Our seasonal news updates summarise the latest childcare news plus which Minding Kids resources have been added or revised so you can easily keep on track and up to date.
Following recent storms and another difficult winter, thankfully we don’t have long to wait for Spring and hopefully, the ‘new normal’.
As the weather improves, the days draw out, and restrictions ease we can look forward to opportunities to get outdoors in the fresh air and more events within our local communities.
Hello and Welcome to all our new visitors, and a MASSIVE THANK YOU to all of our loyal members, customers and followers for your ongoing support!
If you are just starting out in the world of childcare or have years of experience, we hope that find something on our website to help you on your journey.
In childcare news…
😷 Covid-19
Whilst the general consensus is that the threat of the pandemic is easing, advice and guidance continues to change rapidly with varying restrictions across the UK.
👉Guidance for childminders in Scotland can be found here and ELC providers here.
In January, the Care Inspectorate also released Adult to child ratios and new notification during Omicron guidance.
The Scottish Government has announced further financial support in the form of the Childcare Sector Omicron Impacts Fund. Further details can be found in this letter.
👉Guidance for early years and childcare providers in England can be found here.
On 21st February Ofsted and the Department for Education (DfE) announced that early years and childcare settings in England are no longer required to notify Ofsted (or their childminding agency) of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the setting. Find full details here.
NOTE: Some local authorities may still require coronavirus cases to be reported to them. It also remains a legal requirement under the EYFS statutory framework to report cases of serious illness. Ofsted should be notified as soon as possible, and in any case within 14 days of a notifiable event.
👉Guidance for childcare providers in Wales can be found here.
👉And guidance for childcare providers in Northern Ireland can be found here.
You can also visit our dedicated Coronavirus HOT TOPIC page for links to advice, guidance and resources to support childcare providers plus ideas of how we can help families and children cope with the Coronavirus pandemic.
📖Focus on Reading
The benefits of sharing books with children have been highlighted in many studies, with evidence showing that quality literacy environments help to improve children’s overall life chances. As World Book Day approaches, now is a brilliant time to consider the importance of reading and how you can help to improve children’s experiences.
Visit the World Book Day website for video stories, resources and free digital events in celebration of it’s 25th year.
And… explore our story resources created by Kids Club English for some inspirational ways to help children develop a love of stories and reading.
💖Supporting Emotional Development
Children’s Mental Health Week took place earlier this month, with this year’s theme being Growing Together. How children learn to cope with difficult situations, share their experiences and support others as they grow together is essential for mental and emotional wellbeing.
Teaching children about feelings and emotions from a very young age and helping them find ways to express how they feel is vital for strengthening resilience and developing effective coping strategies.
Find information and support resources on the Children’s Mental Health Week website.
Our Feelings & Emotions Activity Pack is full ideas to help children learn all about feelings, emotions, why we experience them and how we can share and manage them.
When children struggle to deal with their emotions, this can often result in challenging behaviour.
MindingKids has created a FREE Managing Challenging Behaviour POSTER as a useful reminder to help deal with challenging situations.
And by applying the ABC (Antecedent, Behaviour, Consequence) approach, our new Challenging Behaviour Record Chart can be used to monitor and record incidents of challenging behaviour so as to identify potential triggers and develop a responsive, supportive and consistent management strategies.
🤸🏻♂️NEW Physical Activity Guidelines for disabled children
The first ever guidelines to support disabled children to be more physically active have been published by the government. Based on research from Durham University, University of Bristol, and Disabilities Rights UK, the guidelines apply to children aged two to 17 and recommend daily levels of physical activity to support and improve physical and mental health.
Find the new guidelines here.
This infographic has also been published to demonstrate the benefits of physical activity for children and young people with disabilities.
📲Healthy Food Scanner
In efforts to tackle childhood obesity, the Department of Health and Social Care has launched a new feature on the NHS Food Scanner App. Available as a free download, the food scanner app enables users to scan the barcodes of food items to see further details of nutritional content and suggests healthier alternatives to unhealthy choices. Traffic light ratings are used to help buyers see quickly whether an item contains high levels of sugar, salt or fat and ‘Good choice’ badges are displayed when healthier items are scanned. In our digital world, this app could really help to involve children with making healthy choices and learning more about what is in the foods that we eat.
