dawns-diary

Just goes to show how little this government knows!

Thu, 21 Nov 2013 10:05:50 +0100

I am absolutely seething at the comments made by Fiona Bruce (Conservative) at Tuesday’s Commons Debate on Child Care

- http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2013-11-19a.1120.0&s=speaker%3A24941+section%3Adebate#g1129.5 .

Why am I so angry, well here are just some of her comments and my thoughts about them:

‘The Government’s child minder agency initiative is an excellent step, not least because it will mean that families will have a local resource that they can access to find a child minder they can have confidence in—a child minder who has been through the appropriate training, and who is from an agency that they know is maintaining proper standards.’

‘Will enable child minders to concentrate on delivering high-quality education and care, which is what they want to do, and not be driven out of their profession simply because they do not want to face the regulations and red tape they have had to deal with until now.’

1. Parents already have a local resource – it’s called the Family Information Service (FIS) – so maybe the government really do need to look at what is already out there before they reinvent the wheel!!...There was more to be angry about as well as some comments that just left me feeling totally deflated by their obvious lack of understanding or care for anything other than the bottom line! Just wish there had been one comment, just one, that had made me think ‘okay, someone is fighting our corner, or understands’ but unfortunately not.

2. Parents can already have the confidence in the child minder they select – they use the fact that the child minder has to be registered and inspected by Ofsted – another example of the governments’ ignorance or is it just scare mongering to gain favour for their ideas!

3. Child minders already have to have the appropriate training – part of their registration requirements – so as yet I don’t see any evidence of this excellent government agency idea doing anything more than the current system already provides.

4. So yes the agency may be following the proper standards (not that we know what they are as they have yet to be decided or released) but this does not necessarily translate to every agency registered child minder doing the same – AND is the agency actually going to admit to Ofsted that they have child minders not fully meeting registration requirements when they get inspected – I THINK NOT. Let’s face the truth, these agencies will be keeping everything crossed that the inspectors do not select certain child minders to visit as part of their random sample.

5. Most child minders (over 70%), given Ofsted’s own figures, are operating at Good or Outstanding levels and therefore already focus on delivering high quality education and care, AND, we do this to our own strengths with regards to planning, tracking and assessments. We use our individuality, drawing on our knowledge and systems that work for us. We do not want or need a prescriptive, one size fits all, system that the trial agencies are already stating they will introduce. In the same way that children are all different and learn/operate in different ways so do the child minders that are instructed to care for them – trying to make every child minder use the same policies, procedures, planning and tracking will not work as they would know if they bothered to consult with us!

6. As for being driven out of the profession by regulations and red tape, well, I am sorry but any child minder who is not prepared to follow regulation and jump through the occassional hoop for the children they care for should not be in the profession in the first place. Do the government really expect that the agencies will remove all regulation and red tape from child minders! Do we then not need policies! Do we not need to show how we meet the ‘proper standards’! Do we not need to demonstrate the development and learning of the children in our care! Are the government creating a new tier of child care that doesn’t actually have to follow the legal requirements set out in the EYFS as long as their agency can tell Ofsted how they do it!!! Regulation drives quality and the maintaining of standards, as well as giving parents that all important confidence that the child minder they have selected is offering the same level of care and education that every other child care provider offers.

There were many other comments that I was also very angered by as well as some comments that left me deflated by their obvious lack of understanding or care for anything other than the bottom line! I just wish there had been one comment, one statement that could lead me to believe that someone is fighting our corner or prepared to stand up for quality for all children, but alas there was none.

Hot Weather Plan!!

Sat, 20 Jul 2013 10:41:11 +0100

Hi all,

Whilst we are all thankful that we seem to be getting a warm summer this year, the current high temperatures do mean we have to be extra careful and aware of safety in the sun.

At Little Rays we take the safety and well being of the children very seriously, as such we are implementing our summer safety policy with advice taken from http://www.hpa.org.uk/Topics/EmergencyResponse/ExtremeWeatherEventsAndNaturalDisasters/Heatwaves/heatwaves_teachers/

What this means for your child is:

Sun screen will be applied before every outdoor activity and re-applied throughout the day as needed/recommended. Please provide a suitable sun screen for your child, within expiry dates, or if you wish your child to use the sun screen provided by myself please sign the permission slips.

Clothing will be appropriate for the weather and activity, which may mean that clothing is removed in the setting and in the garden areas. Please ensure you provide extra clothing for your child that is appropriate for the current temperatures as we will be playing with water a lot :)).

Hats will be worn during outdoor activities. If not provided the children will be provided with a hat or, if none available, the children will be unable to access outdoor activities.

Fresh, cool drinking water will be constantly available in the children's own sports bottles or water bottles.

Children may be given ice lollies/ ice creams during outdoor play and trips. If you do not wish your child to have ice lollies/ ice creams please let me know and iced water can be given as an alternative.

Nappies will be changed more frequently.

We will encourage children to play in shaded areas however, children may be asked to stay indoors during the hottest parts of the day if it is felt that the temperatures outdoors are too high for safe play.

High temperatures effect everyone differently but children under the age of 4yrs are more susceptible to adverse effects of extreme temperatures. Whilst every step is taken to ensure children remain safe in the heat, I will be very vigilant to your child's physical and emotional signs. I will inform parents immediately if I have any concerns that a child may be experiencing any heat related difficulties and follow paediatric first aid recommendations for the treatment of heat stress/exhaustion.

I hope we will, through following my setting's policy, be able to fully enjoy the current sunny weather safely and that your children will learn the importance of being safe in the sun.

Thanks

Dawn

Knowsley Safari Park Trip

Tue, 09 Jul 2013 16:41:29 +0100

Oh what a day we have had today!! The sun was shining brightly but the smiles shone even brighter as we experienced the magic of being up close to the animals.

The lion enclosure was especially magical today as the pride had just been fed when we arrived so the children got to see them eating and playing together. The cubs were very playful, jumping on each other and their mothers. The children were thrilled when the pride moved and came alongside the car, enabling them to really see the lions and the male's mane.

The baboons were also a hit with them hitching a ride on our wing mirrors, peering in through the windows. The children loved watching one climb up onto the roof then slide down the back window before jumping down onto another child minder's car behind us.

Talking to the children about animals is good, showing them pictures in books or providing small world toys helps them to identify animals, but nothing compares with the children being able to see the real thing, doing what they do and making the sounds I can only try to mimic. We had lots of roaring children in the car on the way home!

I would recomend Knowsley Safari Park to all parents and colleagues. It is not too expensive, especially as children under 3 go free, and they have added new play areas and attractions. Hopefully we will be going again soon.

Dawn

The Government Drops Planned Ratio Increases

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 19:59:10 +0100

After months of battling the current government's plans to increase ratios as a means of lowering costs, they have finally accepted that the proposed changes were not the solution to childcare costs and have dropped the planned changes. A huge congratulations to all professionals, parents and organisations that stood firm against the governments plans and forced them to reconsider.

Unfortunately the change of heart with the ratios does not address completely the governments ill considered plans for the early years sector. We are still left with More Great Childcare and some of it's other proposals such as child minder agencies and the removal of Local Authority support and training for early years. The government have not truly consulted practitioners, professional bodies or academics and this is something that must be addressed. Our hope now must be that the government shelves More Great Childcare and opens full consultation with early years practitioners and professionals that want to be involved in raising standards, supporting parents without reducing quality or professionalism.

Time to play.....Time to watch

Sat, 18 May 2013 22:33:03 +0100

Just wanted to share something that happened the other day when I sat back and did nothing.... the children I thought played separately from each other surprised me when they played co-operatively, creating a wonderful game that had them both laughing that belly laugh that makes you laugh along with them.

It wasn't a normal day as I had a horrible headache and the wonderful sunny weather I had planned for had once again disappeared. With the need to sit quietly yet still wanting the children to have a morning of physical activity and opportunity I decided to take them to soft play. These two children normally go off in different directions, with one requiring much more support from myself than the other, but this day they must have sensed my inability to join in with my normal enthusiasm so off they went together. I sat at a different table to the one we normally chose in order to benefit from the dimmer light and quiet, but what I loved was that this new table allowed me a totally different view of the play area and thus a different view of the children's play.

And what I saw was two two year olds, having wonderful discussions about what they were doing, how they could make things work by working together and laughing/celebrating their achievements and the fun they were creating. They were having such an amazing time I felt I should get closer, try to get more details of what they were doing for my learning journeys, but then I realised that if I did, and I disturbed the connection they had created, then I would be ruining their play/learning for no good reason. Sometimes we need to just let children have undisturbed, unstructured and unjudged play.

I was able to watch from a distance, I could pick up on the play even if the details were vague and I was able to update each of the children's development to state they could and did engage in co-operative play were they considered the needs of others as well as themselves. All the best laid adult planned play in the world sometimes pales in comparison to the best planners of play THE CHILDREN.

Woodlands School Training

Sat, 06 Apr 2013 11:49:50 +0100

Just wanted to share with you all the wonderful experience I had on the Woodlands School Training run by the Active Living team at Haigh Hall. Doug and his team were fantastic and had structured a really interesting and informative training session.

We spent the whole day outside, including our lunch, making our own plates from willow and heating our own water for our drinks. From team building games to bug hunting, den making to clay modeling, the whole day gave inspiration and information that I will be building in to the activities I plan with the children.

I was the only child minder attending but really enjoyed talking with nursery, pre-school and school staff about how the activities we took part in could be adjusted to the age ranges and abilities of the children in our care. I am now hoping that I can arrange another training day just for child minders that the team can adjust to be more focused on activities for younger children.

If anyone has the chance to attend further Woodland School Training sessions I would definately recomend they go along and get stuck in.

Dawn x

More Great Childcare

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 23:18:39 +0100

The current government recently released their proposals to improve childcare and reduce costs to parents in 'More Great Childcare'. Although the principals behind these proposals are honourable, the actual means by which the government plan to implement them are highly flawed and do not appear to be fit for purpose.

The plan to increase the ratios of childcare staff to children, by allowing more children to staff as long as they can demonstrate a certain level of qualification, does not provide those staff with the extra set of arms or eyes needed to safely care for and stimulate those extra children placed in their care. The asumption that in order to encourage children to have a desire to learn in areas such as maths and language requires a Maths or English GCSE grade C could exclude a large number of dedicated, loviing and caring professionals from inspiring the next generation. Do children under the age of five need a member of staff that understands algebra and academic essay writing to stimulate an interest in maths through grouping dinosaurs or a love of rhyme through reading books like 'Room on the Broom' or 'Hairy Maclairy'. What children in early years need is a secure attachment to a warm and responsive individual who can take the time to get to know them and their family, their interests and preferences, and utilises this knowledge to plan fun, play activities that promote a love of exploring and learning that sets them up for future educational success.

As for the governments plans to introduce child minder agencies as a means to increase child minder numbers by easing the processes of registration and the business requirements once registered, they are even more flawed. The processes in place in order to register as a child minder are there to ensure only those truly committed to delivering quality care to the next generation put in the time and effort to get through them. Those who have little understanding of the demanding nature of the profession or the importance of their role in educating as well as caring for children tend to leave the process, but is that a bad thing? Those child minders who come through the process come out of it with the knowledge they need to run their own businesses and the understanding of the EYFS (2012) that informs the educational needs of children in the early years. Many also through the process are linked to experienced child minders who can offer support and friendship that can help them build strong businesses and improve quality.

I, like many other child minders, do not believe that creating agencies will improve the profession for new or existing child minders. In fact it is more likely to create a two/three tier system, especially if some child minders are employed by the agency, as well as increasing costs to both child minders and parents. More Great Childcare talks about reducing parents costs and improving salaries for early years professionals but the agency model due to be trialed in September this year seems only set to increase costs and lower salaries.

Ms Truss needs to stop stating she has consulted with early years professionals when it is clear from the numbers against her proposals that she has only consulted with those in favour of her ideas. She also needs to admit to the fact that she is skimming the cream in the way she is quoting examples of practice from our european neighbours systems of childcare and acknowledge that these same systems also have faults and, in some cases these countries look to our own systems as good practice.

I want to reassure any parents considering using my child minding services that I will not increase my ratios just because the government tell me I can to the detriment of the quality care and education I provide.

Dawn x