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Growing with Taplin's: Lisa's Story
Meet Lisa, a Nursery Nurse at Taplin’s Southampton General Hospital.
We met with Lisa to get an insight into her time with Taplin’s Nursery, here at UHS. We wanted to learn more about the work and team environment and why she has stayed with UHS.
Tell us about yourself:
I had done a range of jobs before I came to Taplin’s such as nannying for a year with 3 months being in Canada as well, I ran a bar for a year, which is completely different. When I returned from nannying, I went to work in a small nursery with around 25 places, which compared to Taplin’s was very different in size. Then I came here and have been working with Taplin’s for about 19 years.
I saw it advertised in a newspaper and thought it would be a brilliant opportunity. However, I originally did apply and interview for Royal South Hants but after the interview, they showed me this nursery and it seemed too lovely to turn down, so I took the job here instead.
Why have you stayed?
I really enjoy working here and have loved my time with Taplin’s. We have a great team with some being here as long or longer than myself but also with others who are new or have been and gone over the years, but everyone has been delightful to work with.
As well I love seeing the children as they grow up and develop, it gives you a sense of achievement and over the years, we’ve had whole families come through so you can see the siblings grow up and develop further after nursery, which is such an exciting part of the job.
What opportunities have you had?
Over the years, I have done lots of training and courses with Taplin’s. Our online training is always going on, as well the hospital provides other training experiences/opportunities. However, we have regular staff and room meetings, where we do further training to keep developing our skills and knowledge as things adapt.
When I first started, I was a Nursery Assistant and then a Nursery Nurse within 6 months. There are a lot of opportunities that come up and are worth taking for personal development. For example, I have had a chance to cover senior roles to develop my skills for further opportunities
What makes you travel to work?
I leave outside of Southampton, but the job was worth the travel to me. The pay, exclusive benefits e.g., Blue Light Card and holiday are all extremely beneficial but also a huge part of why I travel is the shift patterns. Because I worked further away, I was able to chat with managers, and when I was full-time, they were happy to cater to me and give me early and late shifts to suit me. But now I’m part-time, I just do early shifts instead. I find the set hours able me to work around my kids and being a single parent, it was a bit more awkward to find child cover, but the managers were really flexible and made it work for me.
What are your favourite benefits of working for Taplin’s at UHS?
There are a lot of benefits to working with UHS. You get all the hospital benefits such as the Blue Light Card and discounts on some travel etc. However, the longer you work here the more benefit you can be entitled to, because I have been here so long, I have been entitled to more annual leave because I built, this up over the years.
The pension is fantastic so I know I will be covered when I retire. Finally, for future parents, maternity leave was really good. I was able to get paid the same amount each month I was off looking after my baby because I was paid on a pro-rata instead of being paid differently as my maternity leave came to an end.
What is the team environment like?
We have a wide range of age groups and experience levels, so there is always someone you will get on with and learn from. Quite a lot of us are parents as well so, we have the extra experience with having looked after a child, so it is not just knowledge from a textbook.
The team are a lovely bunch and once you start, you will settle in immediately. I think the teamwork is the most important to keep it all flowing. And we have systems in place to help everyone e.g. Our buddy system, if someone is not here, we pass the information on to the next person then we go around so everybody has a turn to get to know everyone making it easier for the children and the team.
How are the management team, are they helpful and open to new ideas from the team?
The managers are brilliant. We have scheduled a 1:2:1 meeting, where a part of this will be wellbeing questions which is something that is also part of the hospital. Which allows you to speak about any problems or queries. As well they provide many resources such as counselling within the hospital or support networks if this is something you need. But they also have time for you outside of the meetings if want a chat and you can pop into the office and tell them you are having a bad day and they are really understanding and helpful.
The management team are also opened to listening to our ideas for new activities, for example, marshmallow play dough- is edible and easy to make and much safer for children. We are able to bring this to them and they try to incorporate these. We definitely have opportunities to bring ideas to the table and have input.
Finally, what is the most rewarding?
Watching the children grow up and learn new things, it lovely to be a part of their journey. It also great if they come back when they are a bit older to visit/help pick up a sibling because you get to see how they have developed and are getting on and know you had a part in helping them grow up.
