Would you feel uneasy about a 19-year-old nursery room leader?

[Lauren8642]

Am I being paranoid my child is due to start nursery soon and I’ve just found out the room leader is 19 and who only finished their apprenticeship last year. How would you feel about this? I never looked round it again as my eldest went there a few years ago and it was good but that’s just made me feel uneasy for some reason.

No.
I think that's fairly common.

Hopefully they have asked the best candidate they have available to take on the extra responsibility, regardless of her age.

No I really wouldn't be happy with someone with barely a year's experience being in charge.

No I wouldn't be okay with this and would look for somewhere else.

I work in nurseries and it's common, lots of the staff tend to be young girls fresh out of school or soon after. They might seem young but you'd be surprised at how capable some of them are, I'm more than double their ages (don't see many staff my age at all) and wouldn't take on the extra responsibility for the poor pay they get but they seem to crack on with things. So don't judge a book by a cover, if you liked the nursery before chances are it's still a good nursery.

No why would i be? Ageism seems alive and well

She could well have been an apprentice since 16 so has 3 years experience, maybe working alongside someone really good who taught her a lot. It's very hard to say but I wouldn't judge her by age. Have a conversation with her and ask some questions. I worked with a 25 year old who was an apprentice for 1 year and then qualified but she wasn't great, couldn't take feedback. I'm not sure any other nursery will be magically better as there are shortages in staff.

It's not about ageism, it's about experience of caring for young babies and toddlers. I'm not convinced a 19yr old would have the experience to lead in this setting.

No, I wouldn't. There's a whole lifetime of experience outside of the time they studied childcare. Who's to say she's less capable than Anna, 35, who had never had a single interaction with a child prior to starting?

I wouldn't send my child there though. Not because of the leader but because you clearly lack trust in them.

In the first instance I'd trust the nursery to appoint the best person for the job. I'd go and look around and ask questions about babies routines etc. I'd start my DC but if through the year I had any concerns I'd address them then. I don't think it's fair to just assume a person can't do a job with no evidence to support the supposition. This 19 year old may hayhad a lot of experience with younger family members. They must have passed exams.

No I wouldn’t but it is normal for staff to be young due to poor pay/ treatment.

I wouldn't be happy. I was very capable at 19 but lacked patience and maturity. I cared for young children then which I did very well but you need more experience to be responsible for staff, planning and safeguarding when it comes to childcare.

I agree. It suggests it's a desperate nursery. A 19 year old hasn't had the time to develop the necessary skills. It's no more ageist to say this than to say I don't want to be treated by a 19 year old doctor. People need time to develop adequate skills and experience.

That’s not even remotely the same. A 19 year old physically cannot have completed their full training to become a doctor. The only comparison would be to say you’d refuse to be treated by a doctor who’s been qualified for less than a year.

It is ageism given this thought process is purely because the op has heard the room is being led by a 19 year old. They haven’t gone for a look around haven’t met the staff, haven’t asked questions etc. if they’d done that, had come here and said they’d looked around and were uneasy because they met the room leader who is only 19 with 2/3 years experience (I don’t know how long any childcare courses take) and she came across as unsure of what she was doing, was unable to confidently answer questions, etc the responses would be different.

OP I’d go and see the nursery and room for yourself. It might be that she has a team of older and more experienced carers in the room, but she’s the one in charge. Look at the room as a whole - have they got a good mix of staff, have they got happy babies/toddlers in there, do they have plans for each day in terms of activities and are they age appropriate, etc. See how you feel after talking to her.

I think the point is more the one year experience. Would you be OK with a police inspector with one year experience?

No, I’d be looking elsewhere.

At my childs nursery, room leaders there are generally the ones with the most experience, they have degrees, a wealth of additional training in child development, neurodiversity, leadership and about 100 years of professional childcare experience between them. Its not just about looking after the kids, they will be responsible for delivering a curriculum, training apprentices, standing in for management when on leave/off sick etc.

I would be concerned that a 19 year old with limited experience/qualifications by age alone, was the strongest candidate for the job.

Well I presume they would have met the requirements and would not be at that level for a laugh I know hating the police is a sport but I presume anyone at any level is there because they have what they need to be

Especially given the level of unemployment at the moment. Why did no more experienced staff want to work at this centre?

If she has went to college/work straight from school, that’s 3 years experience, also many ppl of this age have their own child.
The mc snobbery and ignorance flourishes on MN

Had two children by then

I’ve worked in nurseries before, including baby rooms and in supervisory positions.

My question would be why the nursery would deem someone with minimal experience/newly qualified being suitable for a leader role over other staff in the room. Are they all young and the 19 year old is the best option?

Obviously it could be that that’s not the case, and other more experienced staff just wouldn’t want the responsibility, but it would be something I’d be looking at.

From previous experience, I wouldn’t be keen on leaving a baby in a room of young staff.

I wouldn’t rule it out with our going to look and get a feel for myself. I personally wouldn’t have signed up without re visiting. Childcare / schools can change a lot in a couple of years (for better or worse).

That said, I believe I’d have been capable of that role at 19. I’d done a childcare qualification but also worked in call centres along side it since 15 and was was a centre supervisor for the evening & weekend shift at 17 around my college course. So had a lot of outside experience along side the childcare qualification and placement. In the end I didn’t even go into childcare as I decided the pay and progression wasn’t there but I absolutely could have been running a room, writing curriculum etc.

To the people saying they had two kids at that age. Looking after your own / a couple of children is not even remotely the same as running a room in a nursery.

A 19 year old could have 3 years experience looking after babies. More than FTP’s. Like any member of staff that I was leaving my baby with, I’d have to get a good feeling from them. Age wouldn’t come into it.

I’d be looking for another nursery with more experienced staff in charge of rooms. A teenager doesn’t have enough experience to be in-charge of a room of babies.

Some 19 year olds would be excellent. Many people are as competent at 19 as they are at 30, I would trust my 19 year old self to care for a baby for sure. However.... I'm not sure how well it speaks for the nursery as a whole if such an experienced person is the best option for such a position of responsibility. Who else applied for this I wonder? I'd expect the rest of the staff are very young too, and although I'd want and value some youngsters, the ideal would be a wider range of age and experience.

All you can do is visit and ask questions to hopefully get a better feel about it, and then go from there.