Mad March Hares

Good morning!

It's March! Already! January took forever to pass, and suddenly it's already March!

Hope everyone is well, happy and keeping busy. I'm looking forward to being to get out in the garden more with the children (and hopefully, therefore, keep the playroom tidier :laughing: I have 2 14/15mth olds who are very much in the 'empty every conceivable box of everything' stage of development. :D

Has everyone got their funding rates and the like? I think come September every single under 5 i have will be using funded hours. I'm a little concerned about how much 'power' that gives the govt/LA over my business, but I shall give it a whirl. (Incidentally whilst I'm here .. can anyone remember when the 9mth plus/2 yrs funding becomes 30 hours? Thank you :) )

Evening!

Yes, I'm also looking forward to using the garden without feeling like we are destroying it and just turning it into a mud pit. However Loocyloo, it doesn't matter if my mindees go into the playroom for five minutes or five hours - they manage to make it look like a tornado has hit it.

I think I have got my head around funding for now. How it will play out long term remains to be seen. I can't remember when it all becomes 30 hrs loocyloo, sorry.

Pixie dust, hope you are still enjoying the course. We're almost at the end of the language bit and overall I have really enjoyed it.

Has anyone done the SENDCO course?

Has anyone started Easter stuff yet? I think I'm doing a 'regular' week next week and then I'll get the Easter bits and bobs/crafts out.

I'm going to do Easter for last 2 weeks of March. One of those is last week of term, so my term time onlies can do a bit, and then we have a week's holidays, so I'll need to have plenty up my sleeve without school runs to break up the day!

Morning....

I can't believe how quickly the weeks seem to be flying by!

Our garden is so muddy too! We do have a decked area too but that is getting so slippery too! We saw a brief glimpse of Spring on Saturday but we are back to the damp and grey clouds again.


Maza yes I can't believe we have nearly got to the end of the first section. I have mostly enjoyed it and am looking forward to less webinars.


All my children are funded at the moment as they are all 3 years, it's not too bad here as we get paid monthly from our LA.

I haven't even thought about Easter activities yet, our term ends 28th March then we have 2 weeks school holidays. I need to get planning, we have had so much going on as a family it has just been a bit crazy!


We have had a lot of illness here too including myself (normally I am pretty immune to the children's bugs) one has come back today after being off for 2 weeks as seems to have completely forgotten how to play with the others, they are literally going around taking toys of everyone else and basically annoying the other children! It's going to be a long day :(

The funding is planned to go to 30 hours in September 2025, but I'm not convinced it'll ever happen, especially if we have a new government after the election.

I don't have any problems with processing the funding, but like you say Loocyloo, I don't like the fact that the government/LA have so much say over what I can and can't do in my own business. I feel we're stuck. We could decide not to offer funding, but them how much work would we actually get?

Maza & Pixie Dust I'm glad you're enjoying the course. I've just about finished it and have found it really enjoyable. I think it's helped that the group I'm in is lovely. We chat quite a bit in our WhatsApp group and it's good to get views from nursery staff as well as other childminders. We've shared some really good ideas.

I've recently started the SENCO course and I'm finding it much more of a slog. I'm just holding on the fact it's a much shorter course. It's pretty intense, but it'll all be over soon :laughing:

Mouse, I've signed up for the SENCO course, and I 'think' I have been accepted onto it. The email I got after I applied didn't exactly say I was on it, but that they would let me know which cohort I would be in. All I've heard though is that it is intense and a lot of reading! Are the webinars really three hours long? That seems a lot in one go!

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Originally Posted by Maza

Mouse, I've signed up for the SENCO course, and I 'think' I have been accepted onto it. The email I got after I applied didn't exactly say I was on it, but that they would let me know which cohort I would be in. All I've heard though is that it is intense and a lot of reading! Are the webinars really three hours long? That seems a lot in one go!

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Oh wow Maza well done for signing up for another course. I have done a basic SENCO course that's all.

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Maza & Pixie Dust I'm glad you're enjoying the course. I've just about finished it and have found it really enjoyable. I think it's helped that the group I'm in is lovely. We chat quite a bit in our WhatsApp group and it's good to get views from nursery staff as well as other childminders. We've shared some really good idea

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My group is in an interesting bunch, its a 50/50 split between childminders and settings.

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Originally Posted by Maza

Mouse, I've signed up for the SENCO course, and I 'think' I have been accepted onto it. The email I got after I applied didn't exactly say I was on it, but that they would let me know which cohort I would be in. All I've heard though is that it is intense and a lot of reading! Are the webinars really three hours long? That seems a lot in one go!

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Yes, 3 hour long webinars! I've got my second one this weekend. The good thing is there are only 4 webinars in total.

I've made a start on the SENCO course. I've done three of the self study units, so I'm ahead of schedule - but it's only because I have had a bit of time on my hands. Once the other course starts up again after Easter I won't have as much time though. I'm quite enjoying it - BUT I haven't attempted the written assignments yet. So many people from the FB group seem to get their assignments sent back to them and have to add to them, so I'm quite nervous about that bit.

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Originally Posted by Maza

I've made a start on the SENCO course. I've done three of the self study units, so I'm ahead of schedule - but it's only because I have had a bit of time on my hands. Once the other course starts up again after Easter I won't have as much time though. I'm quite enjoying it - BUT I haven't attempted the written assignments yet. So many people from the FB group seem to get their assignments sent back to them and have to add to them, so I'm quite nervous about that bit.

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Well done Maza, I don't think I could do both of them at the same time. I am actually now behind on the other course and have to do a 'catch up' session for the action planning and I haven't done any of the maths e-learning as didn't want to do it too early and then forget about it when it came to the webinars but it's on my 'to do' list for today so I will see how far I get with everything!

I'm in awe of both of you! Well done, and enjoy it!

I've got a couple of childcare.co.uk webinars to catch up on, and that is more than enough for me !!!

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Originally Posted by loocyloo

I'm in awe of both of you! Well done, and enjoy it!

I've got a couple of childcare.co.uk webinars to catch up on, and that is more than enough for me !!!

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Yeah, I'll definitely be having a bit of a break from CPD once these two are over! I just wanted to make the most of the free ones and was in the mood for something a bit longer, so the time was just right for me - having said that, I obviously haven't finished any of them yet!

Pixie dust - I have stopped printing out the webinar notes sheets and just jot down notes in my notebook - printer ink is so expensive these days.

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Originally Posted by Maza

I've made a start on the SENCO course. I've done three of the self study units, so I'm ahead of schedule - but it's only because I have had a bit of time on my hands. Once the other course starts up again after Easter I won't have as much time though. I'm quite enjoying it - BUT I haven't attempted the written assignments yet. So many people from the FB group seem to get their assignments sent back to them and have to add to them, so I'm quite nervous about that bit.

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I've completed the first 2 written assignments and didn't have to do any amendments. You really don't have to write a great deal. I didn't!

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Originally Posted by Mouse

I've completed the first 2 written assignments and didn't have to do any amendments. You really don't have to write a great deal. I didn't!

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That's brilliant Mouse! The FB page scares me, lol.