Paperwork in practice

[zanacal]

I've had my pre reg visit so just waiting for my certificate and trying to get my head around how things will work in practice, any advice much appreciated

I have a one page sheet which I think is a good summary of the type of childminder I am (or will be!), what my opening hours are etc. which I was planning to send to anybody making an enquiry. I'm thinking I will also have a Portfolio which will stay in the setting and be available for parents to look through when they visit (or any other time) and I'll need a file of information to give to parents who sign up - I guess that will include details of my settling in arrangements, what their child should bring, what arrangements for food are, what to do if their child is ill etc. and possibly the policies they have to be given (safeguarding and complaints iirc). Anything else which should go in there? Do others send (email?) all their policies? I guess it would make sense to do that if somebody says they want to sign up because they can then sign to say they've (hopefully!) read them all when they come to do their paperwork.

I'd love to hear how anybody else works so I can figure out what I think will work best for me - I'm sure it will change in time but I need a starting point!

[zanacal]

Bumping this up in case somebody can help

[Simona]

I've had my pre reg visit so just waiting for my certificate and trying to get my head around how things will work in practice, any advice much appreciated

I have a one page sheet which I think is a good summary of the type of childminder I am (or will be!), what my opening hours are etc. which I was planning to send to anybody making an enquiry. I'm thinking I will also have a Portfolio which will stay in the setting and be available for parents to look through when they visit (or any other time) and I'll need a file of information to give to parents who sign up - I guess that will include details of my settling in arrangements, what their child should bring, what arrangements for food are, what to do if their child is ill etc. and possibly the policies they have to be given (safeguarding and complaints iirc). Anything else which should go in there? Do others send (email?) all their policies? I guess it would make sense to do that if somebody says they want to sign up because they can then sign to say they've (hopefully!) read them all when they come to do their paperwork.

I'd love to hear how anybody else works so I can figure out what I think will work best for me - I'm sure it will change in time but I need a starting point!

Hope this will help
-Prospectus...a good overview of what you intend to offer, hours of business and ethos...what parents need to bring, food provided, notice agreement, fee payment, holidays etc etc

-Portfolio...this will include all your details as registered cm...Ofsted certificate, insurance, training and CPD...build it up as you go along and divide it into sections as per EYFS: Child protection, health, safety etc etc
Ofsted will look at this as evidence of your practice

-Parents info pack: sample of your policies, all paperwork samples they will need to sign and agree to: medication, accidents, invoice sample, consent forms etc etc

-Contract...either your own or off the shelf plus a comprehensive list of Terms and Conditions that includes payment policy, confidentiality etc etc

Come back if you need more ...

[alex__17]

I have a folder with all about me type page, certificates, dbs checks etc, fees, policies and procedures. I keep it all together then parents can look when they visit and I email them a copy of policies once all signed up. Used to have separate files but theres too many so put all in one

[zanacal]

Wonderful, thank you both.

I'm currently trying to ensure I don't have information duplicated across my contract, All About Me and Child Record Forms. I was all set until I got the MM contracts in the post and realised so much had already been covered elsewhere so may look to put together my own contracts.

[alex__17]

I use mm contracts, still make parents fill out my own forms etc with emergency contacts, sun protection permission etc etc, no one has complained about duplicating and I ha written the policies etc before getting the contracts, at least this way I know I have all the info I need and haven't missed anything.