Bretsa Blog

£100 Referral Scheme Winner

2012-02-02T02:13:00.000-08:00

It's on the application forms, we talk about it in interviews and in our marketing but it seems that people still forget that there's £100 in vouchers up for grabs for referring friends!

To qualify for £100 vouchers for either John Lewis or TopShop you need to refer someone who is:

+ qualified to minimum level 2 or 3 in early years
+ successfully passes our competency based face to face interview
+ have great references
+ works over 100 hours for us

John popped down to see our lovely level 3 Emma at her regular nursery placement yesterday. Here she is receiving £100 in Top Shop vouchers for referring her friend Stevie.

So a big Bretsa thank you to both Emma and Stevie - happy shopping!

It's a big Christmas THANK YOU!

2011-12-22T08:13:00.000-08:00

It's almost THAT time of year!

We've had music on the office and been getting a bit festive. And we thought we'd show you some of our fab Christmas lights.

We'd like to say an enormous HAPPY CHRISTMAS to all, especially:

+ our wonderful clients including private day nurseries, school nurseries, schools, children's centres, other creche settings

+ our amazing field staff including level 2 and 3 nursery nurses, nursery assistants, nursery teachers, special educational needs staff and teaching assistants

+ our fabulous suppliers, including our website and branding designers, our web optimisers, our IT support, our software companies, our office syuppliers, and all the lovely job boards

You all help make our business happen so THANK YOU for your support in 2011 and we're looking forward to 2012!

Nick and the Bretsa team.

Nursery Training Courses Updated

2011-11-22T03:29:00.000-08:00

We're delighted to announce that our partners Training Designs have confirmed their 2012 nursery training open course list.

If you've ever attended a nursery training course through Bretsa and Training Designs you'll know that they're fab! Great content and delivery that's tailored to the pace of the group. When we're hosting it always sounds like everyone's having a great time.

Here's the list, or for more details check out our website here or click the course titles to check out the individual course contents!

Saturday 3rd December
How to identify and work effectively with Children with Special Educational Needs - £69

Saturday 14th and Saturday 21st January – Central London
Paediatric First Aid (Surestart, OFSTED, NCMA and HSE- standard) - two-day course - £89
Certificate (valid for three years)

Saturday 4th February – Central London
Do you really understand EYFS? – Part 1 - £69

Saturday 18th February - Central London
Does OFSTED think you’re Outstanding? - £69

Saturday 3rd March – Central London
Do you really understand EYFS? – Part 2 - £69

Saturday 17th March – Central London
A Holistic and Healthy Approach to looking after Children in your Care - £69

Saturday 31st March – Central London
How to get the best out of You and your Team - £69

Saturday 14th April – Central London
P is for...... Play! - £69

Saturday 28th April – Central London
The Magic of Managing Children’s Behaviour - £69

All courses need to be booked paid in advance by cheque, BACS, credit or debit card. Please call for group booking rates on 020 8858 5958.

Agency Worker Regulations Update

2011-11-18T08:27:00.000-08:00

The AWR is the “new” law giving temporary workers the same pay and benefits after 12 weeks placement. We’re in week 7 and things are going smoothly. As we expected, the majority of clients with spot-booking patterns are in no danger of any real changes. Those few others are proving straight forward – phew.

Our software monitors placement patterns and we can give you an accurate update of anyone on track to qualify under AWR. If you have any questions or would just like an update — drop us a line on 020 8858 5958.

PS Hope you like our new Bretsa baby - he's the face of our November Newsletter that was sent to clients today!

Remembrance Day

2011-11-11T01:51:00.001-08:00

Today is Remembrance Day, then day when we remember members of the armed forces who have died in the line of duty.

According to Wikipedia's entry:
"Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November to recall the official end of World War I on that date in 1918; hostilities formally ended "at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month" of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice".

In line with most other offices around the country, and commonwealth, we will be observing 2 minutes silence at 11am.

During those 2 minutes our phone will be diverted to voicemail. We will pick up any messages and respond straight after.

Bonfire Night!

2011-11-04T08:02:00.000-07:00

This time of year is always fun, Halloween followed by Bonfire Night!

What are your plans? Up to anything exciting? As we're in south east London, Blackheath dominates our local area with an enomous firework display.

Hopefully it won't rain too much tomorrow, but as of right now it's not looking great on BBC weather.

As we all know though, the forecast can change quickly so keep checking back for updates.

Whatever you do, enjoy!

Office phones out

2011-11-01T07:06:00.001-07:00

but only for an hour!

We're having an upgrade to our phone system here in the office which will give us more effective call handling abilities. That unfortunately means the phones are going down for 45 minutes to an hour.

We'll be back up very soon, but if you need to get in touch urgently then please call the office mobile on 07977 695 205.

Our emails, website, Facebook and Twitter are all running fine so you can contact us via those ways if you need to.

