help wanted x

[dianemellors]

hi im sorry to be a pain im looking for some advice
i have posted off my forms to osfted last thursday and know it takes between 2-4wks for them to visit
what will i have to show them?
im not a reg cm yet as im on the course and the first aid course
i have been out and brought a few bits i have plastic little plates, bigger plates, cups, drinks jug with cups, a table cloth which has different bright animals on. i have a few different toys but not sure on what other toys to get.
i have also brought hand towels and face cloths along with child hand wash
what else would i need to get before my visit?
im worried i as i havent got any kind of paper work yet

[sandy64]

try not to worry too much maybe some diversity toys books. instruements.paper crayons chalks, i would also get a couple of folders for learning journals. to show that youre getting ready is this your prereg inspection? im presuming youve done prereg course and awaiting ofsted so you can start?

[dianemellors]

this will be the first ofsted visit i havent completed the course yet
what do i need to do then?

[Tinglesnark]

have you got your EYFS pack? im assuming that you will have if your on the dhc course. load the cd rom and go through it with a fine tooth comb and then fill out the accompanying booklet go through the cards and find your way around it all - it really will hep you in answering the questions. also google the bromley childminding site because that lists all of the policies that you will need - download them and go through them, edit them according to your setting and print them off to make a start on your profile. make sure you have plug socket covers everywhere and do a risk assessment of your whole property inc the garden. do an action plan listing everything that you dont have (ie stairgates, travel cots/spare beds) and everything that you intend to get or put in place. they wont expect you to have everything sorted but if you can show that you have researched everything and intend to sort it out you will be fine x
good luck

[jumpinjen]

Hi, Ofsted will be looking at whether your home is safe for a child to be in. You need to have risk assessed the whole place.... everything that a child might come into contact with needs to be assessed and made safe if not already. it's Ok to not have stair gates up when they come but you need to have identified that you need them and where they will go, and any other potential risks to health and safety including cleaning materials, hot water, pets, flooring, fires, toys, blind cords, glass, the garden, intruders, cables, electricity, you name it, you need to have thought of it!!!! Every house is unique, look at each area in turn and consider what the risks are and what you can/have done to minimise them or what needs doing and when you will do it..... your pre-reg team should be able to guide you on this..... the EYFS pack has a slim book that contains all of the legal requirements that you need to have in palce.... what documents you need to keep and what policies you must have etc. You usually can't be registered unless you have done baby and child first aid and been on a child protection and safeguarding course too, and can provide the evidence.

Hope that helps, Jenni

[dianemellors]

hi thanks for ur help i have stair gates, plug covers, saftey glass film, cupboard locks etc in place
i am on my 4th wk of the course
i havent done my first aid yet start that on the 26th june
i want to start asap so i have got as much as poss done before my course finishes so i can start when im done
im stuck on the paper work side of things
plus buying everything is a little expensive im a single mum on benefits so getting little things every wk
any other tips?
thank u for all ur help xx

[mama2three]

Sounds like youre on the right track .. and your visit is really just to check you understand the requirements , you dont have to have everything in place til you actually start..
look at the booklet in your pack with the questions in it. If you use your eyfs books and cdrom you will be able to answer the questions...so one question might say what will you do to ensure you meet the safeguarding requirements ..then you look up safeguarding..it says you must have a policy...look on here , on bromley , on ncma websites for examples of policies and write one that fits your setting.
I had only done a couple of policies by my visit just to show to check i was on the right lines , the did the rest whilst waiting for everything to go through. I had done risk assessments on my home and garden.
Dont buy too much at this stage.. just say you will meet the needs of individual children and as you dont know what ages you will get yet its pointless spending out when you might not need to . You will find toy libraries have lots of equipment you can 'borrow / hire' , you dont always have to buy , especially if just for a short period.

The best advice i can give is keep coming on here .. i found the answers to my questions , and everyones help was invaluable...Noone minds 'silly questions' , weve all been there! The support , advice and friendship is amazing..but addictive:)

ooh just to add ..have a look at fatallyflawed.org before you decide on using socket covers..

[miffy]

Good luck with your pre-reg visit! :)

There are lots of sample policies here

http://www.bromleycma.org.uk/

Also check out the free resources on the forum - click on button at very top of page.

Don't buy lots of toys you might end up wasting your money. Instead make a wish list of things you would like to buy - you could show what ages they are for and/or what areas of development they cover.

You won't be expected to have everything in place at this visit and the inspector is there to help you.

Miffy xx

[gigglinggoblin]

Instead of buying toys and equipment write a wish list for each age group you can think of, theres no point buying baby stuff if you only get 3 year olds. I still dont have a stair gate as I dont need one, if I bought it just to show ofsted it would have been a total waste of money. Look for stuff on car boot sales and if you find a bargain grab it but dont worry too much yet, maybe put the money aside for when you know who you will be minding.

There is a question booklet which I think came with the forms for ofsted, when Mrs O came to me she asked a range of questions lifted directly from this so if you fill them all in you will have the answers to hand (she let me look at the booklet).

Do a few risk assessments, they want to know you are on your way, as long as they are all done before you start minding you will be ok if you have a few things missed out now.

Most important policy is probably child protection. Complaints is also quite important. I got all mine from bromley (been linked to by miffy).

Maybe think about planning a few activities so you have some ideas. First inspector I saw was really interested to see if I had enough multicultural stuff so for my real inspection I made sure I had dolls, books (library if you dont want to buy), skin coloured crayons and I made sure I planned around festivals from around the world.

Have you met your development worker yet? They should come round before Ofsted as they will do a dafety check on your house and let you know what you need to do before they come. I got picked up on not having a smoke alarm on every level of the house and needing a drain cover for the garden. Dopnt depend on Ofsted waiting weeks, I got less than 48 hours notice they were coming so get on the phone to get them round if they havent been.

Then relax, its really not that bad :)