Islington Play CEO
Inaugural Blog.
So here it is. I have decided to write about what I do - prompted by my six year old son who solemnly told me that I don't have to go to work every single day do I?
I will start with an outline of a random day (yesterday).
Woken at first at 4am as the youngest had nightmares about trains. Tried not to think it was a sign not to take him to London with me.
Everyone physically up at 7.10. Husband off to the workshop - I had luckily made a deal with him that it was his turn to do packed lunch so that's one less thing. Two out of three (children) accompanying me to London today.
Youngest has a bowl of sugar with a bit of processed corn and milk, Middle one - on a wheat, meat and dairy free diet nibbles a banana and once we have found shoes, spare clothes (for youngest) and I have not located my work keys again we set off.
Thank goodness I charged the iPad and loaded Horrible Histories.
Trains are much longer than usual due to London Bridge changes and we settle in to answer questions shouted quickly one after the other by youngest until we can stand it no longer and have to allow access to the screen.
'Mummy, how big is the world?'
'Mummy how big are you?'
'Mummy how long til lunch?' Etc etc
It was Gatwick when I gave in and silence settled. Middle child had had her earphones on before we got to Preston Park.
Did emails.
At Kings Cross waved middle child off - she was going to British Museum and grasping youngest by the hand took him to Crumbles Castle one of our Adventure playgrounds. Saw G, C and D on site. It was a great atmosphere with children already all over the site. Had a discussion about which radio channels created the best atmosphere for the children and looked at a structure which had collapsed over night. No one hurt but a bit concerning. Contacted the builder who said they'd come straight away. The structure was cordoned off.
Suggested to the playworkers that they fix it themselves so they know it's done properly - they agreed.
Off to the office. Where L and Q working diligently. Had a discussion about the volunteering project.
Question: if there is a budget for a cooking session with the children but some of it has been spent previous to the session to do cooking with the children is that proper use of the funds?
Issue: what is the relation of the volunteers on site to the coordinator on site (who holds the budgets)?
Volunteers disappointed that the budget is less. Coordinator working with children every day and responding to their needs e.g doing cooking when the children want to rather than only on certain days/sessions.
Answer: relationships are tricky and with some people, very tricky.
We decided it wasn't a big deal but that we support the staff to manage the volunteers on site to be flexible and adaptable as needed in a free play arena.
Did emails.
We are inviting permanent staff to apply to do some professional development in management, we have four places and so will need to choose who. Staff have been asked to write a statement about why it should be them. I am hoping that they tell us why it will be good for IPA as well as them individually. It is hard when you have limited resources to be fair, encourage those who are less confident and also support those who are very able.
Spoke to S about HR- we currently have tribunals, grievances, disciplinaries, capabilities and appeals going on. Normal for an organisation described as 'large' by NCVO but exhausting too. Once more it is all about relationships but once it becomes formal it is also about processes which can lead to outcomes that one may not have chosen if all parties would just be sensible and talk but hey ho.
Various formal letters had to be agreed and dates set for meetings.
Did emails.
Am still working on the business plan, following a trustee away day I have a comprehensive list of what needs to go into it. I am able to write it but formatting is my weak point. I have brilliant ideas in my mind about how to design it but no ability to realise my vision. Will have to ask middle child to help me.
Was working on the history section and read back though old annual reports. It is interesting to see how the organisation has changed in the last decade...must put that in!
The trustee meeting is a week away so papers need to go out. Spoke to finance director about summary and about how the accounts are coming along. Auditor is on site today but has no questions for me…amazing!
I am invited to a talk at the festival hall on how the public view charities - sounds interesting but is on the same evening as a certain council officer is leaving after 44 years of service. So I will be staying to grieve for the loss of a real play champion. I also have a glossy catalogue filled with charity Christmas cards we could buy to send out...a joke right?
Have promised to pick up youngest after lunch and take him to the children's centre so he can go to the city farm. So S and I set off. Back at Crumbles the site is very full and busy, children are jumping off the top of the castle onto crash mats. Youngest and I climb up onto the roof and consider the jump - I said I would do it if he did but thankfully he decided that he needs to be 8 years old first so I am off the hook for about 14 months.
We go to the children's centre where I talk about a session we are planning to talk to staff about safeguarding. Staff want to explore how to manage personal response within the context of safeguarding. There are tensions about remaining focussed on providing a safe place for children to be free and explore their environments and play whilst also making judgements and decisions about their family life or the behaviour of their parents. These issues bring up personal beliefs, emotional reactions and worry for our staff. We have procedures and policies to support them but we also need to help them explore the sometimes uncomfortable realities they may be faced with and give them opportunities to reflect on their experiences.
During the discussion youngest gets bored and sets off across the park to go to the farm. I go downstairs to grab some lunch from our community cafe - a very delicious vegetable curry- and then walk over to Martin Luther King our adventure playground in the park. It is rammed full of children as usual, children are building hammocks in the corner of the fences. Another child is carefully painting the red bench with a watery yellow paint. The excitement is building up as a local north London team (we can call them Ars) are playing a Turkish team in the champions league. A couple of hundred Turkish fans have turned up and are massing in the park, sleeping on the benches (they have been travelling since 2am) and having kick abouts. The parks police are in force.
We are asked by the park people to stop the children going into the park - mainly for the comfort of the football fans it seems -as our children mainly support Ars and were running up to the crowd and shouting about who was likely to win the game.
The crowd are getting more drunk and more rowdy as the afternoon goes on. Back at the children's centre we can see the flares and hear the chants. I start to feel a bit anxious about youngest walking through the park but am waiting for middle child to turn up.
I take advantage of the time to talk to kitchen, family support, some community members and nursery staff about how it's all going. I am planning to start having a set lunch surgery time so that staff can get to talk to senior management and have lunch if they wish to with ideas, concerns or queries on an ad hoc basis.
Did emails.
I have been asked to mentor a person that I met on a course. I am flattered and interested in the idea. I think that it is important for us all at IPA to try to share our practice as much as possible and maybe this is another way. The person is also interested in the fact that I am a BME woman in a position of authority. IPA is unusual in that both CEO and chair of trustees are women of colour. I will talk to some of the staff and the trustees about what they think about the idea.
I go back over to the farm, find the youngest and talk to the farm manager about the summer activities. She is building a shed with a green roof and thinking about how to make the structure strong enough to support the weight, there is a rescue dog that youngest is stroking but she doesn't want the treat he is trying to offer as she has had about fifty already.
I take one more call about the structure at Crumbles, it has been assessed and staff are fixing it until more materials can be brought to site to fix it permanently, other sites have been asked to check their sites.
My family and I start the two hour journey home.
Did emails.