Speak soon!

Clocks Changing!

2011-10-28T00:49:00.000-07:00

Today is the last Friday of British Summer Time. And as it's my first early shift in months, I have to say it is horribly dark until about 8am.

The clocks change this weekend so no excuses for being late on Monday!

Nick

New Client Incentive - tell your friends!

2011-10-27T03:22:00.000-07:00

We're running a new client incentive for for nurseries and schools - click through and check it out!

Click here

Greenwich University Job Fair

2011-10-27T03:15:00.000-07:00

John and Glen spent 3 hours yesterday meeting students from Greenwich University. Was a great few hours, very busy. I popped down to see how they were getting on and I do wonder from this photo if the pressure was getting to them...
Nick

Greenwich University Job Fair

2011-10-26T01:16:00.000-07:00

We're back on the job fair push today with our first in a few weeks - this time Greenwich University Job Fair.

Our intrepid recruiters Glen and John are heading down there now to meet Early Years graduates for our permanent and temporary positions.

If you're around and looking for an informal chat today then pop down and say hello!

Queen Anne 075 (Edinburgh) and 063 (Council)
Greenwich Campus
Park Row
London
SE10 9LS

Of course if you're looking for work you can always call 020 8858 5958 or apply direct to one of our jobs here - http://www.bretsa.co.uk/job-search/

AWR is here - Keep Calm and Carry On

2011-10-05T07:28:00.000-07:00

We've mentioned them here before, but they're finally in place. There's been lots of worry from agencies and clients alike about the issues involved, but with a little preparation they're really not too bad (in our view!).Here's a little question and answer guide:What is the Agency Worker Regulation (AWR)?The AWR is a new European law that has been implemented by the UK parliament in 2010, and went live at the start in October 2011. Its aim is to give greater benefits to agency workers, particularly after 12 weeks of work at a setting (or group of nurseries).From of 1st October 2011, the temporary workers are entitled to access the same facilities as your own staff and be made aware of any permanent vacancies. The bigger part comes after 12 weeks when the AWR gives agency workers the right to the same pay and benefits as your equivalent full-time staff.Don't worry right now though, because the 12 weeks start from the 1st of October, the soonest any temporary pay and benefits changes will happen is around Christmas time.How is the 12 weeks (also known as the Qualifying Period) made up?12 weeks sounds like a long time, but under the regulations a “week” can be as little as 1 shift, and there can be breaks of up to 6 weeks between each “week”.These breaks can be even longer for statutory sickness, maternity / paternity / adoption leave, and include standard closures such as if your setting shuts down for Easter, August or Christmas.The 12 weeks may also be made up of supply via different agencies - eg if you have a temporary worker for 11 weeks via 1 agency and then they come via Bretsa - they would be at 12 week qualifying period at the end of that week.If you have multiple sites then the 12 weeks may be made up of 6 weeks at site A then 6 weeks at site B.What happens after the 12 weeks Qualifying Period?The basic concept is that after 12 weeks, the temporary worker will have qualified (be entitled to) for the hourly pay, overtime and benefits that permanent staff are entitled to. For example this may include:• Matching any increase in pay, overtime rates, lunch vouchers or bonus payments• Matching any increase in holiday entitlement (28 days including bank holidays)What happens if the setting pays less than the agency?In that case the agency worker pay rate stays the same, and we would just need to check other benefits like holiday pay etc – and arrange to match any uplift.What happens if the setting or Bretsa miss the 12 week mark?Then the temporary worker may bring an AWR claim against the setting, or Bretsa, or both of us!How will Bretsa monitor the 12 weeks?Monitoring agency worker qualifying periods is a joint effort between the setting and us.We at Bretsa have recently updated our booking software to help us monitor individuals. But we will need your help.You’re probably familiar with our confirmation emails which show the name, CRB information, grade and photo. From 1st October they will show a new question asking you to check if the person has been before via any other agency.If this is the worker’s first visit to your setting through us it’s very important that you check and respond to this – as failure to do so may have legal ramifications for both you and us.How should the setting monitor the 12 weeks?From the 1st of October 2011 you should keep a register of temporary workers who have been to your setting (or group settings), and let us know if the worker has been to you before via another agency either verbally at the time of booking, or via our confirmation emails.You’ll need to give us information on the pay and benefits your equivalent staff get so that we can make arrangements to pre-empt any relevant 12 week Qualifying Period changes.We’ve put together handy simple forms to help you with this process (you can find it at the end of the new terms of business), and we’ll be happy go through them with you.And of course you’ll need to keep us updated on any annual pay or benefit changes that might take effect for your equivalent staff.Does this mean the setting has to keep workers longer than normal?No, your usage patterns don’t have to change. You’re never required to keep anyone longer than you need them, and just like now you can stop using a temporary worker if your needs change.So basically?It really is business as usual – except from the 1st of October you now have to:o Give temporary agency staff the same access to facilities as your own staffo Put permanent vacancies up on the noticeboardo Keep a log of temporary workers names and their dates of assignments within yourorganisationo Keep us up to date about your pay and benefits for the equivalent workers that we supplyThere's a lot to read through there, but feel free to ask us anything - we're up to date and we've got new systems - this will all feel routine in just a few months!We're open from 7am to 6pm weekdays - drop us a line on 020 8858 5958.