Find out more about the free NHS Food Scanner app here.
And tuck into our Healthy Eating Pack for more fun healthy eating activities and ideas to Promote Healthy Choices in your setting. Includes resources to assist with managing allergens and special dietary requirements, following food safety guidance, involving children with cooking and oral health!
🌐Internet Safety and Stop Abuse Together campaign
As cases of online abuse rocket, it is essential that parents, those that work with children and children themselves are aware of risks and know how to stay safe online.
Safer Internet Day was celebrated on 8th February with the theme ‘All fun and games? Exploring respect and relationships online’. When interacting with others online, children must learn to respect one another and know what to do if they encounter bullying or abuse directed at them or someone else.
In response to a staggering ‘three-fold’ increase in online child sexual abuse over the past two years, the government has also launched it’s Stop Abuse Together campaign. It’s aim is to raise awareness and empower parents and carers to recognise the risks online and know where to get help if they suspect a child is being abused. Tips on how to speak with a child about relationships, online or sexual abuse and links to further support resources are also provided.
Visit the UK Safer Internet Centre website for more information about Safer Internet Day, resources and online safety training.
Find the Stop Abuse Together Campaign here.
Share these links with parents to promote awareness alongside your Internet Safety Policy.
And easily refer to all the Safeguarding Information you need with this FREE SAFEGUARDING / Child Protection Check Chart!
🚸Road Safety Walk
Brake’s Kids Walk is due to take place on the 22nd of June this year. The annual supervised walk aims to teach children vital road safety skills and raise awareness of the need to protect children on the roads. According to the road safety charity, on average six children are killed or seriously injured on roads in Britain every day which is equivalent to a whole classroom of children every week. It is essential that we teach children about road safety and do what we can to ensure children can walk safely within their communities.
Register to take part in Brake’s Kids Walk and receive a FREE action pack here.
🌪Severe Weather
Recent storms have highlighted safety concerns and raised questions as to how childcare providers should manage extreme weather conditions.
Keeping a close eye on weather forecasts and following weather warning advice will help to ensure the safety of all who attend your setting.
Putting an Adverse Weather Policy in place will help to ensure parents understand the procedures you will follow in the event of severe weather.
In exceptional circumstances, the impact of extreme weather may mean that you are forced to close your setting until it is safe to return. Having an Emergency and Alternative Care Policy and a Contingency Plan in place will again assist in ensuring everyone is clear on procedures.
Find templates for all in the Policies & Procedures Pack. Edit as you require to suit your setting and circumstances.
Information and advice with regards to operating your business during icy conditions and winter weather can also be found on the HSE website.
💷Money Talk
With energy prices rocketing, inflation at a 30-year high and upcoming tax increases in April, the cost-of-living crisis is beginning to feel very real for so many families.
As childcare providers, we too must face this challenge and understand the impact that increasing costs will have on our businesses, the families we provide care for and our own families.
Whilst funding rates are set to rise, they will still fall far short of what is really required leaving providers with the dilemma of how much ‘additional expenses’ to include in their fees in order to maintain sustainability.
Considering ways in which we can reduce our business expenditure is essential at this difficult time and finding innovative ways of doing things may not only be cheaper but more environmentally friendly too. For example:
- Can we make use of more natural resources and recyclable materials?
- Can we cut down on food waste and shop more economically?
- Can we reduce energy costs by spending more time outdoors and in the community?
- Can we reduce our printing and paper costs by using digital solutions to record and share information?
Despite making changes where we can, for some providers, rising costs will inevitably mean that we must increase the fees we charge.
Providing parents with as much notice as possible of any fee increases will help them to budget and ensure invoices are paid on time. Notifying parents of fee increases can be uncomfortable especially at a time when finances are being squeezed from all directions so remember to also pass on any money saving information to parents to help support them with rising costs.
Our Revised Fees Notification Letter templates will allow you to formally notify families of any changes to your fees structure in a professional manner.
