviously meeting them at a parents' meeting or seeing them in action with the kids should minimise many of those concerns.

The only concern I'd have is if you have had a lot of staff leave at once and had to replace them. That would concern me regardless of the ethnicity or country of origin of the replacements. An exodus of staff implies issues with management or pay, and I'd want the people looking after my kids to be happy at work and well remunerated. In general I would like my children to be cared for by a diverse range of people

@MerryMarigold The OP says they speak perfect English.

I'm sure they do but do the parents know that? She should arrange meetings with the key children's parents quickly.

I'm sure they do but do the parents know that?
Surely it'd be obvious when they open their mouths?;
I doubt they silently hand their kids over and the nursery workers just nod back or something 😕

@ScremeEggs But we're not discussing the labour market here, we're discussing 'diversity' with respect to employees' ability to provide the service. Which is unrelated to their skin colour.
The 'assumptions' that people make, individual progression etc etc isn't the point here.
Of course, I am not saying the people are not racist. They could be. But the reasons provided to OP are valid. Why jump to racism.

@AlbatrosStrike Because as a PP pointed out, it's not that difficult to become a nursery worker. In fact many are qualifying, then leaving because the rates of pay aren't worth it. If OP is paying that well I find it hard to believe she can't recruit people trained in the UK.
Note my careful choice of working here. Trained in the UK.
Whether they were born in Kenya, are green, purple or whatever doesn't matter. nationality isn't a protected characteristic blah race is.

Thinking about it though the OP hasn't stated how she has recruited. Are they on sponsored visas directly from their countries of origin? Or do they have the right to work in the UK but simply have their qualifications from those countries?

If OP has had to go through the process of checking etc it sounds more like the former.

@WillowCraft nursery workers come under healthcare and education jobs so can be paid less
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/skilled-worker-visa-eligible-healthcare-and-education-jobs/skilled-worker-visa-eligible-healthcare-and-education-jobs

Of course, I am not saying the people are not racist. They could be. But the reasons provided to OP are valid. Why jump to racism.

I would love to see an explanation for the comment "being taken over" that was a valid non racist one when referring to a company employing Kenyan, Indian and Romanian employees

The nursery has "been taken over" by OP, recently. And it sounds like high staff turnover.

Rural areas often expect little staff turnover. Parents see high staff turnover as a red flag.

Our local chippy has been taken over recently. Nothing about race in that, just another family has taken it over. I wouldn't see that phrase as a dog whistle. It's a phrase. (Previous and new owners are local. It's still been taken over.)

And it sounds like high staff turnover
Where?