Independent Childminders and... Ofsted
As a self employed independent Ofsted registered childminder you will be responsible for ensuring you are prepared for your Ofsted inspection. It is unlikely that Local Authority support will be available in the future - so you will have to do it all yourself - as many childminders already do now.
Inspections take place, normally, every 3 - 4 years but you might have an inspection (announced or unannounced) at any time if a complaint is made against you. Priority is given to childminders who have been graded unsatisfactory or ‘requires improvement’.
To help prepare for Ofsted you need to meet the requirements of -
· The EYFS
· The Childcare Registers
Other inspection considerations -
· Balancing learning and play
· Displaying documents for Ofsted
· Supporting children
· Sharing information with other settings
Ofsted inspection
Very few childminders look forward to and actively enjoy their Ofsted inspection... I do!
I want to show my inspector everything I have done with the children over the last few years! Yes, of course I am nervous before the inspection just like everyone else - but I do not want to give up my right to an individual inspection which is why I will be doing everything I can to stay independent of agency control in the future.
I feel strongly that childminder quality will not improve unless childminders are fairly and rigorously inspected. While I understand that Ofsted inspection can be patchy through the country and I know that some childminders will love the opportunity to give up individual inspections in favour of an agency which visits them occasionally, I do not think that this scenario will raise professionalism.
So... to stay independent we must prepare for Ofsted inspection because every independent childminder will be inspected by Ofsted. Childminders have been asking questions about Ofsted charges in the future. There has been a lot of scaremongering, misinformation and concern caused when there are currently NO official answers available from Ofsted about their charges -
· The current cost for registration with Ofsted is £35 (2021) for a childminder who is registered on the Early Years (EYFS) and Childcare Register (to care for over 5s). Ofsted have not made any announcements about whether this will change in the future when agencies are introduced.
· Ofsted have announced that early years providers will be able to pay for a re-inspection but we are still awaiting cost clarification.
· Ofsted have not announced that inspections for independent childminders will cost money in the future - but this has been suggested by some sources as a possibility - we are awaiting clarification.
EYFS (birth to 5)
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the statutory document for all childminders and other early years professionals who work in nurseries, pre-schools etc.
The EYFS is the legislation which all childminders must follow when caring for children from birth to the end of the summer before they start full time, 10 sessions a week Reception class at school.
The best way to comply with the requirements of the EYFS is -
· Print it off and read through it carefully, one requirement at a time;
· Make notes about how you comply with each of the requirements;
· Prepare an action plan with clear timescales for improvement;
· Work through your action plan, making changes and updating your documentation as you go;
· Stay updated so you can respond quickly to changes in legislation and information given by Ofsted in their regularly revised factsheets. You can sign up with Ofsted for email updates.
Childcare Register (over 5s)
The Childcare Register has been updated a number of times over the years to bring it in line with the requirements of the EYFS.
The requirements of the Childcare Register are very similar to those of the EYFS - but there are some differences, mostly related to the ways you meet the needs of older children.
For example, once children leave the EYFS there is no longer any requirement to meet their learning and development needs. The Childcare Register also notes that you must give written copies of your safeguarding and complaints procedures to parents and some core policies and procedures are required in writing by the Childcare Register including -
• Behaviour management - this is the best place to talk about how you record physical intervention;
• Concerns and complaints procedure - this procedure MUST be shared with parents if the child is on the Childcare Register;
• Emergency evacuation of the premises;
• Equality of opportunity - for the Childcare Register it must include information about how you support children with learning difficulties and disabilities;
• Failure to collect - often called a ‘Late Arriving Parent’ procedure;
• Health and safety - relating to accidents, hazards and faulty equipment;
• Medication administration - for the Childcare Register it must include details about how you support individual children with medical needs.
• Missing child - your procedures if you lose a child;
• Safeguarding children - for the Childcare Register it must include the procedures to be followed in the event of an allegation being made against a member of staff. For the EYFS it must include information about mobile phone and camera use. This procedure MUST be shared with parents if the child is on the Childcare Register;
• Smoking;
• Visitors - checking the identity of visitors.
If you are unsure about your compliance with any aspects of the Childcare register please ask.
Learning and play
There is a requirement to teach children and the EYFS contains the educational programmes which must be the starting point for your curriculum.
All childminders are expected to understand the value of providing children with a range of high quality learning and play experiences. There is a strong focus on showing evidence of children’s learning and development in current Ofsted inspections and you need to be able to show your inspector how you support each child’s individual learning journey from their starting points - the things they can do when they first arrive in your care which must be noted in your documentation.
You will also find the Early Learning Goals in the EYFS. Note that early years providers are not responsible for these - they are an end of year assessment for teachers in reception class.
Displaying documents for Ofsted
There are 3 documents you must have on the wall where parents, Ofsted and visitors can see them...
· The Ofsted poster which features the up-to-date Ofsted phone number 0300 123 1231 – check and if you have the old 0845 phone number download a new poster;
· Emergency exit floor plan – a layout of your house showing which exit to use in an emergency;
· Your registration certificate – or anything from Ofsted saying that you are disqualified from looking after children.
