Running a group in my home

[munch149]

A group of local mums/friends have talked to me about doing a cooking group. Where I have a group of children and we all cook together. Is this ok to do when childminding? It would be in my home and parents would be responsible for their own children I'm just a little concerned about whether I'm allowed other adults in my home regularly. Obviously they wouldn't be left with mindees. I think this would be great for my mindees as would be very sociable and they would get the cooking experience. (Not that I don't cook with them anyway).

[step11]

So far as I'm aware any regular visitors need to be crb checked.

[Maza]

Ofsted aside, I wouldn't be too keen on having all of those children in my home. They won't follow your rules like the mindees do, they will be following their parents rules. They would want to play with your resources and mess up. I do love kids, honest! I just think it would take its toll on your home and be quite stressful. What happens at the end of the session when you need to be sorting out naps/diaries/meals and some of the mums want to chill/coffee/gossip and you just need your house back. Could one of the mums have the class at their homes or on a rota and you take your mindees along? In theory it sounds like a lovely idea but I'm not sure I could do it. x

[jax clinch]

I have done something similar in my home. There is no park in our village and I have various things in our garden so in the summer I have a toddlers session at mine. My development worker at the time said this was ok but you need to make sure that any minded children are not left with any of the parents eg if I went inside the children come in, if you take a child to the toilet, you all go!!!

[Mouse]

It sounds like a lovely idea, but you can guarantee all the mums will sit together having a lovely natter & you'll be the one left to watch all the children! I've organised activities before (not in my house) and despite assurances that everyone would help out, I always found I was the only one doing anything, then the one left to clear everything up afterwards :panic:

What if one of your mindees was particularly clingy one day, needed a nappy change or needed your attention for a few minutes? Could you leave the activity to go & see to them? And if they needed you to take them to the toilet, you'd have to take all your mindees with you.

How would your mindees' parents feel about it? Would they be happy to be paying you to look after their children, but you're running a group for other children at the same time?

I do think it would be different if a group was run for childminders as they could help keep an eye on your mindees, but if it's parents you cannot leave them alone with your mindees and might find yourself trying to be in 2 places at once.