hi all

im due my 1st graded inspection sometime next month and as i have only just began childminding this month im feeling slightly unprepared lol. I was just wondering...........

wht toys/equipment r best to get/have ( i am lacking in alot as only jst started and definatley have no multicultural/diversity or dress up etc) :(

i have cars/ traintrack/till and playfood/variety of animals and dinosaurs/ books and jigsaws/ sticklebricks

iv been looking at soooooo much online and wud like everythin but jst cant afford it :( sniff

Write yourself a wishlist of things that you would like & will hopefully get in the future. This shows Ofsted that even though you might not have all the things you want, you are aware of what you need and will work towards getting it.

Have you got a toy library near you? They're great for borrowing toys for a week or two. It means you have a good turnover of different toys, can chose things to suit the children that you have and they very often have multicultural toys.

And if funds are limited, look out on places like Freecycle & Netmums for things being given away or sold cheaply. It's surprising what you can pick up if you're on the look out. Making your own things is another cheap way of getting equipment - musical instruments are easy to make - sweet tin & wooden spoons for a drum, empty plastic bottles with different things inside them for shakers etc.
Similarly, dressing up clothes don't need to be shop bought ones. Old handbags, hats, gloves etc are always popular, plus old waistcoats, shawls etc.

You could print posters from the internet, there are free printable welcome posters or posters with different languages. You could make one with photographs of people from magazines.

What about getting some books from the library about festivals in the coming month.

Do your menus show that you serve foods from other countries/cultures.

My inspector liked that we'd eaten Chines food for dinner than used the internet to find a site to print the menu in Chinese writing.

thank you for your help :-D

im probs jst panicking a bit to much jst dont feel ready yet but guess they understand it all come thru us learning as we go along and toys etc will b built up over time.
il sort myself out ;-)

Toy library's are great especially for sourcing things that a specific child is interested in. My son is interested in native american Indians so we borrowed an indian village with wooden little kayaks and wig wams. They are also great for borrowing ethnic dolls, wheelchairs for dolls etc etc.

Loopy i have just posted in discounts section that ELC do a discount card for childminders (you need to take in proof of your registration or NCMA card) and at present you get 20% off instead of the usual 10%

I would recommend their "bag for life" healthy food bag and they also do a "my first doll" as a dark of light skinned version for £8 (+ your discount)

Don;t forget to make use of what you DO have for instance;
Many of your books will promote different people and images.
You have a lot of heuristic resources/toys - wooden spoons, metal bowls, stuff in your cupboards, you can make your own dough etc.


good luck with your inspection:thumbsup:

Hi!
When I first got started, I went to bootsales and charity shops for multicultural toys, I found a black doll at the booty for £1, you could also look on ebay?
Good luck with your inspection!

thanks every1 for ur help and advice :-)

she has phoned and is coming thurs :-O feel totally unprepared lol but she sounded lovely and said should be finished by lunch. iv got so much paper work to go over as my printer has bn out of ink so am now stressing! know il be fine n will b glad to get it over with though. am sure il learn alot from it