Little Dumplings Childminding

Settling in period: Leaving your child with a carer is a big step for both of you. It will take time to adjust so a settling in period is very important. I encourage at least a one week settling in period for a couple of hours a day before you leave your child for the first full day with me. This will also allow you and your child chance to see how it all works and for us to learn about each other. However, if you feel confident within your child and myself, I am happy to discuss settling periods. On your first visit I would ask that you stay for the entire time. For subsequent visits you can start leaving your child for short stretches, slowly settling them in. Talk to your child about what will happen. Always say goodbye when you leave and tell your child that you will be coming back. Gradually you can increase the length of time you are away until your child is more comfortable in my care. There is no charge for this settling in period.

Working with parents: Every day I send home a Daily Care Sheet with details of your child’s day and I will try to include comments where appropriate about your child’s development. It really helps if we can work together as much as possible and make this a two-way dialogue, with you sharing information with me about your child’s behaviour at home. I hope that if at any time you have suggestions, queries, concerns or questions about your child’s care that you will talk with me about them. As a professional, I am very open to both suggestions and criticism and both are always appreciated. You are always welcome to drop by during the day at any time or to come with us on outings. I will notify you in advance when I am to be inspected by Ofsted so that you can contribute your views to the inspector if you want to. I will supply you with a copy of the Ofsted report within five working days of receiving the report. I hope that you will also keep me informed about anything that may affect your child’s time with me. I need to be made aware of changes in the child’s circumstances that could affect their behaviour during the day – big changes like a new baby or bereavement, or even little things like a bad night’s sleep. If mornings and evenings are too rushed a time to stay and talk then we can always arrange an evening or weekend time for you to come and talk things over.

Managing children’s behaviour: Providing quality childcare is all about creating a loving home environment where children feel welcomed, respected and included. Being professional is also about being clear about expectations, giving lots of praise and encouragement, having a well-structured routine and setting fair, consistent boundaries. This is the ideal environment in which children thrive and develop responsibility. This is a family home and I like to build an atmosphere of caring and sharing. It is important to teach the children to have regard for and to respect each other. My general policy regarding discipline is consistency. I give positive reinforcement whenever possible. However, I will respond to unacceptable behaviour in an appropriate way according to the child’s age and level of understanding. When problems arise, I try to distract or redirect the child or children involved and talk things through. However, if inappropriate behaviour persists then I operate a time out policy. Under no circumstances will I smack, shake or humiliate a child, threaten or administer physical punishment of any kind even if this is something you would normally do at home. Where physical intervention is taken for the purposes of averting immediate danger of personal injury to any person (including the child) or to manage the child’s behaviour if absolutely necessary, this will be recorded as an ‘incident’. It is also my policy to challenge bullying and any other form of peer-on-peer abuse. If I see bullying, it will be recorded as an ‘incident’.

Illness and medical policy: Before your child starts in my care you will be asked to complete a child profile form which includes medical information about your child such as asthma. This should indicate any serious allergies the child may have including foods to avoid and any other things that I should be aware of in looking after your child. It is very important that you communicate in writing any changes in your child’s development or physical needs that may become apparent as they grow up. If your child becomes unwell while in my care and I feel that he or she should be at home then you will be contacted and requested that you collect your child immediately. This is at my discretion and applies even if a doctor has said that your child is fit and not infectious. In general, if a child has a contagious infection, I would ask that for the benefit of the other children in my care that the child be kept at home while they are contagious or feeling especially unwell. You must keep them at home if they have any communicable disease such as chickenpox or measles. If they have diarrhoea or vomiting please keep them at home until they have been clear for 48 hours. The attached Guidance on Infection and Control in Schools and Other Childcare Settings from the Health Protection Agency is a guideline to exclusion periods for various infections. Please note that there could be occasions when a child will be excluded as a precautionary measure based upon information received or visual observations.