New childminder and no confidence in what i am doing! terrified!!!!

[emmas]

Hi all,

I am a new registered childminder, I have one after school child on my books at the moment which is great. My problem is I am so terrified by all the paperwork I am frightened to take on an EYFS mindee!!! I have turned 2 down already!
In my head I know whats expected of me, but it terrifies me I might do it wrong, or miss something out. It all seems so complicated. Is it really this frightening or is this my dyslexia kicking in? am I the only one to feel like this?

Is this a good basic idea of what is required of me:
All about me form when child starts:
Baseline review of childs abilities in all 7 areas shortly after starting:
create weekly/monthly plan of adult/child led activities:
start doing observations, and from that plan next steps:
(all the above become the star of a learning journal)
2 year review depending on age:
daily diary:

I am so worried I will do something wrong, and when I get inspected ofsted will strike me off for being really bad!!!

Any advice will be gratefully received,

Emma

[moggy]

That list sounds absolutely perfect. Once you get started it will start to fall into place.

If you are taking on an under-2 you can even just concentrate on the 3 prime areas at first as they are most important and the other Areas develop from the Prime areas.
The written plan of adult led activities as not a real must either, especially for the little ones- as long as you have an idea of what you want to do and why (like: 'want to do some playdough next week because Johnny is starting to notice marks he is making and he likes investigating things with his hands') it does not have to be written down, unless you find that helpful. No point typing up 'Wed- playdough' as that child might not fancy it that day or you decide to go out instead! Keep it flexible and follow the child. Planning could just be notes in a diary... you just find what works for you.

If you are newly registered it is very unlikely you will see an inspector for 2 years or more- they are so far behind with inspections (many of us are 5-6 years waiting and they have to get us all who have not been seen since 2012 inspected in this cycle ending Aug 2016) and they need to prioritise those with inadequates/complaints etc. So newly registered minders are the least of their concerns!

So really, put Ofsted out of your mind for now or you can end up doing nothing for fear of doing it wrong. Get started, ask your questions here. You can do it!

Do you have a local CMer group or do you know any CMers who you can visit, see how they do things and run through your ideas? Can you ask yoru LA to put you in touch with a CM support network or a LA adviser? It can be very helpful.

[bunyip]

I'm with Moggy. It's a good list you have there.

What area are you in? Are there any CMs nearby who can offer some support or offer some "mentoring" ? (I hate these terms but it conveys the general idea.)

Oh, and btw I'm pretty cr4p and Ofsted haven't struck me off.***





(*** Anyone who hits "Reply with Quote" and types "yet" gets reported. )

[Ripeberry]

Don't worry about it. All Ofsted want to know is how well you know the children and at what stage they are at on the EYFS. LJ's are working documents so they can be changed to suit your mood and style of observing. It's much easier with younger children as only the main areas are important. I find it's from 3+ that it get more complicated.
Sounds like you're doing fine

[emmas]

Thanks so much folks for your support, as luck would have it I received an email today from the LA childcare advisor, she is scheduled to call me soon, so I plan to arrange a meeting to voice my concerns. They also run EYFS courses, but the next one is a while away, but still its somthing to help in the future.

Thanks again

Emma

[fela78]

Give yourself time and everything will fall into place! It's overwhelming at the beginning but I'm sure you will manage

[blue bear]

Try and relax, take one thing at a time. Have you got all about me forms for your first eys child? You just hand them to parent to complete. There first step done.
So baby comes for the first day,you blow raspberries,babble at him, dangle him on your knee,cuddle him, sing and read stories. You write in his diary al the things you have done. he and you has a fabulous day he's happy, you are happy parents are happy. That's the basics of childminding in my opinion.

Print out a copy of early years outcomes and highlight all the things you noticed today that baby could do.
Print a couple of photos and link to eyfs things like holds his head up - physical, next step encourage him to do more,babbles, communication and language, next step maintain eye contact, repeat sounds, model conversation turn taking.
Tomorrow plan for a walk out.
That's it paper work done. Aim for a couple a week in the very early days.

After a few weeks you will write a shirt summary of all the development you have observed and gets parents input and list some next steps.

That's it back to daily routine having fun and baby cuddles.

One thing at a time is key, baby centre of everything you do, paperwork is just the background stuff.

[Amanda70]

Hi all,

I am a new registered childminder, I have one after school child on my books at the moment which is great. My problem is I am so terrified by all the paperwork I am frightened to take on an EYFS mindee!!! I have turned 2 down already!
In my head I know whats expected of me, but it terrifies me I might do it wrong, or miss something out. It all seems so complicated. Is it really this frightening or is this my dyslexia kicking in? am I the only one to feel like this?

Is this a good basic idea of what is required of me:
All about me form when child starts:
Baseline review of childs abilities in all 7 areas shortly after starting:
create weekly/monthly plan of adult/child led activities:
start doing observations, and from that plan next steps:
(all the above become the star of a learning journal)
2 year review depending on age:
daily diary:

I am so worried I will do something wrong, and when I get inspected ofsted will strike me off for being really bad!!!

Any advice will be gratefully received,

Emma

Hi, I was registered in June and felt and still feel the same as you. This forum has really helped me understand what I'm supposed to do. I currently mind a 16 month old and a 4 year old who's starting school this week and next week I have a 10 month old and 3 year old starting with me so yes I am nervous because its more learning journeys and stuff to do. I think I'm doing it right but the main thing is that the children are cared for and happy and you provide activities for their development and let them play and learn. I hope this has helped