New Nursery Training Schedule

2011-09-23T04:34:00.000-07:00

The long wet summer is over and we're back to full term-time speed here at Bretsa towers.

We're half way through the Paedatric First Aid course and that's obviously now closed to new bookings, but we've released our dates for the rest of this year.

Due to the success this year we've moved to a larger space at the lovely Leathermarket in SE1.

Our Autumn schedule covers:

08/10/2011 - EYFS and Child Development
29/10/2011 - Managing Children's Behaviour with Confidence
23/11/2011 - Role of the Childcare Practitioner 23/11/2011
03/12/2011 - How to identify and work effectively with Children with Special Educational Needs

Take a look at our Facebook page for more details:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bretsa-Recruitment/145816445476217

Thank you for all your nice words!

2011-09-13T01:36:00.000-07:00

http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
We launched the new Testimonial page of our website a few weeks ago and we've been delighted to watch it filling up.

We've had a dozen or so clients already go on to make a statement - so thank you very much - it's appreciated!

Check out the testimonials and feel free to add your own!

Just click the link here

Childcare costs 'create debt' for families

2011-09-06T23:32:00.000-07:00

The rising cost of childcare is forcing families into debt, according to research for Save the Children and the Daycare Trust.

Nearly two-thirds of parents surveyed said they were struggling to pay for nursery places and child minders.

Hywel Griffith reports.

From the BBC News website.

See the video here

New Agency Workers Regulations - AWR

2011-08-25T03:06:00.000-07:00

Are you ready for AWR?

Usually the answer so far is "No, what's that?".

What is the Agency Worker Regulation (AWR)?

The AWR is a new European law that has been implemented by the UK parliament in 2010, and goes live in October 2011.

Its aim is to give greater benefits to agency workers after 12 weeks of work at a setting (or group of nurseries).

From of 1st October 2011, the AWR gives agency workers the chance to have the same pay and benefits as your equivalent full-time staff after 12 weeks in the same job.

Bretsa is keen to make sure that all our clients and temporary staff are aware, prepared and guided through the issues surrounding the new legislation in as straight forward a manner as possible.

Over the coming 2 weeks you'll be receving information and updates and we'll be arranging to speak about the issues involved.

There's no need for concern - there's some basic new monitoring that needs to happen from the client side - and we'll talk you through it. But it really is business as usual!

If you'd like to get ahead of the curve feel free to contact any member of the office team and test our AWR knowledge on 020 8858 5958!

Eid Next Week

2011-08-23T03:13:00.000-07:00

Summer is a quiet time for most nurseries but next week is likely to change that - it's Eid on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Eid typically leads to a big rush of bookings at the same time as a drop in availability of staff. So...

+ For all our clients - please check your numbers and get any requests in sooner rather than later!

+ For all our temporary staff - please let us know your availability for next week ASAP!

Just drop us a line on 020 8858 5958, or by your usual text / email routes.

And of course, Happy Eid!

Pizza Day in the office!

2011-07-29T04:55:00.001-07:00

Glen won this months incentive and chose Friday pizzas for lunch... On Bretsa obviously!

Great choice Glen, thank you.

Here's my La Reine pizza. So good it was gone in 7 minutes. I'm (nick) not greedy really!

Hints and tips to be always early!

2011-07-15T02:32:00.000-07:00

Being early is something that escapes even the best time manager sometimes. But there are straight forward hints and tips, and new ways of thinking that can really help.

Follow the link for more info... here
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Bretsa Star for June is Christine!

2011-07-14T10:01:00.000-07:00

We're delighted to say that June's Bretsa Star is Christine.

Christine is a qualified Level 3 Nursery Nurse who started with us just after Christmas this year.

She's been working in a variety of placements and here you can see her receiving a certificate and presents from Glen today.

Despite some personal challenges, Christine has always been positive, punctual and given her best to each nursery she's been.

We're all proud to have her on the books and she's a great ambassador for us.

Well done and thank you Christine!

Slimmed Down EYFS on the Way

2011-07-12T08:11:00.000-07:00

Bretsa says Hurray to simplification - it's got to be a good thing.

http://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/News/MostRead/1078547/EYFS-review-Slimmed-down-EYFS-payment-results-Sure-Start-childrens-centres/

Training Course Alert!

2011-07-02T08:40:00.000-07:00

We're delighted to confirm that we've had an extra BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT course added for this Thursday - 7th July.