🆓Free Webinars for Tax-Free Childcare
With an aim to increase awareness and understanding of the Government’s Tax-Free Childcare scheme, a series of free webinars are to take place in March. Within the 90 minute sessions, the benefits of tax free childcare will be explained along with ideas to motivate and interest families in the scheme. Further information can be found in this Nursery World article.
For providers registered in Scotland (Care Inspectorate)….
📅Annual Returns Extension
Have you completed your annual return yet? Due to the ongoing pressures services are experiencing providers have an additional 4 weeks to submit returns this year with the deadline being Sunday 20th March. All registered providers are required to complete a return, even services which are currently inactive. You can find further information here or contact the Care Inspectorate if you have any questions or concerns.
⚠New Quality Framework Inspections – Are you ready?
Whilst the final draft of the New Quality Framework for daycare of children, childminding and school aged childcare is yet to be published, all childcare providers in Scotland are now expected to review and evaluate the quality of their service based on the new Quality Framework’s key questions and quality indicators. The Quality Framework will also be used during inspection to evaluate the quality of care provided and assess improvement planning.
It is therefore important that we make ourselves familiar with the framework and ensure we are ready to demonstrate how we use it to evaluate and improve our service.
Download a copy of the Quality Framework for daycare of children, childminding and school aged childcare here.
Our NEW Quality Framework Service Evaluation will guide you through the key questions and quality indicators of the framework to help you thoroughly evaluate every aspect of your service and prepare for inspection!
📣Business Gateway Pilot Programme
Funded by the Scottish Government, the Business Gateway is offering a pilot programme of support webinars during February and March for childminders and registered providers of school aged childcare. Identified as services most likely to be experiencing significant concerns, it is hoped that the sessions will be expanded further to help providers to strengthen their financial stability and increase their ability to cope with future sector changes.
Find further details and book onto a session here.
A wide range of other business support tools, information and training events to help with various aspects of your business can be found on the Business Gateway website.
And if you are New to Childminding you may find our start up steps helpful.
💻Caerus Platform for School-aged childcare
As part of their commitment to support childcare providers and help meet the demand for school-age childcare, the Scottish Government is working with Caerus to develop an online platform. Cearus are looking for input from providers and are inviting those interested to pre-register so as they can gain a better understanding of the supply and demand of school-age childcare before finalising and launching the new software. It is understood that the new platform will be free for providers in Scotland to register on and provide a secure stage where parents can quickly find childcare vacancies.
Find the Caerus platform here.
🎶NEW Sing for Joy and Learning Practice Note
The Care Inspectorate has published a new practice note to promote creative singing, and musical experiences for children. ‘Sing for joy and learning’ aims to assist childcare providers and early learning settings with identifying singing experience opportunities and resources that will promote early language development, enhance skills and boost confidence in children of all ages.
Find details on the Care Inspectorate website here.
👨👩👦👦Cash for Kids Winter Fund
Applications for the 2022 Cash for Kids Winter Fund are now open with grants of up to £100 available for children affected by poverty to help towards the cost of food, fuel and basic essentials. Childminders are again being encouraged to nominate families who they believe may be eligible for a grant. Find more information and terms and conditions here.
If your area is not mentioned, please check the Bauer Media radio stations for a similar campaign in your region.
For providers registered in England (Ofsted)….
❗Ofsted Updates
Ofted has updated it’s guidance for Inspecting safeguarding in early years, education and skills settings to align with the previously revised Keeping Children Safe in Education 2021 guidance. As this guidance is used to check our safeguarding procedures it is important that you download and refer to the most up to date copy.
Find the Inspecting safeguarding in early years, education and skills here.
The Early Years Inspection Handbook has also been revised to provide further clarification regarding the timing of re-inspection for providers who have been judged as ‘requires improvement’, the steps ‘usually’ taken where a provider is no longer meeting requirements and that there will be a particular focus on communication and language when inspectors discuss children’s learning and development.
Find a summary of the Inspection Handbook changes here.
📝Ofsted Inspections – the catch up!
Ofsted have confirmed that Early Years inspections are to continue and have provided further information regarding priority as they catch up on delays due to the pandemic.
Providers that are overdue inspection from the last cycle, newly registered providers, that have received a requires improvement or inadequate grade will be prioritised along with any safeguarding concerns. If you are overdue an inspection or not been inspected recently, you may have already been contacted by Ofsted to confirm contact details and minding arrangements.
Those who have been inspected any time after August 2016 and awarded a good or outstanding grade are not likely to be seen as a priority unless concerns have been raised.
Ofsted have also provided clarification on the rules around deferral which can be found here.
Refer to our Preparing for Inspection Hot Topic for some tips on preparing for inspection.
MindingKids is also working on an EYFS Service Evaluation resource and more Preparing for Inspection resources! 👀Keep a look out for further details soon!
And at MindingKids…
🛠Developments Continue
Behind the scenes progress is being made on our new and improved website and app and we are continuing to work with our developers to create a new and exciting environment for our members and customers. After months and months of hard work, we can’t wait to let the cat out of the bag!
⭐Customised Resources
We currently offer a customisation service, where we can assist in adding your business name and logo on the following resource packs:
- Childminding Contracts Pack
- Invoices & Receipts
- Parent Information & Marketing Pack
- Policies & Procedures Pack (Booklet cover)
- Childminder Assistant Employment Pack
Whilst this service will remain available and at no additional cost to gold and platinum members, we are shortly going to be removing the option of purchasing individual packs with the customised option. Non-members will still be able to contact us to request this service at a small additional cost. Logo design assistance is also available.
Should you be interested in personalising any of the above resource packs with your business name and logo, please get in touch.
📑To do list
As always, our to do list is bulging with ideas and requests. Currently we are working on more preparing for inspection support resources and we then hope to get stuck into some activity packs and visual support tools. If you have any suggestions for new packs or improvements, please let us know.
Since our Autumn News Update the following resources have been added, updated or improved…
Remember MindingKids Members have unlimited access to all MindingKids resources immediately as they are added or updated! Click here for further details!
New and Updated Resources
Individual Planning & Progress Summaries – Updated to include versions with the 3 ‘I’s headings. INTENT | IMPLEMENTATION | IMPACT, take into account the individual needs, interests and development stage of each child in order to plan challenging and enjoyable experiences that will best support learning.
NEW Legislation & Guidance CHARTS! – Complimenting our FREE Childminder Legislation & Guidance Lists these NEW Handy Charts provide a quick and easy way to refer to relevant guidance.
NEW Getting To Know You Card Sets! – Perfect for welcoming new faces, encouraging positive relationships and creating lots of opportunities to practice speaking and language skills.
NEW Quality Framework Service Evaluation – A requirement for all Scottish Childcare providers, this NEW resource will help you evaluate ALL aspects of your childcare service under each of the Care Inspectorate’s Quality Framework Key Questions.
NEW Individual Support & Behaviours Forms! – Add this OPTIONAL section to your care plans to gather further details around the broad areas of need including Language, Communication and Interaction, Social Skills and Relationships, Flexibility of thought and behaviour and Sensory and Coordination Needs. Ideal when caring for children with additional support needs, developmental delays, sensitivities or where there are concerns.
NEW Managing Challenging Behaviour Resources! – NEW Resources to support with managing incidents of challenging behaviour and implementing effective prevention and intervention strategies.
We have also…
⭐REVISED our Coronavirus Parent Information Sheets and HOT TOPIC Page
- Look out for further COVID-19 updates soon!
AND… We have now REDUCED our 2022 Multicultural Calendar!
Just a handful of printed copies remain!
Plan activities and teach children about festivals, cultures and traditions from all over the world! Excellent for displaying in your setting, to give as gifts to families or to plan for the year ahead in your own household.
AND Coming Soon…
👀MORE Preparing for Inspection Support Resources!
🌍Climate Change Activity Pack!
Thank you to all for your continued support! Keep safe and look out for more MindingKids News soon!
Many thanks! Cheryl & The Minding Kids Team! xxx
