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.)

The OP.

Meant to add just because say struggle with staffing doesn't automatically mean can't keep staff

Cross posted

Also @AlbatrosStrike IMO there's a distinction between different types of jobs.
A graduate scheme with equal salaries - and the international students being given visa sponsorship? Nationality/race has nothing to do with it.
A job like nursery worker, where the pay is low,
https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa/if-you-work-in-healthcare-or-education
And the reason we have a massive shortage is because people are not willing to do this difficult job for shit pay?
I find it difficult to believe people were hired without the right to work(it's a hassle to apply for visa sponsorship etc) solely because they're, erm the best for the job, if they've come directly from other countries. Similar in my industry for certain jobs people claim they cannot find anybody but magically when the pay is raised to market rate we have tons of great candidates applying.

At the end of the day people cannot have everything. If I was a parent paying top dollar for nursery I'd want staff to be well paid and I highly doubt that they can't find anybody who already had the right to work in the UK.
If I was paying the minimum possible then I'd give my head a wobble and keep my mouth shut.

It's rural England, where it's mainly white English bring in some different faces and yes there is bound to be racism - do you even have to ask!

In my experience many people who speak English as a second language, speak it to a higher standard than many born Britons.

Of the three countries mentioned, the Kenyans speak English extremely clearly. Contrast this with the young woman who works in DC2s afterschool club, who I heard yelling to a child ‘you fergo ya war’a bo’el!’ (Forgot your water bottle).

Your points can just as easily go for people born and raised in the UK as well.

Your points can just as easily go for people born and raised in the UK as well
Exactly, why single out and assume things just because someone is, say, Kenyan?

No the OP is quite clear that the "been taken over" phrase refers to some of the staff not being British

Interesting that people assume British qualifications are better than foreign ones. I'm from abroad and teachers are way better qualified and generally of higher calibre than in the UK, including at nursery level. The usual British exceptionalism not backed up by anything...

OP takes over a nursery 4 years ago and only when she takes on some non British staff do people moan about how it's "been taken over" and somehow this is still not racist, it's still explainable 🙄

Fuck me there's some racist people on here and tbh the polite "oh I'm sure there's a reason for it" racists can be more annoying than the in your face racists at times

No, the OP is quite clear she has decided the place she has decided to move to is close minded, beneath her, and therefore this phrase is racist. Four years ago was right over covid. She's taken over the nursery very recently given the pandemic.

Maybe she's chosen to live in some terrible racist enclave, and she's right to try and civilise the savages. Or maybe listening, instead of judging would help her business more.

Having seen the appalling level of literacy amongst my kids’ ‘English’ nursery staff, I don’t think I would worry about non-native staff caring for them…

The phrase is racist

When people refer to people of other nationalities as "taking over" it's a racist dog whistle

You can use covid, or whatever else you like to try to claim its not but it is.

Fuck me there's some racist people on here and tbh the polite "oh I'm sure there's a reason for it" racists can be more annoying than the in your face racists at times

So true. They also like using phrases like ‘race card’.

There are many different types of 'foreign'. Some foreign are better than British. Some are not.
In my own Asian 'developing' country healthcare and doctors are so much better even our EEG machines etc are newer. A relative who came over here was shocked at how old the equipment was in some erm 'leading regional centre' British hospitals. And quite frankly I'd rather give birth there than here our midwives etc are much better trained and have been ranked highly internationally they also do a lots more hands on with paperwork people paid to do the paperwork. Lots of 'rich people' from around the region come to my country for medical care.
I wouldn't trust any 'childcare' professionals however. While the qualifications and modules seemingly have special educational needs it's just lip service and there aren't really national policies and procedures in place, the way there is here. SEN kids are just left to their own devices.

No, the OP is quite clear she has decided the place she has decided to move to is close minded,
Maybe it is mainly close minded?
Beneath her
No, that's your take off, nowhere has that been said

My daughter has a hearing impairment and speech delay so I have to be honest that a non native English speaker would have been a hinderence. Often people of the countries listed have very strong accents which isn't ideal for children learning to talk.

@Caterpillarsleftfoot would you also have concerns about a Geordie, a Scot, a Yorkshire or Brum person teaching?

Sorry, catching up

To answer a few questions

1. I didn't take over the nursery, I started it. Around 2.5 years ago because there wasn't one in our town and with the exception of a childminder there was no childcare within an hours drive. The area is really rural

2. For the first 2 years I tried desperately to recruit locally, there just aren't any qualified locals and limited demand for apprenticeships/traineeships. I originally recruited 4 locals and paid for their qualifications only for them to leave as it was too much work.