The course will cover:

• What is behaviour / types of behaviour
• Why do children behave in a certain way
• Child development linked to behaviour
• Using goals and boundaries
• Effective communication with children
• Developing strategies for effective behaviour management
• How to involve parents

It's an open course so it's available to current Bretsa clients and staff at a discounted rate of £49 per head and all others at standard rate of £59 per head.

There are currently 5 places available - so if you're available on Thursday then book now on 020 8858 5958.

Note that Bretsa staff and clients can pay through the normal systems or card payment facilities are available.

Speed of placement

2011-06-29T02:58:00.001-07:00

We'd like to say a big thank you to all those who attended the open day in Barking last week.

We're delighted to say that 1 person has already had a permanent job offer at a fabulous local nursery and starts on Monday!

AND in the space of just 11 days we've managed to get 17 CRBs back which means 17 new temp starters!

Our CRB service is getting faster and faster - it's not unusual now to get CRBs back in 48 hours.

Fabulous, and as Speedy Gonzales would say "Andorle andorle!"

Glen's had a record released!

2011-06-21T07:35:00.000-07:00

As some of you know we have a Rock God in the office. Glen (day job looking after north London nurseries!) is the lead singer in the group "Dig For Victory". They gig across London playing a variety of things, including their new single which is officially released on 27th June on the Hipsters 2 compilation album.

We're all really excited and it sounds great - congratulations Glen!

Check out the link to their Facebook site and LIKE them for more updates here

Or click straight through to Amazon and order here

Sponsor a Child

2011-06-13T05:47:00.000-07:00

What a difference a few pounds can make to someone's life

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-13697855

Sharons passed her driving test!

2011-06-03T02:46:00.001-07:00

Sharon was off a couple of days this week and she secretly had her driving test.

We're delighted that she's passed first time and now is about to hit the roads, congratulations Sharon!

Here's the passport pictures that weren't acceptable for the driving license as you can't smile.

We think they're great photos so we thought we should share!

Bretsa Sales Awards

2011-05-25T09:51:00.001-07:00

We've had a great day here on Tuesday doing new account calls.

With new client visits booked, new permanent positions on, and temporary requests galore.

The medals went to:

John in the afternoon - well done John!
And Glen won both morning and overall!

Congratulations to them both.

If you're a nursery manager looking for some help or you're a nursery nurse looking for a new role, give us a bell on 020 8858 5958.

May and June are busy!

Little acorns are growing!

2011-05-20T06:41:00.000-07:00

It's fair to say we've been blogging a while now. But our Facebook and Twitter accounts are still pretty new - just a few months old.

Our following (or Likes) have been growing steadily, but this week have taken off - they've doubled!

Admittedly that doesn't mean we're Lady Gaga yet (10 million followers!) but we've hit 30 and now we're aiming for 100!http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Thanks everyone, and tell your friends to Like us today - just click here!

Certified Paediatric First Aid Course Now Available

2011-05-16T03:51:00.001-07:00

We're delighted to we've scheduled our first paediatric first aid course for September.

Since we started trainig this has been a regular request, and of course the importance of paediatric first aid cannot be understated.

The course is a mandatory 12 hour minimum and will be held over 2 Saturdays - the 17th and 24th September (you cannot book days seperately).http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

The course costs £89 (inc VAT) for the 2 days - unbeatable value for a 2 day course!

Please contact us ASAP to book as places are limited and we'http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifre expecting high demand for this one.

Tel: 020 8858 5958
Email: admin@bretsa.co.uk

Check out our range of courses at our website here

Or see them at our Facebook page here

Bretsa Star - April

2011-05-12T07:36:00.000-07:00

We're delighted to announce that April's Bretsa Star winner is Claudine - thank you Claudine!

Claudine has been with us since 2009 and works right across south and central London nurseries. Always enthusiastic and realiable, Claudine is currently in an on-going placement.

Here's Claudine receiving her flowers and certificate from Sharon today.

Bretsa is baby sitting!

2011-05-04T08:17:00.001-07:00

This is Charlie who has come to hang out for the afternoon. He's not very useful at filing (gets the alphabet mixed up) so he's just chilling out now.

Training Courses for Nursery Settings

2011-05-02T06:09:00.000-07:00

We've been really pleased with our training courses so far. All the feedback has been wonderful and we're delighted that so many people have re-booked for future courses.

That's meant we've just extended our programme of courses for people who may have missed dates right up to August. We've also started marketing the courses directly to nurseries to give them the opportunity to book places on the days.

Whether you're a nursery manager looking to train your whole team or just a small number we (along with our partners Training Designs) can help out. We can train a whole team at your setting, or if you've identified a small number of people who need a specific course then why not take a look at our schedule and book them on.

Our full course list can be seen here

PS Have you visited us on Facebook or Twitter yet? Just search Bretsa!

