Giants in children’s eyes….raising the status
of the Children’s Services profession

by Robyn Monro Miller

There have been many studies undertaken and committees formed to discuss and come up with strategies on how to raise the status and standing of people working in children’s services. It is a debate that has engaged government, academics, peak bodies and the media. It is also a debate that is generally referred back to government to ask what they are doing.

All levels of Government have a role in this debate. However there are some important questions we need to ask ourselves as a sector.

• What can you do as an individual to raise the status of the OOSH professional?
• How can we work together as a group in children services to raise the status?

We cannot sit idly by as the Cinderella of professions and then expect a fairy godmother to magically appear. In this world we need to make out own dress, propagate our own pumpkin and get to the ball ourselves. Status and standing for the children’s services profession is not an honour to be bestowed on us. It is something we must work hard for and involves a great deal of self-promotion.

One of the most challenging aspects of self-promotion is promotion of the sector as a whole. Every employee in children’s’ services need to be respected as a professional working in a fantastic and highly skilled profession. The old war cry “united we stand, divided we fall” fits nicely here.
A great Co-ordinator is only as good as the team they have working for them. You cannot as a professional working in children’s services applaud yourself without acknowledging that without the team you have achieved nothing. It is not uncommon to hear Co-ordinators use language such as ‘my centre’ and ‘my children’. I often ask myself when I hear these statements about what sense of belonging the rest of the team have in the centre? – Very little if they are “my staff’. The use of language can be a powerful determining factor in how well we can promote the image of professionalism. Referring to “The centre”, “our children” and “our team” can go a small way towards generating that shared respect and pride.

In Out of School Hours services a high number of casual workers are employed and it is easy to view this as a negative in raising professionalism. It is important to recognise the vital contribution all these individuals bring to the OOSH environment and the efforts they make to ensure fantastic environments for children. Those individuals who have committed to the sector as a long-term career choice need to instil in casuals that this is a profession. It may be a profession they are passing through on their way to another industry, but whilst they are part of it they must treat it with respect and responsibility. In turn we need to treat our staff with respect and responsibility and afford to them the same opportunities you might give to long-term employees. Exposing staff to the Code of Professional Practice (available from Network) and providing them with orientation not just to their role but also to their profession is an important and critical part of empowering the sector.

There is no room when attempting to raise the status of the children’s services professional to be a martyr to your cause. If you are complaining you do not get paid enough, you are doing too much, or you are working too many hours – then stop and rethink your behaviour. What action are you going to take to relieve this situation?

This does not mean working in excess of 38 hours per week and complaining more loudly! A professional knows when to ask for help, when to request a pay rise and what documentation they need to support it. Professionalism is about taking personal responsibility in your career.

It is not unusual for those working face to face with children to lament requirements for quality practices to be measurable and for speak openly that qualifications do not make a person a good employee. However it is these things that raise the status of the profession. It is the commitment to excellence that can be quantified that ensures that we have the data to back up the claims.

The children services sector in NSW has a long and distinguished history in supporting children and creating services for them that meet their needs and build a sense of community ownership. In Out of School Hours services it is something that we do well. Whilst the status and standing of children’s services professionals often is lamented as not high enough in the general community we need to acknowledge that we all have a personal responsibility for taking action to raise it whilst acknowledging that there is one important part of the community where the status and standing of our profession is very high…. in the eyes of the children where the hard working OSHC worker remains a giant.