3. I understand the assumption that overseas workers are "cheap" however this couldn't be further from the truth; we pay all our staff substantially over market rate (between £13 and £16 an hour, which is much higher than average) and I fund the visa and travel costs for all the overseas staff, which comes to around £2k each. I also pay a subsidy towards rent.

4. Whilst the overseas staff do have accents, they aren't strong and do not impact their communication with parents or children.

5. The staffing crisis is nationwide and not down to inexperience or maltreatment on my side, I'll link some articles below if anyone is interested. I go very much out of my way to treat staff well, to the point where I have been massively taken advantage of over the last few years.

6. We implement a diverse cultural curriculum because it is fun, educational and we aim to broaden children's experiences as well as promote inclusion. It is also, quite rightly, essential under the regulations we are legally held to.

7. Only two parents have contacted me directly (I haven't responded to any rumours/gossip as of yet) and I did not tell them they were racist, I calmly explained the legal requirements behind qualification comparisons etc.

8. All of the staff receive regular training on safeguarding as well as refresher training on the EYFS and a variety of CPD courses. It's exhausting but mandatory and I think the pressure on early years staff to be highly trained, constantly engaging in CPD and doing large amounts of paperwork's and checks contributes to the industry's staffing crisis. But that's another thread entirely.

9. And lastly - I do not make money from this nursery. I work independently in another field and subsidise the facility with this income, we are in the process of registering as a charity in order to be able to accept grants/sponsorships. Don't ask me why I subsidise a nursery in a rural area where it is clearly unappreciated because, to be honest, I ask myself that question a lot.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/childcare-crisis-staff-leaving-sector-b2442390.html

https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/childcare-workforce-plan/

https://www.cypnow.co.uk/news/article/early-years-staffing-crisis-major-barrier-to-planned-childcare-expansion

https://www.eyalliance.org.uk/news/2022/12/ofsted-report-highlights-impact-staffing-crisis

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2023/nov/06/staff-exodus-could-hinder-expansion-of-free-childcare-in-england-providers-say

I was always top of my class at school in English. This was thanks to my father - an immigrant from one of the countries mentioned in the OP - teaching me to write well. It certainly had little to do with the teaching from the native British primary school teachers I had.

Even now, as a university teacher, I find that students from overseas often have better English than our home students.

So OP....
You pay your staff substantially over the 'required' going rate. Yet, you don't make any money and get taken advantage of by your staff?
Btw if you started 2.5 years ago that would have been at the tail end of Covid?

The area is REALLY rural. But is also a town? How big is the market for your services how many children are there actually?

Maybe you're right. They're being racist. But I have no idea what you wanted from this thread. MN is not going to change the minds of the parents who use the nursery equally if you give up and fold the parents might not give a fig anyway.

Maybe now you know 'why' there isn't a nursery leave them to it. They don't' deserve one. You said not to question why you're doing this so I won't. Your money your time your choice.

I can't see what there is to respect in a "culture" that regards anything slightly different from their norm as unwelcome or undesirable, tbh.

I moved to a small rural town at the start of the 90s. Things that were part of the "culture" included all managers being men, anyone from outside a 5-mile radius being somehow "other" and the only 2 BAME people in town were immediately recognisable and regarded by many as an unwelcome presence. I don't see much to admire in any of that, tbh.

Thankfully, things have changed massively since then. Hopefully, attitudes will change in the OP's community too.

I think there’s been a few goady posts about racism lately.

It's actually been an incredibly useful thread for me and has shaped a few actions I'm going to take over the next few weeks.

Theres been a general consensus that clear communication could ease a lot of parent's minds, so I think I'm going to do a page on our website introducing all of our staff (both old and new) including describing their experiences and qualifications, with explanations on how these compare to British ones where necessary - I'll then publish this on our nursery software and possibly our FB page.

And yes, I pay the staff above standard rate and don't make any money. It's effectively a charity (fingers crossed will soon be a literal charity) and was desperately needed in our community.
There is a demand for it, but a small one - it is not a commercial/capitalist endeavour by any stretch of the imagination. It's purpose is to provide essential childcare. Anyone that goes into nurseries to make money is probably insane, and when the going gets tough (which it has done a lot!!!) I do wonder why on Earth I invested by time and money into something so difficult when I definitely could have invested in something that would produce an income.

And yes, it was the tail end of COVID that we set up - I'm not sure if that has any deeper relevance? It did make setting up harder because of outbreaks and having to close and increased staff sick leave, plus ridiculous mandatory Covid Policies but again - that's a whole other thread.