Training Designs - Nursery Courses

2011-04-18T05:36:00.000-07:00

Today is another special day for us.

It's our second nursery training course since joining in partnership with specialist nursery training provider Training Designs.

Last week was the first course to be held at our new offices - "Managing Children's Behaviour" attended by 12, with 2 from a client nursery. We were delighted by the feedback and rebooks for upcoming courses.

Today we're hosting our second course - "EYFS and Planning & Implementation" - with 8 people who look like they're having a great time so far.

Training Designs, like Bretsa, only deal with nurseries and have a commitment to be passionate about training... working in partnership with Childcare Practitioners and Parents to create and maintain a fun, happy and positive environment for children to learn, grow and develop.

Our courses are open to all - so even if you aren't registered with us you can still get a place.

Check out our website for more information on up-coming courses held at the Bretsa offices here

Or Training Designs can design bespoke courses for you at your setting - take a look at their website here

BOOK Training Courses NOW!

2011-04-05T08:54:00.000-07:00

Our next training course is Thursday 14th April here in Greenwich – Managing Children’s Behaviour, this covers:

• What is behaviour / types of behaviour
• Why do children behave in a certain way
• Child development linked to behaviour
• Using goals and boundaries
• Effective communication with children
• Developing strategies for effective behaviour management
• How to involve parents

£49 for the day with each subsequent course only £44, and if you refer a friend you get a £5 gift voucher! Check out the website

Early Years Curriculum Changing... Again

2011-03-30T06:46:00.000-07:00

When we started the company in 2005 everyone had to know about Birth to Three Matters and the Foundation Stage Curriculum. 3 years later in 2008 everyone had to know about the EYFS - the Early Years Foundation Stage. 3 years later in 2011, a new curriculum is being put in place.

Simplification seems like a good thing - rather than 69 early learning goals, there will now be just 17.

No news on the name yet - bit sized EYFS? EYFS 2? Who knows.

Check out the full article we've read on the bbc here:

Nursery Nurse Vacancy - Dorking

2011-03-29T05:52:00.000-07:00

I'm recruiting for: Nursery Nurse - Dorking http://goo.gl/pgtEg on reed.co.uk

Payments Made Easy

2011-03-22T08:19:00.001-07:00

Since we started we've always been very traditional in how we collect payments for our services. Well as of last week we've jumped in to the 21st century and now have the facility to take credit and debit card payments.

We can take Visa, Mastercard and AMEX, all via a secure online transaction site.

You simply call us in the office and we will take the details. You can be assured that we don't record or store them - they simply get tapped straight in to the processing site. Note: due to charges there is a 2% processing fee.

If you have any questions or queries, or if you'd like to make your payments to us via card then please feel free to call us on 020 8858 5958.

No More Automatic Retirement Age

2011-02-28T08:58:00.000-08:00

This has been in planning for some time, but the final draft regulations have been published and we've had an update from our lawyers Lupton Fawcett.

Here's a summary of the new regulations from April 2011:

+ employers will no longer be able to issue employees with notices of intended retirement based on reaching the default retirement age of 65

+ it will not amount to age discrimination to provide insurance benefits or related financial services, for example private medical cover or life insurance, to the under 65s whilst not providing them to the over 65s

+ retirement based on the default retirement age will no longer be a fair reason for dismissal when considering claims of unfair dismissal

+ Unless an employer can objectively justify the retirement age used, forced retirement at 65 or over is also likely to amount to age discrimination

If you'd like more details then check out the full Lupton Fawcett news item here

Nursery World 2011

2011-02-14T07:50:00.000-08:00

Well we're back, counting our leads and glad to be sat down in a comfy seat!

Nursery World 2011 was such a different event to 2010 it's hard to explain.

We didn't get any any concrete numbers about visitors but we "felt" Friday was significantly down on 2010, whilst Saturday was similar if more spread out across the day.

This year there were far fewer students brought in from far and wide wearing their respective coloured shirts. Rumours circled the exhibitors about students having been restricted this year, but we didn't get that confirmed or have any real reason to think it's true.

We ran a competition this year for a bottle of champagne, and we chose a business card on Saturday - the winner doesn't know it yet but luckily is already a client of ours - we're going to surprise her this week!

Check out the pics below

Nursery World Ready!

2011-02-10T09:35:00.001-08:00

Darren and I have spent this afternoon battling balloons, sticky lettering and a very rainy Upper Street but we're pretty much ready for tomorrow.

From shell to build it's quite a transformation.

See you tomorrow and Saturday!sun we'll be giving away free champagne and lots and lots of CV and career advice.

Nursery World Prep - Polo Shirts In!

2011-02-09T07:59:00.001-08:00

Just 36 hours to go before this year's Nursery show and we're almost ready. Polo shirts in, stand checked, and we're ready to go.

