Supporting communication and language in the early years

A recent report in the Telegraph states that thousands of children who are starting school ‘struggle to speak properly’: they cannot ask questions, use full sentences or follow simple instructions and they lack the basic communication and language skills needed to make themselves heard in a busy classroom. This is worrying, especially as we are told that vocabulary knowledge in the early years is a strong predictor of academic success.

We know that, to consolidate any new skills including communication and language, children need to be given lots of time to practice. They need plenty of uninterrupted time during the day to chat to friends and adults, repeat and use new words, ask and answer questions, be involved in small group activities etc in the early years provision and at home.

In early years provision, observation suggests that children with poor speech and language often choose to play with other children rather than engage in adult led activities where new language can be taught and current language scaffolded: built on during sensitive interventions by practitioners who know the child well.

A discussion paper from the Literacy Trust looks at some of the most common explanations as to why quality interactions might not be happening in children’s home and family lives and points to parents work patterns, smaller family groups, lack of family time spent together eg eating at the table or adults playing with children as some of the reasons.


Tracking progress

In the early years, providers should be consistently tracking children’s progress in communication and language (listening and attention, understanding and speaking) and should note if a child is at risk of ‘falling behind’. Progress tracking (including completing the statutory 2 year progress check) allows practitioners to ensure children are making good progress and alerts them to concerns when they might, for example, advise parents to ask for intervention from other agencies or professionals.


Ongoing tracking should be completed using Ofsted’s tracker of choice - Early Years Outcomes. A copy of Early Years Outcomes should be in each child’s file and observations should show the child making good progress. It is important to note that Early Years Outcomes is not and was never intended to be a tick or checklist.

Further tracking information, if providers are concerned about a child’s communication and language, including social communication guidance, is available from Every Child a Talker (ECAT).


English as an additional or second language

A survey of London schools in 2000 revealed that more than 30% of all schoolchildren speak a language other than English at home and there are more than 300 languages spoken and a further report from 2013 states that there are more than a million children between 5–18 years old in UK schools who speak in excess of 360 languages between them.

It is highly likely that this percentage has increased in recent years both in London and across the country.

When tracking the progress of children who do not speak English as their first language, EYFS (2014) requirement 1.7 states that, ‘practitioners must assess children’s skills in English. If a child does not have a strong grasp of English language, practitioners must explore the child’s skills in the home language with parents and/or carers, to establish whether there is cause for concern about language delay.’

The EYFS also states that practitioners must support children’s home language and teach them English, providing children with ‘sufficient opportunities to learn and reach a good standard in English language during the EYFS.’

If parents want to track their child’s progress at home, there is a free communication and language progress checker for parents from Talking Point which can be used alongside the activity ideas in ‘What to Expect When? A parents guide’.


Early intervention

Interventions in the early years setting might include daily storytelling and song sessions, with children working in small groups to gain the maximum benefit from adult interactions. Targeted communication tools are also available, such as these Toddler Talk cards.

During our recent Ofsted inspection (April 2016), our inspector asked to see evidence of how we use Letters and Sounds with our pre-school children.

I have written Information Guides for Childcare.co.uk gold members about Letters and Sounds Phase 1 and was able to show the inspector how our planning and children’s observations links to the Letters and Sounds games we play in the provision – and ideas for children’s home learning which we provide for parents of pre-school children.

Daily routines should be organised to allow time for communication and language: activities with adults playing alongside them and guiding their interactions; adult-led activities where adults model language; meal and snack times when adults sit with children, play games and chat to them; times to sing and dance together; practitioners who are always available to the children, playing their games and being interested in what they are doing.

High quality resources are an important part of supporting children’s communication and language development. Of course, the most important resource is the playfully engaged adult who chats, asks open-ended, interested questions (and waits for answers) and takes an interest in what the children are doing.

Resources that promote imaginative play help the children to make sense of their world and can be great for supporting communication; activities such as messy play times allow practitioners to sit and play alongside the children, modelling new language and building on previous learning; sequencing toys allow practitioners and children to work together, solving puzzles and developing critical thinking skills (characteristics of effective learning).

Activities can be targeted to support communication and language across all 7 areas of learning in the EYFS. For example, puzzles or baking will support children’s maths language; repetitive child-friendly books and comics which feature children’s favourite characters will build a love of literacy; singing songs and listening to CDs will promote learning across different areas of art and design; puppets will build imagination and bring stories alive etc.

Sharing activity ideas with home

It is, of course, important that parents are fully involved in their child’s time in the provision – daily diaries, emails, blogs, secret Facebook groups etc can all be used to engage them.

The EYFS also states that we must provide parents with ideas for home learning. This poster from the communication charity I Can might be displayed in the setting and displays might be put up on the parents noticeboard, suggesting one communication and language tip every month to catch parents attention and further engage them in their child’s learning.

Further activity ideas and games for parents linked to Letters and Sounds Phase 1 and children’s current interests in the setting might be shared with parents during daily discussions.

