EYPS

[venus89]

I completed my EYP in march although people are saying it may not be recognised it's good as you assess your own setting and allows you to make changes that you may not have done before if u need any help i still have all my stuff

Thanks Sarah - and congratulations. My mentor has still not contacted me, the uni is chasing her at the moment, and trying to email the course tutor is futile as she gets so many emails that she doesn't have the time to answer them all. So an offer of help is invaluable and you may live to regret it

Firstly, I do a 6 week review at the end of each term. It's a bog standard NCMA one - a section on the child's progress then a section for next steps and ideas for the parents and for myself to try to help the child move towards those next steps. I also try to get feedback from the parents on the review and, where applicable, build that into planning. Do you think I can use this as part of my evidence towards leadership and support, in that I am leading and supporting the parents?

Also (I warned you! ) I'd like to use setting up and running a Childminding Group as an activity for a written task - do you think this counts as an 'activity'?

And do you know if you can use the same subject for your presentation at the Gateway Review as you use in a written task?

Thankyou

[venus89]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG GGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Today is my Gateway review. This might be the point when I get turfed off the course, in which case the Juggler can continue with the step by step instructions when she starts it next year!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG GGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[Pipsqueak]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG GGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Today is my Gateway review. This might be the point when I get turfed off the course, in which case the Juggler can continue with the step by step instructions when she starts it next year!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG GGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

you will NOT get turfed off - I bet you will ace it all and so everyone a thing or two.

xxxxxx

[venus89]

you will NOT get turfed off - I bet you will ace it all and so everyone a thing or two.

xxxxxx

I wish! Panic's beginning to kick in now

[Pipsqueak]

I wish! Panic's beginning to kick in now

a little anxiety is good - just don;t let it control you
remember you DO know your job, you DO know what you are talking about, you DO know what they need to know. you wouldn't be here if you didn't.

go for it Venus xxx

[The Juggler]

You will be ace!!! So, let us know how it went..xx

[venus89]

Thank you guys.
Well, I finished at half past five and I'm still buzzing. Then, it is one of those weeks. This week I have my Gateway review, I've agreed to become Creche Leader at the Children's Centre from Jan, entirely on my terms (i think I was headhunted ), start mentoring properly, implement my new Group encouraging everyone to use the group to do obs plan AND have a new mindee starting, who is very very cut> I say this week - that's today and tomorrow!

Well, I did it. For better or worse, for pass or for fail, I did it. ANd I won't be doing it again in a hurry!

I started with the written tasks - 30 minutes to write about 5 situations (they do kill you if you give details so I can't, sadly......), both what you'd do in the short and long term. 30 minutes is not enough! I started with sentences and neat writing. By the end it was only the necessary words and my scruffiest writing ever.....

Part two was the presentation. This wasn't really a presentation in the sense that I understand it. We sat in a cirrcle and each spoke for four minutes about a change we'd implememnted, then had a group discussion. If you do EYPS, the group discussion is just as important as your presentation. It's about maintaining eye contact, giving input, drawing conclusions... Basically being a team player. If there's a quiet one, draw them in. In our group everyone, in my opinion, spoke fairly equally. I think it went ok.

Next was the bit I dreaded - the actor interview. I was expecting a safeguarding issue but it wasn't that hard. The actor was good and played along with the details I filled in that weren't in the brief, though even with the filling in I could only manage 10 out of 15 minutes. The nursery owner who went after me said the same - 'I finished really early'

Then finally I had my personal interview. This was the bit I enjoyed the most, though I have no idea how it went. I'm not sure how relevant my answers were to the questions I was asked, and the questions I was asked weren't specific to my role so I found them, at times, slightly puzzling. But equally I think I was relaxed at that stage as it was nearly over so maybe I just wasn't listening properly.

Feedback will come within 10 days...... I'll be interested to see what they say. You can't fail, but it can be recommended you move to a longer pathway. Watch this space.....

