What health and safety requiremnets would i need for my home

[emharrison]

Hi,

I am looking into becoming a childminder. I have a 7 year old son, 5 year old daughter and a 1 year old daughter.
I am trying to find some information on what ofsted would expect of my home and all the safety requirements they would espect me to put into place.
I am more of a teacher rather than a preventer. So i dont have locks on my cupboards or a stair gate at the bottom of my stairs. The only thing i do is plug covers and a stair gate at the top of my stairs.
I have a playroom that is open into the kitchen area. Will that pose a problem?
I also have a fire place with no guard around it. Will that pose a problem?
All i am really looking for is a list of things they would definitely expect me to have.

Thanks Emma :)

[tulip0803]

Hi,

I am looking into becoming a childminder. I have a 7 year old son, 5 year old daughter and a 1 year old daughter.
I am trying to find some information on what ofsted would expect of my home and all the safety requirements they would espect me to put into place.
I am more of a teacher rather than a preventer. So i dont have locks on my cupboards or a stair gate at the bottom of my stairs. The only thing i do is plug covers and a stair gate at the top of my stairs. OFSTED told me that I should fit cupboard locks although I never used them with my children, other minders have a gate across the kitchen door. I was also told I needed a gate on the bottom of my stairs which I rarely had shut.
I have a playroom that is open into the kitchen area. Will that pose a problem? Lots of people have kitchen/diners and you need to show OFSTED how you will protect the children in your careI also have a fire place with no guard around it. Will that pose a problem?I had one OFSTED inspector say as long as the fire was not used no guard was needed, another said I needed a guard to protect the children from the fireplace and hearth:rolleyes:
All i am really looking for is a list of things they would definitely expect me to have.Your pre-reg inspection is for you to ask the inspector questions and for them to tell you what you need to do to become registered - do not panic they do not expect you to have everything in place before you register

Thanks Emma :)

Good luck. You could look at each room and do a risk assessment about how you will keep children in your care safe and show it to the inspector and then you can discuss it with them. Don't go and buy equipment until you chat to the inspector, their ideas vary:rolleyes: . The inspector would probably be very impressed to get a risk assessment from you.

I have since moved to Wales and the CSSIW have different ideas again

[emharrison]

Thank you very much for your help. x

[linda2girls]

You need to prove that you can keep children safe. My twins girls are 9 so when I started last September I didn't have locks or gates.

I now have plug sockets everywhere downstairs, a cupboard lock to stop access to bleach, cleaning chemicals, etc. I've put a stairgate at the bottom of the stairs - I have a 16 month old mindee and as much as I try to teach her not to climb up them, I know as soon as I'm not there, she will be up them.

Although I haven't made massive changes, I confident that the children in my home are safe.

As mentioned before the Ofsted inspector will help and advise you at your pre-reg. I didn't buy anything before she came round and I didn't have any risk assessments. She told me to put a lock on my understairs cupboard because it has a hoover in there, so that's done now as well.

When the Ofsted inspector came round to grade me, she didn't look in any cupboards to drawers, she just looked through my risk assessments.

Linda.

[emharrison]

Thank you Linda