Pre-school children might enjoy taking a book bag home each week - put together a small cloth bag which contains:
• An A5 writing book
• A pencil case with a rubber, sharpener and a few coloured pencils
• A few stickers for parents to use in the writing book
• A ‘reading with your child’ activity sheet
• A letter for parents explaining that their child will bring home a book each week and you would like them to draw a picture and write a story about the book in their own words.
Each week let the child/ren borrow a book (ask parents to sign a list of who has which book) and encourage them to write and draw pictures about the story after their parents have read it to them.

At the same time, you could display different ‘reading at home’ tips each week or month for parents to support them at home and website links such as this one from Book Trust on ‘how to share books’ are useful to give to parents.

I hope you have found some useful ideas in this blog to support your communication and language planning and tips for sharing activity ideas with children’s parents.

Thank you! Sarah
Knutsford Childminding

Teaching children British values

In her first major announcement since taking office, Nicky Morgan (the new Education Secretary) has said that early years providers must teach ‘fundamental British values in an age appropriate way’ to children from the age of 2 - Guardian article.

David Cameron has backed her up, saying that we need to teach ‘freedom, tolerance, respect for the rule of law, belief in personal and social responsibility and respect for British institutions’. The announcements follow concerns about extremist views being taught to children in some Birmingham schools and the intention is to protect children from extremist radical views.

There is a consultation which most of us will probably ignore. It is open until 17th October 2014 – so nothing is going to change quickly…

Childminders are asking - what are the ‘fundamental British values’ that we need to teach children? Well, first of all they need to be meaningful … and understandable. We are talking about teaching something many adults (in my experience) struggle to fully understand to toddlers in nappies and children who might not have a very good grasp of English.

Ms Morgan says we are to teach children about –

• Right from wrong
• Taking turns and sharing
• Challenging negative attitudes and stereotypes
• Mutual respect and tolerance of different religions and beliefs

I have been thinking about some of the ways we might support children’s learning about 'fundamental British values' and my list of planning ideas includes –
• Teach children to share and take turns – in conversation, at the shops, when reading books etc
• Celebrate British special days eg St George’s Day
• Help children to understand about friendship and support them to make friends
• Focus on listening skills so children wait before shouting out and understand not to spoil a song or book by talking through the words
• Promote manners – please, thank you, sorry, age appropriate behaviour at the table etc
• Take children on outings into the local community
• Teach them about British flowers, trees, birds and animals
• Cover a variety of themes about people who live in the world around us
• Watch British television programmes
• Teach them about the British weather
• Teach empathy and understanding
• Give children age appropriate words to describe disability
• Help children to set appropriate behaviour boundaries
• When doing arts and crafts, use British artists and sculptors for inspiration
• Cook British food with the children
• Learn about British villages, towns and cities
• Use the learning characteristic ‘critical thinking’ to support children to ask questions and become independent and creative learners.

So… what we are doing already then?!?

I believe if we focus on this sort of teaching as we already do and not on marginalising or intolerance of minority then we will be ok. The problems will start if we teach children that only one way is right and that, because we are British, we are somehow morally superior to other nations and cultures - because that will teach intolerance, stereotyping, racism and extremism in itself.

While I remember, Ms Morgan has said that we cannot teach –
• ‘Creationism as scientific fact’
• ‘Climate change denial’
• ‘Views and theories which are contrary to established scientific or historical evidence and explanations.’
I can honestly say I have never tackled those subjects with my under 5s … or my over 5s for that matter … so that’s not a worry!

Ofsted will be inspecting us on how well we teach ‘fundamental British values’, so we will need to keep an eye on the consultation which will hopefully tell us more about what Ofsted will expect to see when they visit us.

Meanwhile, this is a very interesting and informative blog .

And for another bit of fun… can you pass the UK citizenship test?

I got 10/10 but I am not allowed to boast about it… well that wouldn’t be British now would it??

Chat soon, Sarah x

Let's talk about death...

Ok, there, I’ve said it – let’s talk about death. Not a nice subject and very emotive but sometimes it has to be discussed...

The death of a loved one – the death of a childminded child’s parent – the death of a young child – the death of a family member or beloved pet. How do you deal with it? What do you say? How do you explain what has happened? How do you prepare children if you know death is imminent? What about sudden unexpected death – the parent who does not arrive to collect their child? How do you cope with death and the aftermath?

We all have our own coping mechanisms and ways of managing. We all say different things to children about death depending on our individual beliefs.

However, when we are caring for a childminded child and someone or a pet dies, many childminders struggle to know what to say and do next. They don’t want to offend the child’s family but at the same time they need to stay true to their own beliefs.

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It is important that we raise the subject of death with children. This can begin very early when they start to understand the seasons and the passing of time – they learn that flowers and trees die in the autumn and grow again in spring. Children can then start to learn through conversation and discussion that while this happens to flowers and trees it does not happen when people or animals die.