[The Juggler]

Thank you guys.
Well, I finished at half past five and I'm still buzzing. Then, it is one of those weeks. This week I have my Gateway review, I've agreed to become Creche Leader at the Children's Centre from Jan, entirely on my terms (i think I was headhunted ), start mentoring properly, implement my new Group encouraging everyone to use the group to do obs plan AND have a new mindee starting, who is very very cut> I say this week - that's today and tomorrow!

Well, I did it. For better or worse, for pass or for fail, I did it. ANd I won't be doing it again in a hurry!

I started with the written tasks - 30 minutes to write about 5 situations (they do kill you if you give details so I can't, sadly......), both what you'd do in the short and long term. 30 minutes is not enough! I started with sentences and neat writing. By the end it was only the necessary words and my scruffiest writing ever.....

Part two was the presentation. This wasn't really a presentation in the sense that I understand it. We sat in a cirrcle and each spoke for four minutes about a change we'd implememnted, then had a group discussion. If you do EYPS, the group discussion is just as important as your presentation. It's about maintaining eye contact, giving input, drawing conclusions... Basically being a team player. If there's a quiet one, draw them in. In our group everyone, in my opinion, spoke fairly equally. I think it went ok.

Next was the bit I dreaded - the actor interview. I was expecting a safeguarding issue but it wasn't that hard. The actor was good and played along with the details I filled in that weren't in the brief, though even with the filling in I could only manage 10 out of 15 minutes. The nursery owner who went after me said the same - 'I finished really early'

Then finally I had my personal interview. This was the bit I enjoyed the most, though I have no idea how it went. I'm not sure how relevant my answers were to the questions I was asked, and the questions I was asked weren't specific to my role so I found them, at times, slightly puzzling. But equally I think I was relaxed at that stage as it was nearly over so maybe I just wasn't listening properly.

Feedback will come within 10 days...... I'll be interested to see what they say. You can't fail, but it can be recommended you move to a longer pathway. Watch this space.....

well done! sounds like it went fab. large glass of something for you tonight then hon

[venus89]

I'm through the Gateway

(OMG that means I have to actually do some work )

[Pipsqueak]

I'm through the Gateway

(OMG that means I have to actually do some work )

thats fabby news well done

[nannymcflea]

I'm through the Gateway

(OMG that means I have to actually do some work )

Well done you, thats great news. xx

[The Juggler]

knew you would!

[Childrenatheart]

Really good luck with Gateway & beyond. I got persuaded by another CM who shall remain nameless to do the validation only (4m) route via the ou (she did it there as FD top up & is now an ou mentor) as Chi uni were really messing me about timetable-wise fr the short route.
I was terrified of Gateway but when it came to it I enjoyed it in a peverse way. The hardest bit was completing the written tasks after as we only got 3 weeks to do these & the evidence folder in.
Overall though the whole thing was a really piositive experience & even if there turns out to be no place for EYPs in the current Govt plans I'm glad I did it, both for me, my setting & their future development

[venus89]

Really good luck with Gateway & beyond. I got persuaded by another CM who shall remain nameless to do the validation only (4m) route via the ou (she did it there as FD top up & is now an ou mentor) as Chi uni were really messing me about timetable-wise fr the short route.
I was terrified of Gateway but when it came to it I enjoyed it in a peverse way. The hardest bit was completing the written tasks after as we only got 3 weeks to do these & the evidence folder in.
Overall though the whole thing was a really piositive experience & even if there turns out to be no place for EYPs in the current Govt plans I'm glad I did it, both for me, my setting & their future development

It's good to hear from other people who have done it. I don't have to hand my written tasks in until January so I have a bit longer than you, and I think I need it! Have you managed to do anything EYP related since you got the status? I agree, it's a very valuable thing to do - I know it's made me better, so I won't regret doing it even if I don't achieve EYPS. I've reevaluated a lot of what I do, dragged my group up, and already got a job offer on the back of it!