Come and say Hi at stand 50:

Friday 11th February 9.30-5.00, and
Saturday 12th February 9.30-4.00

Nursery World Show
Business Design Centre
52 Upper Street
Islington
N1 0QH

CRB & Vetting and Barring Scheme Announcements

2011-02-06T11:26:00.001-08:00

We've heard via BBC news this weekend that the government is about to make 2 important announcements:

The first being that the vetting and barring scheme will be scrapped in its entirety. Bretsa welcomes this decision. Whilst we felt the scheme had potential benefits, when simply added to the current CRB system it amounted to a duplication and unhelpful cost structure.

The secondly key announcement is that CRB checks with information on will be sent directly to the individual to give them a chance to challenge incorrect information before the copy goes to the employer.

Will this increase average return times yet further? It's already not unusual for a CRB to take 12 weeks, even with recent the development of e-disclosures.

Bretsa would like to see faster processing but crucially much more clarity and formalising over systems of portability.

We will wait at see. Check out the full article here
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/uk-12372097

Funny looking paper

2011-01-27T02:17:00.000-08:00

Obviously the Bretsa core mission is to provide great nursery and support staff to our client nurseries and schools across the south east.

However one of our side projects has always been ensuring our impact on the environment as a business is kept to the bare minimum. Over the years we've done various things to "do our bit".

For example, none of us has a company car. We use public transport for 90% of our work transport, and for the remining bit we use a Streetcar account. 2 years ago we started carbon off-setting the entire companies' activities - from our transport to our office running costs.

We've always used recycled products in the office - from our marketing gifts like our pens right through to even the Bretsa polo shirts we wear at exhibitions.

Our latest move is a more visible and obvious one. We've only ever used recycled paper, envelopes and business cards. This year we've started using NON-BLEACHED recycled paper.

It's a little known fact but the bleaching process that makes paper white is just as damaging to the environment as chooping down trees. So now our day to day and marketing paper is the natural colour of paper - slightly off white greyish brown.

Admittedly it looks a bit wierd at first but I have to say it's quite endearing when you get used to it.

We'd love to hear any new ideas you or your organisation have implemented - drop us a line on 020 8858 5958 or email them to your consultant.

Bretsa Star Award!

2011-01-24T06:49:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to you all! To celebrate the start of 2011 we’re bringing back a monthly prize scheme to say thank you for those of you who regularly and consistently do a great job.

We’ll start at the end of January (which is almost here!) – so the first “Bretsa Stars” award will be given at the start of February.

To win you’ll have to: show reliability, punctuality and generally going that extra mile to help us or our nurseries.

If you win, your prize will be a £25 gift voucher, a bouquet of flowers, a Bretsa Star Award certificate and your picture on our newsletter!

We know you all work incredibly hard – thank you very much. Keep up the good work, keep those nurseries pleased and get your hair done in case you have a surprise visit at your nursery for your picture at the start of February!

Nursery Nurses Needed

2010-11-22T02:58:00.001-08:00

Get yourself a new permanent nursery job for Christmas!

We urgently need level 3 Nursery Nurses for permanent positions in:

Surrey - Kingston, Tadworth
London - West Norwood, Waterloo / London Bridge, Islington, Richmond, Kennington, Wembley, Westminster, Beckenham, Bromley, Woolwich, Wimbledon
Kent - Grays

Call us now on 020 8858 5958

We're 5 Years Old!

2010-09-30T02:05:00.000-07:00

September 2010 marks the 5th anniversary of setting up Bretsa and placing the first temporary nursery nurses and assistants.

Back in 2005 the company consisted of just Nick with a mobile phone and a travelpass. Today we're a team of 6 covering temporary and permanent staff to nurseries right across the South East.

So to celebrate we've had a bucks fizz and bacon sandwich breakfast - then some strong coffee!

Bretsa Summer Party

2010-08-16T08:05:00.000-07:00

We're just 15 work days away from our end of summer party.

Keep your diary free for drinks on us (shock!) from 7pm on Friday 3rd September in the lovely garden of the Plume of Feathers pub on Park Vista in Greenwich.

This is our annual summer party giving us a chance to say a big thank you to everyone who we've worked with over the last 12 months.

Invites have gone out to all our clients and staff - if you've not had yours just call the office - we do need an RSVP in advance so give your consultant a call ASAP on 020 8858 5958.

We look forward to seeing you!

Join us for end of summer drinks at the beautiful Plume of Feathers, Park Vista, Greenwich SE10 9LZ.

RSVP to your consultant on 020 8858 5958

Directions: Overground to Maze Hill station (2 minute walk) DLR to Cutty Sark (10 minute walk). Buses 129, 188, 177, 180, 286, 386 – stop G Trafalgar Road Maze Hill. Limited on street parking available or pay and display at Park Row, next to the Old Royal Naval College.

Phones all sorted!

2010-07-19T08:02:00.001-07:00

We got there in the end - thanks for everyone who persevered by email and the mobiles!

