Policies and procedures - let's have a chat about them!

[sarah707]

I get so many complaints from childminders about how many they 'have' to write and what needs to go in them and I think there is a lot of confusion about them.

There are only 12 MUST write and share with parents policies and procedures which must cover -
• Behaviour management - this is also the best place to talk about how you record physical intervention
• Concerns and complaints procedure - this procedure MUST be shared with parents if the child is on the Childcare Register
• Emergency evacuation of the premises
• Equality of opportunity - for the Childcare Register it must include information about how you support children with learning difficulties and disabilities
• Failure to collect - often called a ‘Late Arriving Parent’ procedure
• Health and safety - relating to accidents, hazards and faulty equipment
• Medication administration - - for the Childcare Register it must include details about how you support individual children with medical needs - see Ofsted factsheet for more info (doc 080290)
• Missing child - your procedures if you lose a child
• Risk assessment - see Ofsted RA factsheet for more information (doc 120334)
• Safeguarding children - - for the Childcare Register it must include the procedures to be followed in the event of an allegation being made against a member of staff. For the EYFS 2012 it must include information about mobile phone and camera use. This procedure MUST be shared with parents if the child is on the Childcare Register
• Smoking
• Visitors - checking the identity of visitors

I would also very strongly suggest a well written fees policy - you can find free wording here (just log in) -
Childminder Guides - Exclusive Information Guides for Registered Childminder Members - Childcare.co.uk

Anything else you write to share with parents is your choice!

It doesn't have to be a 'policy' or a 'procedure' it can be as simple as a paragraph of information on the back of your newsletter... or a paragraph in your welcome booklet explaining your thoughts on an area of provision... or a handout to give to parents to when they, for example, start toilet training their child or a few months before they are due their 2 year progress check to explain what it's all about.

I think a lot of childminders worry too much about what they are expected to do and add extra pressure to their working days and family lives that is really not necessary.

Action plan

Take some time to reflect on your policies and procedures and think about what they are saying and whether they are important to your business or not.

Think about how you share information with parents - do they read through everything? Can it be simplified? Do you use language they engage with?

Ask parents - engage them in your action plan - what do they think about your written documents? apart from the must have P & Ps above, what do they want to know about your business and ways of working and how do they find it easiest to access that information?

Check your P & Ps talk about you and your business. If you have bought them do they really reflect your ways of working? If you have got them from a website are they suitable for you? Do they cover everything required by the Eyfs framework?

Remember!

Your aim should always be to simplify what you are doing to make it more manageable for you. Then you can get on with the more important job of playing with the children

[Bumble Beez]

Fab Sarah...very helpful for pre-reg minders as well as those already up and running

Sarah x

[cherry]

Thank you Sarah

[bunyip]

Thanks Sarah.

Just to throw a spanner in the works, does anybody agree that policies & procedures seem to follow Bunyip's First Paradox of Information?

If it's comprehensive, it won't be understood.
If it's comprehensible, you've missed a h3ll of a lot out.

[shortstuff]

thanks Sarah x as always full of great info x

[Mrs Scrubbit]

Thanks Sarah xx

[ja-lula-belli]

Thanks what a great thread

Ja-Lula-Bell*****minding

[gef918]

Thanks Sarah. I haven't reviewed my policies since the EYFS changed last year - probably due a look.

[sazzylou]

Thank you sarah this has really helped me as i was stressing last week whilst writing my p & p's as in my old workplace we had many of them and didnt no wether i needed to have them too cx