Essentials!

[knittaroo]

Hi there, a few of us have hooked up on this forum, as we are all in roughly the same stage pre-registration (all waiting for our pre-reg visit basically). We are scattered nationwide, and seem to all have very different ideas about which policies, risk assessments etc are 'essential', and which are 'recommended good practice' and which are just 'bonus extras'. I did the online training (CYPOP5) and was under the impression we only NEEDED to have policies on;
~safeguarding
~behaviour
~accident, emergencies and illness,
~equal opportunities.

Risk assessments were I thought good practice, but didn't necessarily need to be in writing.

Could some one with a bit of experience please clarify with us if there is anything alse that IS essential - smoking policy? Late collection policy? Lost child policy? It seems to me we could write policies for everything if we wanted to but it just makes more work for us and more reading for potential clients.

Many Thanks

[bunyip]

Hi there, a few of us have hooked up on this forum, as we are all in roughly the same stage pre-registration (all waiting for our pre-reg visit basically). We are scattered nationwide, and seem to all have very different ideas about which policies, risk assessments etc are 'essential', and which are 'recommended good practice' and which are just 'bonus extras'. I did the online training (CYPOP5) and was under the impression we only NEEDED to have policies on;
~safeguarding
~behaviour
~accident, emergencies and illness,
~equal opportunities.

Risk assessments were I thought good practice, but didn't necessarily need to be in writing.

Could some one with a bit of experience please clarify with us if there is anything alse that IS essential - smoking policy? Late collection policy? Lost child policy? It seems to me we could write policies for everything if we wanted to but it just makes more work for us and more reading for potential clients.

Many Thanks

Hi Knittaroo :)

You need to download and take a look at this recent Ofsted factsheet: Ofsted | Factsheet: childcare - Requirements for written documents: childminders delivering the Early Years Foundation Stage (http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/factsheet-childcare-requirements-for-written-documents-childminders-delivering-early-years-foundatio)

One thing to bear in mind is that, whilst something might not be a regulatory requirement, it might be a practical necessity (or at least of high practical value) to you. That will depend on the type of person you are. For example, I'm a 'visual thinker' type of person, so I find it invaluable to see things written down or laid out in front of me (I'm an obsessive list-writer for one thing. :D ) I might know my stuff but my memory is appalling, especially when in any sort of strssful sitution like being tested/inspected. So without written policies and RAs I would find it impossible to explain them consistently to a parent, assistant or Ofsted inspector.

Apart from anything else, a lot of us already had these things in writing, pre-EYFS2012, and saw little point in shredding them.

I do take your point about the risk of overwhelming parents with paperwork and stuff to read. I present my policies to parents within my Parents' Information Guide (a sort of prospectus) and it's up to them whether they read them or not, but they all have to sign to say they understand as they're essential to the contract and the way I work. Their risk.

I know I've lost some work to unregistered CM/babysitters cos parents don't want to be bothered with paperwork, especially for ad hoc and one-offs. But I console myself with the fact that i don't want to bothered with parents who think it's too much trouble to find a good, conscientious childcarer. :thumbsup: