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what is a
childminder?
A childminder
is someone who looks after your children for you.
ALL
childminders must be registered with Ofsted before they are
allowed to work with children. They are also required
to complete basic training to care for children, including first
aid training, and most go on to further training and professional
development including qualifications - some childminders also
complete Quality Assurance awards which require a higher standard
of childcare and responsibility. Police checks are carried
out to make sure they are suitable to care for children which
look not only at the childminder themselves but also at any
other people living in the household who may come into contact
with the children to ensure they have not carried out any offences
against young people or anything else that could give parents
cause for concern. An inspection of the childminder's
home is also carried out to make sure it is safe and suitable
for children.
Registered
childminders offer a flexibility of service that is difficult
to find in other childcare provisions. Because they look after
only small groups of children, their daily routines are very
adaptable. Individual dietary requirements, sleeping patterns
or homework projects can be catered for with ease.
Childminders
use their home environment to look after children in their care.
All offer full-time and part-time services for babies and children
under five. Many childminders also look after older children
before and/or after school as well as during holiday periods,
teacher training days etc.
Being cared for by a registered childminder gives youngsters
the opportunity to learn from real life experiences. Everyday
activities such as shopping trips, school runs, family mealtimes
and visits to the park teach children valuable life skills that
they might not acquire so readily in centre-based care. These
activities also educate children about their local environment.
Childminders cater for children's individual physical, educational,
social and emotional needs. They provide a warm, caring environment
along with stimulating play and learning activities. They aim
to encourage learning and development through activities such
as painting and drawing, reading stories and outdoor play.
Childminders
can offer full-time, part-time and flexible day care for children
between 0 and 8 years and may also care for older children outside
of normal school hours. Some offer to drop-off and/or
collect children from pre-schools, nurseries and primary schools
as well as offering care for school-aged children during the
holiday periods. Some childminders may also offer extended
care such as overnight stays or are equipped to offer specialist
care for children with additional special requirements.
Childminders offer a homely setting in which there will normally
be a maximum of 6 children under the age of 8 of whom no more
than 3 are allowed to be under 5. These are rules that
are governed by Ofsted when the childminder is registered and
they are not allowed to exceed these numbers. It is normally
permitted that only one child under the age of 12 months may
be cared for and the childminders own children must be included
in these ratios. Some childminders choose to work with
an assistant, or combine their services with those of another
childminder, which means that they are allowed to look after
a higher number of children but Ofsted rules apply in all cases
in relation to the number of children which the Government agency
deems safe to be cared for on an adult:child ratio.
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