ABSTRACT
Being able to plan the work of the team and programmes of activities for children is very important for managers in child-centred settings. Some people seem to be natural time-managers, whilst others need to develop the skills and master their own approaches to managing the numerous tasks and responsibilities of a manager. Many managers of child-centred settings are part of the team working with the children, so would probably laugh at the idea of trying to reorganise their time to have 60 per cent of time on developing projects. Managers who are constantly interrupted by their team for decisions or information will never feel that they can get any substantial task completed. Robert Heller and Tim Hindle suggest that the ideal allocation of time for managers should be as follows: 60 per cent of time on planning and development; 25 per cent of time on projects; and 15 per cent of time on routine tasks.
