daily paperwork

[kellypm]

hello all

im hoping you can help me hopefully im already doing what i need to but im just worried that im not doing the paperwork i should be, each child has their own book that i complete each day detailing what they have done and i include a section for any comments i have about the day, i also write out plans for each day and have been doing development assesments for each child at least once a month as well. i am new to childminding although i registered back in december its only now that the work is coming in and i have become a little hazy on the things ofsted might be mad about if i don't do. if anybody can point me in the right direction for things i should be doing i would be most grateful .

Thanks very much

Kelly

[Daftbat]

Sounds like you are on the right track. Each setting is different and you need a system which works for you. SO long as you are showing links through activities to the six learning areas and also linking that to their next steps in learning then you are ok.

I do a daily diary which the parents can add comments to and i show the links in the diarys to the next steps. I have a separate folder for observations and actual next steps dox.

As far as planning goes i do an indepth one at the beginning of each month based on a theme and then weekly i set out some specific planned activities using a spider diagram. Sometimes its more in depth than others such asw school hols when i have older children to think about. The only other thing is monthly individual planning for the u5's based upon what they actually enjoy doing.

Sounds a lot but if its kept up to date it doesn't take long.

[Chatterbox Childcare]

Sounds to me like you are doing too much. Why do you need to plan for each day? Are you allowing enough time for child led activities.

I have 2 activities planned per week and the rest is all routine groups and child led fun. The activities rarely get done either and the weather changes and we go out/in or the children want to do something else.

[kellypm]

thanks for the advice ladies, i think everyone does things so differently its hard to know "whats expected"

i do , do a daily plan but its just for me really so i have ideas written down, the days often are lead by child unless we are doing an activity like painting etc which i have set up. or end up going out if the weather permits .

once again thanks for your help and advice

Kelly

[Winnie]

I'm doing a lot of retrospective planning :D

[Pipsqueak]

I'm doing a lot of retrospective planning :D

hmmm methinks but I probably won't admit to it out loud but thats what I do!!! lol

[little chickee]

i have struggled with the whole planning thing - i know cms who do daily diaries, weekly meal plans, monthly activity plans, etc

i dont do any of these and im beginning to think that im doing something wrong or being lazy! i am very much child led i have a range of activities that are availiable on a daily basis and the kids chose what they want to do which sometimes is playing in the garden all day.

i have had my inspection and acheived a grade 5 so should i be doing more paperwork or continue to focus on just being with the kids!!
im actually starting to worry about this:( :(

[Daftbat]

Its a case of doing what works in your setting and being able to show how you keep track of and support children development.

The diaries and planning help me to show this to Ofsted - i would find it hard to just explain everything without it.

[beckyteddy]

I do my planning as part of my observations.........I observe the child playing (and write it down!) and then link what I saw to the 6 areas of learning and development. I then write at the bottom what the next steps for that child would be, ie. what activities I can provide/what books I can borrow from the library/what trips we could go on, so that I can extend the childs interest or help them progress with whatever it is they are learning to do.

Then the next observation i make will normally be an observation of that child playing with the toy or activity that I "planned" as their next step. This way you ARE planning for each childs development/interests but you don't actually have to write seperate plans. I had my inspection 2 months ago and my inspector said what I am doing is perfectly ok and there is no need to do in-depth plans (unless you really want to!)