A lot of childminders choose to display other certificates such as their Public Liability certificate or confirmation of having attended and passed their First Aid course, but these are optional. Children here like to see our menu on the wall so they know what they are eating each day.
Before you jump down my throat, yes I know this is your house, but do consider an area where children’s work and some photos can be displayed. You can buy temporary display boards which you can take down at the end of the week so your house is back to a home at the weekend or when you are not working.
I have a children’s display board in my playroom and some posters on the windows in my conservatory. The children’s display board features anything the children want up on the wall. My laminated displays feature numbers, letters, shapes, colours, family groupings, children’s names for copying when they are writing.
Supporting children to cope
It can be very stressful for some children when a visitor comes to the house, even one they know well... plus we all know that children pick up on our stress. So having an inspector due to arrive and seeing their normal routine outing side-lined for a man or woman with a briefcase who wants to talk to their childminder can leave a lot of children disrupted before the day starts.
The most important thing for supporting children is to keep your routine as close as you can to their normal day. Yes, I know, the inspector might have asked you to wait in which disrupts their outing, but if you prepare them for this and explain you have an important visitor coming, they will not expect to be going out which might help. I find visual timetables support children who do not like changes to their routines – you could consider making one and displaying it for all the children to use.
Make sure your planning reflects the children’s interests and learning styles – it is much more likely to hold their attention. If possible, ask them what activities they want you to prepare for them... if they are too small think about what they like doing.
Prepare snack and lunch in advance so you can give the children your full attention and make sure you put their needs first. Of course the best way to do this is to have your evidence in neatly labelled folders laid out for the inspector to view during the inspection.
Evidence of sharing information with other settings
This can be very hard to achieve, but it is important to show that you have tried to share information with other settings or professionals, with parental permission. It is also a key inspection area and one a number of childminders struggle with because of lack of sharing from other settings.
Ofsted inspectors are told in their guidance to use their judgement and not mark a childminder down if they have tried to share and been rebuffed or if the children are not the correct age and do not attend other settings. However, we do not always see this happening - so you need to have your evidence ready - including how partnership working impacts on the children’s outcomes.
If you manage to claw any information out of children’s other settings, write it in the child’s Learning Journey to share with Ofsted... a childminder was recently pulled up at inspection for failing to share with a child’s after school club (which the child attended one session a week, term time only)... so make sure you attempt to share with everyone involved in the child’s life.
As a self employed independent Ofsted registered childminder you will be responsible for ensuring you are prepared for your Ofsted inspection. It is unlikely that Local Authority support will be available in the future - so you will have to do it all yourself - as many childminders already do now.
Inspections take place, normally, every 3 - 4 years but you might have an inspection (announced or unannounced) at any time if a complaint is made against you. Priority is given to childminders who have been graded unsatisfactory or ‘requires improvement’.
To help prepare for Ofsted you need to meet the requirements of -
· The EYFS
· The Childcare Registers
Other inspection considerations -
· Balancing learning and play
· Displaying documents for Ofsted
· Supporting children
· Sharing information with other settings
Ofsted inspection
Very few childminders look forward to and actively enjoy their Ofsted inspection... I do!
I want to show my inspector everything I have done with the children over the last few years! Yes, of course I am nervous before the inspection just like everyone else - but I do not want to give up my right to an individual inspection which is why I will be doing everything I can to stay independent of agency control in the future.
I feel strongly that childminder quality will not improve unless childminders are fairly and rigorously inspected. While I understand that Ofsted inspection can be patchy through the country and I know that some childminders will love the opportunity to give up individual inspections in favour of an agency which visits them occasionally, I do not think that this scenario will raise professionalism.
So... to stay independent we must prepare for Ofsted inspection because every independent childminder will be inspected by Ofsted. Childminders have been asking questions about Ofsted charges in the future. There has been a lot of scaremongering, misinformation and concern caused when there are currently NO official answers available from Ofsted about their charges -
· The current cost for registration with Ofsted is £35 (2021) for a childminder who is registered on the Early Years (EYFS) and Childcare Register (to care for over 5s). Ofsted have not made any announcements about whether this will change in the future when agencies are introduced.
· Ofsted have announced that early years providers will be able to pay for a re-inspection but we are still awaiting cost clarification.
· Ofsted have not announced that inspections for independent childminders will cost money in the future - but this has been suggested by some sources as a possibility - we are awaiting clarification.
EYFS (birth to 5)
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the statutory document for all childminders and other early years professionals who work in nurseries, pre-schools etc.
The EYFS is the legislation which all childminders must follow when caring for children from birth to the end of the summer before they start full time, 10 sessions a week Reception class at school.
The best way to comply with the requirements of the EYFS is -
· Print it off and read through it carefully, one requirement at a time;
· Make notes about how you comply with each of the requirements;
· Prepare an action plan with clear timescales for improvement;
· Work through your action plan, making changes and updating your documentation as you go;
· Stay updated so you can respond quickly to changes in legislation and information given by Ofsted in their regularly revised factsheets. You can sign up with Ofsted for email updates.
