Yes.
Worked my way up the ranks - started as an assistant practitioner and climbed up to deputy (combined with being room leader) - got so sick of it I went back to my original plan and ended up as a TA and now a qualified teacher.
What I loved about nursery:
The little ones! Oh the baby room - I was only in there for a few months of my 8 year stint and I wasn’t best keen on being full time in the baby room, but it was lovely when your based elsewhere to go in for a baby cuddle! What I loved is that any new adult in the room, they were always just so pleased to see you. Literally like a room of puppies.
Being able to go mad with creativity and play ideas. Of course it needed reasoning and linking to EYFS but that wasn’t hard and I loved that excuse to get messy.
Having my own key group, like my own little class.
What I did not like:
They are generally run by small groups of woman. I worked at two, one a big chain so therefore also got sent to others in the chain to cover. They get very bitchy.
So domestic. It’s not just looking after children and helping their development - in many it’s cleaning (as in full clean- clean the toilets each day, hoover, mop, bins - even the big chain had no official cleaner). Some have kitchen staff and some don’t. If they don’t, guess who washes 50 plates every lunch?
Long hours, minimum wage plus 10p if you have more responsibility, minimal holiday allowance, no perks, no reward for loyalty ( for example statutory mat leave only and never an increase). Very random but when I was at the big chain, they had a firm uniform policy but didn’t actually provide a maternity version of the uniform. If you think of the main age and sex of majority of nursery staff, seems daft.
Those few parents. Being accused of deliberately starving a child when they didn’t eat all day. They ended up sick in the night - surprise surprise. Having clearly extremely unwell children being sent in and parents ignoring phone calls and then getting snappy when staff ended up sick.
Being looked down upon. All I did was play all day of course, not a hard job.
Being deemed not a priority bill. Amazing how many parents don’t consider child care a vital bill to pay and I lost count of how many “oh well we needed to fix the car” “it is Christmas you know” “well we’ve got a lot to pay for this month” type excuses I heard.
It was pretty amazing just how much they cost to run. When I joined management and saw the books, I was shocked. Parents pay a fortune yes. But once wages are subtracted (and pensions)….insurance was ridiculously high, has and electric were always high. Food bill - I mean we were feeding 50 children 3 meals plus 2 snacks a day. Just think how much that is! Training courses - First Aid was a good £150 ish per person at least. Plus all other compulsory training. Equipment - children get through toys quickly. Sand costs loads. Paper and paint and pens and crayons……the phone and internet, iPads for journals. Cleaning products en mass. Loo roll! Nappies and wipes. Think how much your buggy cost - if one of those broke that’s a chunk out. Proper nursery furniture is something like £200 for an official high chair. General maintenance. Rent or the mortgage. Profit really was minimal - and only one late parent could send us in the red.
Never again. Only in desperation to pay my bills would I ever go back. Though it would do pretty much anything else first.