Treasured Tots Childminding

Do you have your own children? No. Neither of us have our own children. We strive to provide a professional and caring environment to all our minded children. Each child has equal priority within our setting regardless of their family backgrounds. Being a solely minded children setting we are able to provide consistent care to meet the requirements of these children and their parents without having to deal with our own family members.

Is there anyone else who lives in your house who is not a registered childminder? No. Our house is home to us alone as registered childminders and the children that come to us. Occasionally we may have visitors, they will be required to sign in/out of our visitors books and no children will be left alone without the appropriate qualified and registered child carers.

What qualifications and childcare training have you undertaken? We have both undertaken extensive childcare training and qualifications and have over 15 years of hands on childcare experience between us. Charlie has the BTEC National Diploma in Early Years Care and Education, A-Level Psychology, OCN Maternity Practitioner award, Sleep Training, Care of Multiples, First Aid, Food Hygiene and is Currently studying the Foundation Degree in Early Learning through the Open University with the aim to achieve Early Years Professional Status. Emily has the CACHE Diploma in Childcare and Education, First Aid, Food Hygiene, OCN Maternity Practitioner award and is currently studying a Diploma in Diet and Nutrition. We have both gained the compulsory Unit 1 of the Home Based Diploma as required by OFSTED. A copy of both our CV’s can be found in our portfolio’s located in the corner cabinet in our entrance hall.

What childcare experience have you had? We have both worked as daily nannies to many families since gaining our initial qualifications at college. Emily has worked abroad for a year and Charlie works as a night nanny with young babies with sleep problems. We both have experience with newborns, multiple births and have worked in many settings and roles including nurseries, Crèche’s, Wedding babysitters, Evening babysitters and flexi-staff.

Do you have any references? Yes. We both have many first class references. Any of our referees can be contacted for peace of mind. Written references are available for you to read in our portfolio’s located in the corner cabinet in our entrance hall.

Which one of you will care for my child? One of us will be your child’s key worker. To meet the practitioner/child ratio’s governed by OFSTED; we will allocate your child to whichever one of us has the vacancy. Your child will be cared for by both of us within our home, following the ratios at all times. There may be times when your child participates in an activity the other one of us had planned. There will be times when we will both work together and times when we will work apart. You are welcome to discuss any issues with either of us at any time. However, your noted key worker will be the practitioner who observes, assesses and documents information and learning development in line with the Early Years Foundation Stage requirements.

How will you meet my child’s needs? We have chosen to work as childminders as we feel it is essential that babies and young children are able to build up a stable and confident relationship with their Early Years Practitioner in a friendly and homely environment. As we have small numbers of children in our care we are able to meet every child’s individual needs and focus entirely on them. Using the Early Years Foundation Stage Guidance we will plan activities and learning experiences based on your child’s needs, interests and age. Having two practitioners in our setting allows one of us to focus on one activity while the other focuses on another. We organise our days within a routine ensuring that all children’s needs are met in relation to eating, drinking, sleeping, stimulation and rest time.

What is it you like about caring for children? We have both always had a keen interest in the care of children and providing what we feel is a high quality of provision. We enjoy offering children different experiences and activities preparing them for the transition into full-time school. We enjoy getting down and playing with the children, seeing them laugh and teaching them new things. You will often find us dancing around the room or playing on the equipment with the children! Every day is different when caring for children, it is lovely to build up a relationship with children and their parents as we watch them grow. Looking after children is very rewarding and we are at our happiest when surrounded by them.

How will you manage difficult behaviour? Children often display non-compliant or challenging behaviour. It is essential that we work in partnership as practitioners and parents to teach children right and wrong. Smacking, hitting, belittling or humiliating children will NEVER happen in our care. We tackle challenging behaviour by removing children from the situation, explaining what they have done and how it makes others feel. Children can reflect by being removed from the situation and are encouraged to say sorry for the action. We constantly praise children when they achieve something new, are helpful and kind. This way we teach them which behaviours are acceptable and which are not. We have a behaviour management policy which you can refer to. Parents will be expected to work with us to illuminate persistent challenging behaviour which is affecting the care the other children receive.

Will you provide my child with healthy and nutritious meals and snacks? Yes. We feel very strongly that children should receive a healthy, nutritious balanced diet. Anything that can be home-made will be. We require that all children eat meals that we provide to include all children in our healthy eating practice. Cakes and biscuits are by no-means banned; however they are a treat and not a necessity in everyday practice. There is strong evidence that diet affects children’s concentration and learning ability so a healthy life style is promoted. We always record what your child has eaten in their daily diary and ensure their meals are varied and nutritious. Milk and water is available throughout the day. We can assist with weaning when your baby reaches the appropriate age.

Will my child participate in a wide range of activities? Yes. We are very active and sociable child care practitioners. Children participate in many activities in the home, garden, community and outings. We have a love of the outdoor environment and frequent walks, bike rides and opportunities for exploring are top of our activity list. A hands on approach is widely used within our childcare practice to involve children with messy play, helping to tidy toys and prepare their food. We have a full list of activities which we require parents to sign so children can freely participate in all our learning experiences.

Will my child be encouraged to socialise with other children outside your home? Yes. We have the Oak Meadow Children’s centre within walking distance of our home. We go to toddler groups and socialise with other children who are cared for by childminders and nannies as well as parents.

Will my child go out and about in the community and explore the outdoors? Yes. An outing of some kind will be planned almost daily. From a toddler group or walk to a soft play centre or animal sanctuary. Expenses are outlined in our charges and we endeavour to inform parents of next week’s planned activities

What happens if I am late to collect my child? We have a late collection policy for you to refer to. Late collection will be charged for. We will continue to safely look after your child and will endeavour to contact you. If there has been no contact 2 hours after the agreed collection time we will inform social services.

What is the arrangement for holidays and sickness? We will take no more than 14 days holiday annually. Contractual fees for these 14 days will not be payable. You will be notified of these dates a minimum of 8 weeks prior to the holiday. Childminder sickness fees will not be payable, however wherever possible in relation to annual leave and sickness full cover will be sought to ensure your children can still be cared for in our home with appropriately trained and registered staff. In the event cover cannot be sought you will not have to pay fees on those days. Contractual fees are payable when children/parents take holiday or sickness that results in children being away from our care.

What are the arrangements for Bank Holidays? If your contractual day falls on a bank holiday and you still require childcare, the fee per hour will be £7 per hour, per child. Normal fees will be due when a bank holiday falls and your child does not attend Treasured Tots.

Can I have access to the Early Years Foundation Stage observations and assessments that are carried out on my child? Yes. We have a Learning Development file which details the progress and development your child is making. This is a requirement set by OFSTED so that they can see we are meeting your child’s needs. The file will stay on our premises but you can request to have a look at any time. All files are confidential between us, you and our OFSTED Inspector.

What insurances do you have? We both have public liability insurance and Nanny Insurance. All our vehicles are insured with business use for children travelling in our vehicles. We are also members of the NCMA. (National Childminders Association)

How will I know where my child is and what they are doing? We endeavour to tell parents our plans for the following week by using the notice board in our hall and your child’s daily diary. This is a diary we provide which can go between our home and yours. We will note what activities your child has done, what they have eaten, when they have slept and any other messages. Well will tell you our plans for next week although parents have to realise that plans do unexpectedly change and children will often initiate an activity we didn’t plan for!