Childcare Register (over 5s)
The Childcare Register has been updated a number of times over the years to bring it in line with the requirements of the EYFS.
The requirements of the Childcare Register are very similar to those of the EYFS - but there are some differences, mostly related to the ways you meet the needs of older children.
For example, once children leave the EYFS there is no longer any requirement to meet their learning and development needs. The Childcare Register also notes that you must give written copies of your safeguarding and complaints procedures to parents and some core policies and procedures are required in writing by the Childcare Register including -
• Behaviour management - this is the best place to talk about how you record physical intervention;
• Concerns and complaints procedure - this procedure MUST be shared with parents if the child is on the Childcare Register;
• Emergency evacuation of the premises;
• Equality of opportunity - for the Childcare Register it must include information about how you support children with learning difficulties and disabilities;
• Failure to collect - often called a ‘Late Arriving Parent’ procedure;
• Health and safety - relating to accidents, hazards and faulty equipment;
• Medication administration - for the Childcare Register it must include details about how you support individual children with medical needs.
• Missing child - your procedures if you lose a child;
• Safeguarding children - for the Childcare Register it must include the procedures to be followed in the event of an allegation being made against a member of staff. For the EYFS it must include information about mobile phone and camera use. This procedure MUST be shared with parents if the child is on the Childcare Register;
• Smoking;
• Visitors - checking the identity of visitors.
If you are unsure about your compliance with any aspects of the Childcare register please ask.
Learning and play
There is a requirement to teach children and the EYFS contains the educational programmes which must be the starting point for your curriculum.
All childminders are expected to understand the value of providing children with a range of high quality learning and play experiences. There is a strong focus on showing evidence of children’s learning and development in current Ofsted inspections and you need to be able to show your inspector how you support each child’s individual learning journey from their starting points - the things they can do when they first arrive in your care which must be noted in your documentation.
You will also find the Early Learning Goals in the EYFS. Note that early years providers are not responsible for these - they are an end of year assessment for teachers in reception class.
Displaying documents for Ofsted
There are 3 documents you must have on the wall where parents, Ofsted and visitors can see them...
· The Ofsted poster which features the up-to-date Ofsted phone number 0300 123 1231 – check and if you have the old 0845 phone number download a new poster;
· Emergency exit floor plan – a layout of your house showing which exit to use in an emergency;
· Your registration certificate – or anything from Ofsted saying that you are disqualified from looking after children.
A lot of childminders choose to display other certificates such as their Public Liability certificate or confirmation of having attended and passed their First Aid course, but these are optional. Children here like to see our menu on the wall so they know what they are eating each day.
Before you jump down my throat, yes I know this is your house, but do consider an area where children’s work and some photos can be displayed. You can buy temporary display boards which you can take down at the end of the week so your house is back to a home at the weekend or when you are not working.
I have a children’s display board in my playroom and some posters on the windows in my conservatory. The children’s display board features anything the children want up on the wall. My laminated displays feature numbers, letters, shapes, colours, family groupings, children’s names for copying when they are writing.
Supporting children to cope
It can be very stressful for some children when a visitor comes to the house, even one they know well... plus we all know that children pick up on our stress. So having an inspector due to arrive and seeing their normal routine outing side-lined for a man or woman with a briefcase who wants to talk to their childminder can leave a lot of children disrupted before the day starts.
The most important thing for supporting children is to keep your routine as close as you can to their normal day. Yes, I know, the inspector might have asked you to wait in which disrupts their outing, but if you prepare them for this and explain you have an important visitor coming, they will not expect to be going out which might help. I find visual timetables support children who do not like changes to their routines – you could consider making one and displaying it for all the children to use.
Make sure your planning reflects the children’s interests and learning styles – it is much more likely to hold their attention. If possible, ask them what activities they want you to prepare for them... if they are too small think about what they like doing.
Prepare snack and lunch in advance so you can give the children your full attention and make sure you put their needs first. Of course the best way to do this is to have your evidence in neatly labelled folders laid out for the inspector to view during the inspection.
Evidence of sharing information with other settings
This can be very hard to achieve, but it is important to show that you have tried to share information with other settings or professionals, with parental permission. It is also a key inspection area and one a number of childminders struggle with because of lack of sharing from other settings.
Ofsted inspectors are told in their guidance to use their judgement and not mark a childminder down if they have tried to share and been rebuffed or if the children are not the correct age and do not attend other settings. However, we do not always see this happening - so you need to have your evidence ready - including how partnership working impacts on the children’s outcomes.
If you manage to claw any information out of children’s other settings, write it in the child’s Learning Journey to share with Ofsted... a childminder was recently pulled up at inspection for failing to share with a child’s after school club (which the child attended one session a week, term time only)... so make sure you attempt to share with everyone involved in the child’s life.
