MSE Parents Club Part 13

Claire_Jones_3

Fitzio wrote: »

Thanks Claire (and everyone else)! You may regret that!

It was difficult to judge her properly as she spent about an hour and a half talking to me but didn’t really tell me much. The kids were just wandering around with dummies in, not doing very much. It’s hard to know whether this would have been different if I hadn’t been there, but I got the impression there just wasn’t much structure to their play etc. She made comments like “it’s not a nursery, it’s a home from home”, which I can understand on one hand, but I also felt it meant she wasn’t putting much effort in to actively looking after them and doing anything constructive with them.

I would be curious as to the ages that were walking round with dummies as there are restrictions on numbers. You can plan in free choice times where the children have choice what to do but usually you use some sort of structure e.g. playing with jigsaws, puzzles - quieter activites and other occassions of noisy play if you know what i mean. Ask your childminders if they work with EYFS (Early years foundation stage), if they have individual diaries for each child to show their development stage - essential if they claim the 15hrs per week funded education.

Also there was another childminder present who I had been e-mailing so that was quite awkward. She didn’t introduce herself at first so I had no idea who she was. Then they kept saying “we do this, we do that”, so I kind of felt they are a very close knit group, and that it wasn’t giving me much choice. If they go on outings, the children could end up in another childminder’s car which I don’t think is really right if I am paying one to look after her.

I would never carry another childminders minded children in my car and vice versa. As the parents haven't necessarily met the other driver/seen them driving etc. Bio-logical children is different as he/she would know me and my driving.

Also, how do CMs cope with different kids having different routines? I got the impression from her that Holly would have to fit in with her routine. I can understand it must be difficult if you have a few young ones, but if Holly needs 2 naps, I don’t really want her being forced to stay awake to suit other people. There was no sleeping area, it was just a buggy in a corner of the living room facing the wall, which I really didn’t like at all. I don’t even think Holly would sleep in it. Is that normal? I don’t know if i am just being snobby or if my concerns are reasonable!

I would be willing to vary my routine to fit with Holly but would also have to consider other children as well. e.g Holly might want to nap at 3pm but if I have to do the school run then she would have to nap in the pushchair or wait until we get back. We are fortunate that my bedroom or one of the boys bedrooms can be used as the sleep area.

Feel free to ignore me or if anyone else has opinions or experiences, feel free to chip in and tell me what a snob I am being. It’s only for one day a week, so I don’t want to be too anal about it, but at the same time, she is my baby and I will feel guilty enough about leaving her.

You not being anal you're a mum who cares and can't help it! I've not been getting enough childminding work so i'm looking for other jobs (interview at 3.30!!) and not looking forward to the boot being on the other foot.


And I said I wasn't chatty!!!

I can go into more detail of things to look out for/ask if you want - sorry reply took so long one handed typing due to sleepy baby cuddles from Reece

emlou2009

Fitz have you tried looking through the NCMA? I was told that childminders that register with the NCMA are usually better than the government registered ones (sorry, I have no idea what the technical term is, crap nights sleep lol) because the NCMA are stricter about the ones they take on?
When I was looking for a CM, I hated the ones that are clearly only doing the job because they want to stay at home with their own kids, and one inparticular had a daughter, was looking after 2 boys as well and only had dolls and pink toys for the kids to play with :eek:
I found a email for someone at the NCMA on my local council website, so I sent a pleading "help me, woe is me!" email, and she came back with a list of local CM's who were all exactly what I was looking for. I just went with the closest!

gill_81uk

Fitz - I really feel for you. I've got all this to go through next year and I'm dreading it!
st
Beenie and Ladybird - could I ask which survey site you're getting the luncheon vouchers from? PM me if you prefer. I'm just getting back into surveying to get some extra treats while i'm on smp

My_Fathers_Daughter

To be perfectly honest Fitz (and I am hoping that it is the same in Scotland) I wonder how she has got past her offstead assessment. Childminders are goverened by the same regulations as nurseries and have to prove that they do activities every day that are geared towards meeting the needs of each individual child. They have to demonstrate that they structure activities to develop different aspects of a childs character and plan for further personal development.

I can't remember all of it now but I could get Benjamins personal folder from the CM tonight and give some examples if you think it would help?

Actually, I would just give her up as a bad apple (email her or message her on netmums to thank her for her time but you are continuing your search elsewhere or something) and move on.

Hope you feel a bit less depressed now you have got it off your chest though.


Edit - Claire got there before me LOL and she knows a lot more!

Claire_Jones_3

emlou2009 wrote: »

Fitz have you tried looking through the NCMA? I was told that childminders that register with the NCMA are usually better than the government registered ones (sorry, I have no idea what the technical term is, crap nights sleep lol) because the NCMA are stricter about the ones they take on?
When I was looking for a CM, I hated the ones that are clearly only doing the job because they want to stay at home with their own kids, and one inparticular had a daughter, was looking after 2 boys as well and only had dolls and pink toys for the kids to play with :eek:
I found a email for someone at the NCMA on my local council website, so I sent a pleading "help me, woe is me!" email, and she came back with a list of local CM's who were all exactly what I was looking for. I just went with the closest!

emlou anyone can register with the NCMA as long as you pay their membership fees. Although I agree with you it does tend to be people that really care that register

Claire_Jones_3

My_Fathers_Daughter wrote: »

To be perfectly honest Fitz (and I am hoping that it is the same in Scotland) I wonder how she has got past her offstead assessment. Childminders are goverened by the same regulations as nurseries and have to prove that they do activities every day that are geared towards meeting the needs of each individual child. They have to demonstrate that they structure activities to develop different aspects of a childs character and plan for further personal development.
.

Ofsted's inspections are being carried out by a contracted company soon so the inspectors may be being a bit lapse at the moment as they won't know if their jobs are safe - not that that is in anyway an excuse!

Thats the EYFS guidelines I mentioned - you can order a copy for yourself to look at so you can see developmental milestones

MFD: But I only know things from the childminders point of view not as a parent so its good to hear a childminder doing things well for benjamin and making sure you understand the things she is doing with him and why

Claire_Jones_3

look at me taking over the thread today lol

Fitzio

Thanks for the further info. As I am in Scotland, I don't know if we have equivalent to NCMA and EYFS, both of these seem to be England and Wales? Will look into them both later and see if there is.

The website I have been using is a government one:
http://www.scottishchildcare.gov.uk/Home.aspx

And then looking at Inspection Reports on Care Commission website. The first lady I contacted who had the best ratings on her reports didn't have a vacancy on the day I need. She recommended the CM who was sitting there and i had e-mailed. She said she had a vacancy and then stopped answering my e-mails! The day I need is a Wednesday, and that's the day that all of the childminders meet up apparently in a local hall. the one I visited also asked "does she go in the walky?", which I think meant "Can I dump her in a babywalker for hours on end?". She said that the hall can be dirty so she puts them in the "walky" to avoid them getting dirty!

I asked about a daily diary, and she said she did do one, but to be honest, there was really much to put in it at their age, and she mainly uses it for the older ones.

Her Inspection Report was good, which tells me not to rely heavily on them! In fact, she was expecting an unannounced inspection any day and thought they might come whist I was there. And yet, it didn't look like she was making much of an effort - she couldn't find certificates and insurance docs etc when I asked about them.

Claire - I think the ages of the 2 young kids were 15 and 16 months. There were also about 6 other older kids around, but I don't know which ones were her charges. It's school holidays here so some would usually be at school. I think a few of them were another CM's though and she was doing holiday cover for her. Her own children are grown up and she has been doing childminding for 10 years.

Thank you all for your sympathies and advice. I won't give up, and at least I now have something to benchmark against. The next one must be better! Plus, I now have a better idea of what I want, so can probably ask more questions on the phone and rule people out straight away rather than visit everyone.

My_Fathers_Daughter

Claire_Jones wrote: »

Ofsted's inspections are being carried out by a contracted company soon so the inspectors may be being a bit lapse at the moment as they won't know if their jobs are safe - not that that is in anyway an excuse!

Thats the EYFS guidelines I mentioned - you can order a copy for yourself to look at so you can see developmental milestones

MFD: But I only know things from the childminders point of view not as a parent so its good to hear a childminder doing things well for benjamin and making sure you understand the things she is doing with him and why

My mum works with CMs in Early Years for Derbyshire County Council so she tells me a lot of stuff that CM should be doing!

When mum picked Benjamin up from his CM one day mum ended up staying for an hour 'talking shop'!!! (CM lives in Staffordshire so no link there)


Good luck for this afternoon Claire x

Claire_Jones_3

Fitzio wrote: »

Thanks for the further info. As I am in Scotland, I don't know if we have equivalent to NCMA and EYFS, both of these seem to be England and Wales? Will look into them both later and see if there is.

The website I have been using is a government one:
http://www.scottishchildcare.gov.uk/Home.aspx

And then looking at Inspection Reports on Care Commission website. The first lady I contacted who had the best ratings on her reports didn't have a vacancy on the day I need. She recommended the CM who was sitting there and i had e-mailed. She said she had a vacancy and then stopped answering my e-mails! The day I need is a Wednesday, and that's the day that all of the childminders meet up apparently in a local hall. the one I visited also asked "does she go in the walky?", which I think meant "Can I dump her in a babywalker for hours on end?". She said that the hall can be dirty so she puts them in the "walky" to avoid them getting dirty!

I asked about a daily diary, and she said she did do one, but to be honest, there was really much to put in it at their age, and she mainly uses it for the older ones.

Her Inspection Report was good, which tells me not to rely heavily on them! In fact, she was expecting an unannounced inspection any day and thought they might come whist I was there. And yet, it didn't look like she was making much of an effort - she couldn't find certificates and insurance docs etc when I asked about them.

Claire - I think the ages of the 2 young kids were 15 and 16 months. There were also about 6 other older kids around, but I don't know which ones were her charges. It's school holidays here so some would usually be at school. I think a few of them were another CM's though and she was doing holiday cover for her. Her own children are grown up and she has been doing childminding for 10 years.

Thank you all for your sympathies and advice. I won't give up, and at least I now have something to benchmark against. The next one must be better! Plus, I now have a better idea of what I want, so can probably ask more questions on the phone and rule people out straight away rather than visit everyone.

Even if she was doing holiday cover for another childminder then she shouldn;t be going over her registered numbers - mine are 1 under the age of 1, no more than 3 under 5's (including the under 1 if I have one) and no more than 3 between ages of 5 and 8. Over 8's is unrestricted as long as it doesn't impact on under 8's care.

Ofsted make you display your registration and insurance documents so if she couldn't find them I'd be concerned - although I appreciate the rules may be different in Scotland. However what if your child had a medical issue and she couldn't find the details of their medication or I am just over reacting now!

Feel free to ask anything else and I'll tryo to find out on regulations etc in Scotland.