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How do I get business? First make sure you complete a form and send it back to be listed on the Children's Information Service website. Visit their website to find your local contact. Once you are registered it is a good idea to find out if there is a Childminding Group in your area. Here you will be able to meet with other Childminders who will be happy to share their experiences and also pass on any enquiries for childcare that they cannot take on themselves. Advertise your vacancies in local shops, post offices, doctor's surgeries and clinics. Make sure your advert stands out and has your contact details - it's amazing the number of ad's that forget such a crucial thing as a phone number! Is there a business park or offices near you? Try making a small flyer advertising your business and ask if you can leave them in their front office. Many businesses are happy to do this. Ask at your local school if you can advertise on their notice board. Many school are now keen to get childminders involved as part of the governments wrap around care initiative. I've been told I need to register as a food business, is that true? Since January 2006 there has been a requirement for childminders to register as food businesses. All you need to do is contact your local environmental health department for more information. There is also information here that came from NCMA. Do I need to do a food hygiene course? While it is not compulsory at the moment it certainly shows good practice. I have just done an on-line course in Food Hygiene, it is annually quality checked by the Royal Institute of Public Health for use as a self-study training course fulfilling the syllabus of the Level 2 Award in Food Safety (formerly known as Foundation or Basic Food Hygiene at Level 1). I fully expected this to be quite hard and had intended to do it over two days. But once I had started I decided to continue while it was all fresh in my mind. You go through various training sections which cover things from types and causes of contamination, safe storage, cleaning and disinfection, temperature control, hazard analysis. It took me two hours of gentle studying and there are small multiple choice tests along the way to help you see if you have taken it in You must complete all the training before you can continue to the test. You can save it and go back as often as you like, spread it over several days if you wish, you can even go back over the training if you want. At the end there is a 30 question multiply choice test which you can take up to 2 hours over (it took me about 15 minutes) you need to gain a mark of 75% correct to pass, if you don't get 75 then you can go back into the training and take the test again at a later time until you pass. Most are just common sense. When you have passed the test the certificate will be posted to you within 10 days, mine arrived in two days. Really enjoyed doing it, learnt some interesting things and the best thing for me was that I didn't have to give up a day of my weekend or evening to do it. I simply fitted it into my day to suit myself. Works on both PC and Apple Macintosh/OSX What other courses should I do? There are many courses available, such as Early Years Foundation Stage, play, preparing for Ofsted etc. and your local CIS will be able to advise you of any local to you. There are also on-line courses available. I recently did the Foundation - Awareness of Child Abuse and Neglect. This is my experience of doing the course: They say it takes on average around 2 hours but I spent about 3 hours spread over two days. You can take longer if you wish, it's entirely at your own pace and you can save it and return at the same point later. I found it easy to follow and the instructions were clear. The information is presented in different ways - you listen, read and take small tests along the way.
You can go back through the training at any point if you feel you want to refresh your memory. At the end of the training and once you are confident to take it, there is a test, mainly multiple choice. You need 75% to pass, if you fail you can go back to the training and continue until you feel happy to try again. When you pass you are then directed to a print page where you can print off a certificate. As well as the Foundation there is now 'Safeguarding Children Awareness of Child Abuse and Neglect CORE' Works on both PC and Apple Macintosh/OSX What sort of food should I serve the children? This will depend on whether the children have any dietary or cultural needs, you should discuss this with the parents during your initial meetings. I am currently building a database of tried and tested recipes. If you have any recipes you would like to add please let me know. Current recipes can be found using the link to the Recipes Page on the left or go direct by clicking here Recipes page. What sort of things should I do with the children? Do whatever you would with your own children. Have a large selection of general toys, outdoor equipment, crafts items and games etc. Visit the shops, parks, toddler groups, childminding group, zoo etc. If you are looking to buy good quality toys, craft items, childminding paperwork or safety and first aid equipment - to name but a few! Look no further than The Childminding Shop. This is an online shop developed by two Registered Childminders Debby and Jo, doing the job themselves they understand what childminders need and offer quality items at affordable prices many of which they have tried themselves in their own setting. Visit their shop by clicking here: The Childminding Shop Sarah, a member of my Childminding Forum, has produced a booklet of multicultural activities for pre-schoolers. She sells this booklet through her website. It is an excellent resource with 5 chapters covering:
She also produces booklets on EYFS, Planning and Observation. Themes are also her speciality and she will be producing a pack based on specific themes soon - for more information and to contact Sarah - click here I don't understand what the Early Years Foundation Stage is. From 1st September 2008 all childcare providers and reception class teachers must work to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), find our more here: EYFS. EYFS does not replace the Every Child Matters framework - it's aim is to help young children achieve the 5 Every Child Matters outcomes - staying safe, being healthy, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution and achieving economic well-being. EYFS does replace Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage, the B23 Matters framework and the National Standards for Under 8's Daycare and Childminding but elements of all of these are still found within EYFS. Childminders do not have to have written policies under EYFS BUT they will be required to explain their procedures for example, on safeguarding children, or medication procedure so it's best to have them written down but it isn't a legal requirement So is it best to have Policies and Procedures? Having a set of written policies is a way of ensuring that parents have all the information they need about your business. They help to avoid any misunderstanding. If, for instance you have a Sickness Policy detailing that you cannot care for sick children and what arrangements a parent must make if their child is ill, then it avoids the embarrassment of parents turning up with poorly children and having to be turned away. Parents know exactly where they stand and you know that the information is there to hand rather than having to remember all the rules to remind parents verbally. Don't waste money buying ready written policies, you can get samples from the NCMA website or ask on the Childminding Forum, someone is bound to have the ideal wording or even be willing to share a copy with you. Someone said I should inform my home insurance company I'm minding, is that right? Yes it is, you should also tell your car insurance company too. If your home is owned by a housing association you should check with them that you are permitted to run a business from your home. Personally I have found that some insurance companies will not insure you if you are a childminder or impose high premiums before they will. There are specialist insurance companies such as Morton Michel offering policies, including home, car and public liability cover specifically for childminders. I'm due to have my Ofsted inspection soon, how do I prepare? It is important to spend some time preparing for Ofsted inspections because the grade you get will last for 3 years and you want the best you can achieve. Start by having a look through your EYFS Pack, that gives details of all the areas that they will be inspecting and will help you to find what you need to do or what you have to meet for the Welfare Requirements. Make sure you have completed your on-line Self Evaluation Form (SEF) you should have been sent details by Ofsted on how to access this with a special code called your 'Token'. If you have not received it, or youwant to complete a paper version then you should contact Ofsted. Try to have all your paperwork together, so you know where to find it and don't get in a panic. For instance keep any certificates (first aid insurance etc) together in a folder and also any policies and procedures so that you can get them out to show. Don't forget that you must display your registration certificate as this is a condition of registration. The inspector will be checking against the Welfare Requirements and the Framework for EYFS's Themes and Commitments:
Have a look through the pack and try to think how you meet them. For example 1.4 Health and Well-being - You could show your sickness policy, healthy meal plans or tell how you keep your home clean and hygienic or how you teach children about personal hygiene. 1.3 Keeping children safe - Say how you discuss and use road safety when you are out, or tell her about the safety equipment you have in your home, how you check toys for damage and that they are suitable for the age of the children and meet proper standards. Anything really that you do regarding safety 1.4 Play and Exploration/ 2.2 Parents as partners - Show them any work the children have done and how you display it or share it with parents. Photos of outings or activities. Details of your activities that help children to enjoy and achieve i.e. cooking, gardening etc. Show how you let the children help with decisions on what activities you will be planning, what activities you do that help children feel good about themselves, how you find out about each child's background and use resources to positively promote their culture or lifestyle. Show the toys and books you have that reflect diversity and give the children positive role models of people like themselves and people different to themselves. Show how you display or share children's work. There are loads of other ways you can show how you meet the requirements, the above is intended just to give you some ideas. If you have children to mind at the time of your inspection then just get on with looking after them, don't ignore them for the sake of talking to the inspector, it's your job to care for them and the inspector will want to see how you do that. Although some of this might sound a bit daunting, really all it is is showing what you do already, make sure you point out all the things you do for the children so that the inspectors knows, otherwise she might miss something important. Just be yourself and you will be fine. I've been told I should do observations and assessments but I don't know how. Observations and assessments can help you plan and prepare activities specifically for the needs of the children in your care and are a requirment of the EYFS. Read about Observations and Assessments and how to do them by clicking here I'd like a website. Do you need a website to advertise your Childminding business but don't know how? Or perhaps you know how but just don't have the time to work on it. Can't afford to pay for a professional business website? For more information on how to have a website built for you use the link 'Need your own website?" or go direct now What if my questions haven't been answered here? Come along to the Childminding Forum where you can talk to experienced childminders and those just starting out - they have probably experienced what you are going through and will be glad to help. You can ask as many questions as you like, you will be made most welcome. Use the button link on the left when you've finished reading these pages or go direct now |
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