If you ever need to contact us in an emergency the office phone numbers are:

0845 009 1929
020 8858 5958
07894 205 165

At least 1 of those should always be working!

Office Phone Problems

2010-07-19T01:47:00.000-07:00

Hi All

We're having problems with our phone lines this morning. V Networks and BT are working on it now. If you need to contact the office urgently please call 07894 205 165.

Thank you and sorry for any inconvenience!

Fingers crossed!

Nick & team

Independent Safeguarding Authority Facing Axe!

2010-06-16T00:47:00.000-07:00

The government yesterday announced that it was halting the proposed start of registrations to the new Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) that were due to begin in July.

The ISA would eventually have registered a database of over 9 million people which would have formed the basis of a live register for alerting employers or organisations to suspicions or criminal activity of those people held.

The scheme was going to charge people to register, charge employers to check and still require CRBs to be carried out - another cost directly to care workers in the adult, child and education sectors - not high paying fields in the first place.

The new government is now reviewing the laws and duplications of services - fingers crossed we get some common sense!

Read the news article here:

Make your views known here:

Big Fall in Nursery Places

2010-05-10T04:37:00.000-07:00

Nursery World report this week that according to Ofsted, From Dec 2009 to March 2010 more than 11,000 childcare places have been lost.

That’s 248 fewer nurseries! While 481 opened, 720 Early Years settings closed.

The good news however is that it's still thought the industry is continuing to come out of the worst of the recessionary impact, and that occupancy levels should gradually rise over the next 5 years.

Read the full article here:
http://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/news/1000776/Big-fall-number-childminders-nursery-places/

Contact Bretsa!

2010-05-10T04:32:00.000-07:00

Calling private day nurseries, schools and all our staff. You can contact us as normal again via the system text message service.

Of course you can always

call - 020 8858 5958 (0845 009 1929)
fax - 020 8858 1789 (0845 009 9429)
email - info@bretsa.co.uk
web - www.bretsa.co.uk
blog: www.bretsablog.blogspot.com

Refer a colleague or nursery today and earn your referral scheme - call the office for more info!

EYPS Clarification

2010-05-10T04:29:00.000-07:00

As part of our new Specialists campaign, we've heard this week of an open letter from the Children's Services Union ASPECT urging political leaders of the main political parties to clarify the status of Early Years Practitioners... see the full article here:
http://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/news/1000817/Aspect-wants-answers-MPs-EYPS/

Text Message Problems

2010-05-07T05:57:00.000-07:00

For all our nursery nurses assistants and teachers out there please bear with us while our SMS (text message) service gets fixed - the little box went wrong last night and we're fixing it!

In the meantime please let us know your availability or shift rotas for next week by telephone on 0845 009 1929 (or 020 8858 5958 if you don't like 0845 numbers).

Vote Today!

2010-05-06T02:36:00.000-07:00

The endless electioneering has come to an end at last - it's Election Day!

Whichever party you support, or even if you don't think much of any of them, make sure you go down and vote! Even a protest vote is better than none.

The polling stations are open until 10pm this evening and it doesn't matter if you don't have your polling card.

Of course it's business as usual here and we're super busy registering Nursery Nurses, and endlessly chasing references.

Give us a call on 0845 009 1929 if you need anything - we'd love to hear from you.

Bank Holiday Timesheets

2010-04-30T09:18:00.000-07:00

Calling all Bretsa Nursery Teachers, Nurses, Assistants!

It's the bank holiday this weekend - time to relax and unwind.

That does mean that we don't have as much time to process your timesheets on Tuesday. Please make sure they are with us by Tuesday at 1pm for payment by Friday.

The easiest way to send us your timesheets is:
1) scan and email them to timesheets@bretsa.co.uk, or
2) fax your timesheets to 020 8858 1789 / 0845 009 9429
(you can of course post them but that will normally involve a delay in payment)

Thanks and enjoy your long weekends!

Nick, Sharon, Darren, Jodie, Caroline and Glen

Nursery Nurses Needed in North West London

2010-04-30T08:05:00.000-07:00

Glen's having a busy old time looking after nurseries across NW1, Wembley, Notting Hill and even up to Watford.

If you or any of your friends are NVQ2 or NVQ3 Early Years give us a call ASAP!

Interviewing Monday Tuesday Thursday and Friday in Greenwich, and every Wednesday with our friends at Marylebone JCP (Job Centre Plus).

glen@bretsa.co.uk
020 8858 5958

Goodbye Woolwich!

2010-04-26T09:28:00.000-07:00

We're in the midst of packing up the Woolwich office. Just 2 more sleeps till we're in our Greenwich office and we'll be able to restart interviews for Nursery Nurses and Nursery Assistants all over again!

The New Office!

2010-04-24T09:46:00.001-07:00

Well we won't be in until Wednesday 28th April, but here's a picture taken today (Saturday). We've got the top floor.