[Childrenatheart]

Wow - great news on the job offer! I definitely think I've benefited though I always suffer a bit from lack of confidence in my knowledge & wonder how I managed it lol.
I've been offered a mentor post from Jan by the OU & Chichester Uni for new EYP candidates but I'm not sure if anything will happen now that the CWDC have had their funding pulled. Still waiting to hear (
I want to carry on CM'g for the forseeable but I'd like to tutor too at some point. I would need to do an adult ed teaching qualification first though. My youngest child is in Y3 and I envisage developing my career beyong minding once she gets to Y7 (secondary school) and having a TTO school hours job is less necessary iyswim. There is a FT EYPS job being advertised near me that is only offering 18k pa. It sounds a lot compared to my turnover as a cm but its long hours with travel costs & childcare costs to account for, not to mention tax & NI, so the net profit wouldn't be much more than I get CM'g.

All the best with yours. Keep us posted with how you get on.

[UoB_EYPS]

The University of Brighton have just had some films produced about EYPS and are available at the following link - http://www.brighton.ac.uk/education/...php?PageId=704.

One of the films shows how Childminders can achieve EYPS and the benefits the course can bring.

Please let us your know your thoughts on these films and any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

[venus89]

Wow - great news on the job offer! I definitely think I've benefited though I always suffer a bit from lack of confidence in my knowledge & wonder how I managed it lol.
I've been offered a mentor post from Jan by the OU & Chichester Uni for new EYP candidates but I'm not sure if anything will happen now that the CWDC have had their funding pulled. Still waiting to hear (
I want to carry on CM'g for the forseeable but I'd like to tutor too at some point. I would need to do an adult ed teaching qualification first though. My youngest child is in Y3 and I envisage developing my career beyong minding once she gets to Y7 (secondary school) and having a TTO school hours job is less necessary iyswim. There is a FT EYPS job being advertised near me that is only offering 18k pa. It sounds a lot compared to my turnover as a cm but its long hours with travel costs & childcare costs to account for, not to mention tax & NI, so the net profit wouldn't be much more than I get CM'g.

All the best with yours. Keep us posted with how you get on.

Thank you - the job offer is actually creche leader at the Children's Centre. I'm doing it a couple of days a week to get experience of the other side.... Still, it's nice, and I'm pleased about it. Like you I want to carry on Childminding for now but having the opportunity to gain experience elsewhere is a valuable thing for me to have.

I've had a look, out of interest, at a few EYP jobs near me and, like you, I found that the pay scale is around the mid ten thousands..... At the moment I'm earning more than that Childminding! I guess we're just agents for change, rather than people who get paid a lot

Congratulations on the mentoring offer, that's brilliant. My mentor is a CM and her experience is really helping e. My tutors are completely ignorant about the role of Childminders - one called me a babysitter - so the more people within the EYPS world we can get who understand what we do, the better. As to the funding, my tutor is going to help rewrite the next edition of the course guidance before Christmas so I think we're all safe for now.....

Keep us updated with how you get on x

[venus89]

The University of Brighton have just had some films produced about EYPS and are available at the following link - http://www.brighton.ac.uk/education/...php?PageId=704.

One of the films shows how Childminders can achieve EYPS and the benefits the course can bring.

Please let us your know your thoughts on these films and any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you - I'll have a look at that over the weekend and give you some feedback once I've seen them....

[Childrenatheart]

I found that the pay scale is around the mid ten thousands..... At the moment I'm earning more than that Childminding! I guess we're just agents for change, rather than people who get paid a lot

lol Think I'd prefer that the other way round

[manjay]

The University of Brighton have just had some films produced about EYPS and are available at the following link - http://www.brighton.ac.uk/education/...php?PageId=704.

One of the films shows how Childminders can achieve EYPS and the benefits the course can bring.

Please let us your know your thoughts on these films and any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Very nice to see a childminder getting the recognition she deserves