Bretsa comes home to Greenwich!

2010-04-23T09:01:00.000-07:00

As you may be aware we’ve been in serviced offices for the last 3 months in Woolwich. The reason being that we’ve been waiting on completion of a 5 year lease of a new office suite in Greenwich.

We’re very excited about the new offices – we’ll finally get a long-term home with fabulous spacious facilities including interview rooms, reception and kitchen – and of course you’re all very welcome to drop in and try our new posh coffee machine!

The office address is:

BRETSA
2nd Floor
279-283 Greenwich High Road
Greenwich
SE10 8NB

The entrance is on the left of the Nationwide Building Society (we’re above them), opposite Greenwich Picturehouse cinema. If you’re passing then pop in!

The schedule of the move is as follows:

Monday – all normal but please get any bookings in early!
Tuesday afternoon – skeleton staff handling calls and bookings
Wednesday morning – skeleton staff handling calls and booking
Thursday – all back to normal!

During the move we will be migrating phone systems from Woolwich to Greenwich. We’ve planned this meticulously and have an IT team on site at the new building, but BT can always surprise us so please make sure you use the 0845 009 1929 number. In case of emergency please use the office mobile 07894 205 165.

If you have any questions or queries please don’t hesitate to contact us on 0845 009 1929.

Thank you and enjoy this lovely sunshine over the weekend!

CRB checks go paperless

2010-03-23T07:14:00.000-07:00

We've used www.disclosures.co.uk for all our CRB processing for a number of years now and they've just started rolling out paperless applications - so of course we jumped at the chance.

As most people know the CRB application until now has been slow and cumbersome.

We had to apply online for the application form which was then posted directly to us. We would then post to the applicant for checking and signature, then they would post back to us for more checking. Then we would finally send it to the CRB offices.

So typically it would take around 2 weeks for the application form to even get to the CRB.

The new system will cut that out. We'll of course do all the normal checks but instead of all that posting and signing we'll simply upload all the applicant copies - wonderful!

We're already using e-Disclosures - where we download a copy of the certificate rather than wait for it to be posted. So this is the next logical step.

We go live this week and we're looking forward to seeing average application times reduce from around 8 weeks to 6 weeks.

If you're a Bretsa team member looking to renew your CRB then don't worry - you'll be contacted by the office when it's due.

Otherwise, for any questions or queries please don't hesitate to drop us a line on 0845 009 1929

Darren Takes Over Finance!

2010-03-02T08:45:00.000-08:00

We'd like to formally welcome our new Accounts Assistant Darren Humphries who joined us in January.

Darren is looking after all our payroll, invoicing and accounts matters and has recently pased his AAT qualifications so is now a qualified accountant - congratulations Darren!

Darren can be contacted in our office on 0845 009 1929 or emailed at finance@bretsa.co.uk

Bretsa Jobs Board is Live!

2010-03-02T08:26:00.000-08:00

We're delighted to confirm that our new website has taken another step further with the addition of our jobs board.

Every day our consultants speak to schools, private day nurseries, chain nurseries, charitable nurseries, children's centres , creches, after school clubs - you name the types of childcare setting, they're giving us vacancies!

As we get those vacancies we'll be adding them to the site and candidates will be able to search by postcode and types of role to make sure it's the best role for them.

Check it out today - don't forget you can upload your CV and apply to any of the roles immediately!

Click here:

http://www.bretsa.co.uk/job-search.html

"Fit" Notes not Sick Notes

2010-03-02T07:59:00.000-08:00

Sick notes have driven many employers to distraction over the years but it's all about to change.

From 6th April 2010 GPs will need to issue a STATEMENT OF FITNESS FOR WORK in the place of the old sick note.

They can of course still recommend the patient doesn't work, but may indicate the employee can work if certain advice is heeded. That may include a phased return to work, reduced or altered hours, changed duties or workplace adaptations to ease them back to work over time.

The advice won't be binding on employers as not all employers will be able to provide the support suggested. The new notes will also be shorter in duration - a maximum of 3 months rather than the current 6.

The changes should reduce the numbers of people on long term sick and hopefully save the economy £240 million over the next 10 years. Fingers crossed!

FOr more information click here:
http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/2584.aspx

Bretsa is on the move!

2010-02-26T08:07:00.000-08:00

We’ve been in Greenwich for the last 4 years and we’ve loved it. But change is as good a rest they say.

So we’re moving to new offices at Woolwich Arsenal on Wednesday 27th January. Our new address will be:

Gunnery House
9 Gunnery Terrace
Woolwich Arsenal
SE18 6SW

We’ll be getting a new telephone number but until then you can keep using 0845 009 1929.

Why not come and visit and bring your qualified nursery friends to refer them!? Don’t forget we pay referral vouchers each time someone you refer works 100 hours!