Do you have a fish tank? Fish die quite regularly and the children will quickly learn that death means they disappear from the tank. They can be replaced with new fish of course – which you cannot do when a grandma or favourite uncle dies. Similarly, a much loved family dog might die and a little while later the children will be excitedly choosing a new puppy … so again, we need to support children as they learn that the death of fish and animals, like plants, is slightly different to the death of a person.

However, there are so many euphemisms for death – passing over, visiting the angels, resting in the sky, with the stars, gone to sleep - are just a few. These might be very confusing for a child and may lead the child to think that the dead person is coming back just like the flowers! They might think the dead person is visiting heaven like they visit the zoo and be waiting for them to reappear.

It is important to talk to the children’s parents about what they are saying to their child about the death – and to emphasise the importance of finality in the words that are used. A dead person, unlike a tree, plant, replaced fish etc is not coming back.

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Talking to parents
We must always ask parents what they might want us to say about death. Yes, I know, this is not an easy subject to raise and some families might feel awkward if their feelings about death have been repressed or confused over the years.

However, they should respect your need to understand how they are dealing with the subject at home. For example, do the family believe in heaven or an afterlife? Do they believe that they will come back as animals or insects? Do they teach their children that death is final or a journey to another world?

You also need to find out how the family are managing the death. Are there lots of relatives in the house crying all day? Has the child’s routine been completely disrupted? Are they going to be more tired than normal? How might the family’s grief impact on the child? Sometimes, struggling through the day is the best you will manage to achieve in the early stages of grieving.

Explain to parents that you need to know these things so you do not confuse the child. If they are reticent to tell you, reinforce that your job is to put their child’s needs first and, to do that, you need to understand their child’s life at home.

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Get in touch with your own emotions
Think about how you deal with death – this will be linked to your life experiences and the ways death has been explained to you. If you are in touch with your own feelings on the subject you will be better placed to support the child. If you need help, ask for it! Nobody hands out medals to childminders who are struggling to cope with something and end up ill as a result – we all need to ask for help from time to time.

There are clear and defined stages of grieving that everyone – children and adults – go through when they learn that someone has died. This is a good link which explains it very sensitively - http://singleparents.about.com/od/communicatingwiththekids/a/stages_of_grief.htm.

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Teaching and learning opportunities
Respecting the feelings of others is an important part of helping children to cope with death. If they do not understand why someone is crying then they will not be able to stop themselves from saying or doing things that might cause others hurt. Some children do laugh when you talk about death – but this might simply be their coping mechanism if they feel uncomfortable or anxious in a situation. If you know the child well you will be able to support them through their reaction and help them to manage their own feelings of awkwardness or repressed grief.

Ask for a photo or small memories of the dead person which you can keep in a special little booklet or decorated memory box for the child to look at during the day. It is important that children are allowed to remain in contact with the dead person and they will find it comforting. It will also help them to grieve in a supportive environment with lots of time, conversation and cuddles available to them.

Helping children to learn about their emotions is a key part of PSED as we teach children to verbalise how they are feeling. Resources such as books, feelings fans, posters, drawings, mirrors etc will all support children to talk about their feelings rather than hold them in or hide them. Similarly, children (all children – boys and girls) need to know that it is ok to cry. I’ve heard parents say - often to boys – ‘don’t cry, be a big man’ – but crying is good and cathartic and part of the grieving process. This enforced repression of emotions should be avoided.

Next time you spot a dead bird or animal don’t walk past – stop and talk to the children about it. Show them that the bird is dead – it is not moving and will never fly again. If they are interested or they have some experience of death in their family, they might ask to bury the bird – it would be good if you can support this extension of their interest by maybe saying some prayers (within the child’s belief system) or some comforting words before moving on.

If children say something that upsets you about the death of a loved one, be ready with some activities to support their understanding. They are not being deliberately cruel, they simply do not have the capacity to deal with crying adults or half stories about angels and heaven. Even young children can be supported to understand that they need to show understanding of the needs of others – a little empathy with some sympathy thrown in can make a big difference. A 3 / 4 year old should have enough understanding of how to behave so that others are not upset by their actions after a 3 or 4 year focus on PSE development as required by the EYFS.

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Books to support learning
There are lots of books on Amazon or Play.com such as –
• Everybody Feels Sad by Jane Bingham (Crabtree)
• Granddad’s Bench by Addy Farmer (Walker)
• Water Bugs and Dragonflies by Doris Stickney (Looking Up)
• Badger’s Parting Gifts by Susan Varley (Andersen)
• Always and Forever by Alan Durant (Picture Corgi)
And many more … your library should be able to recommend some good ones.

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Resources to support learning
Many childminders have an empathy doll who talks to the children about difficult situations in their lives. The doll sits on the shelf watching the children – rather than playing directly with them – and comes down from the shelf to chat.

An empathy doll is very useful in these situations because s/he can share stories with the children and listen to them or give them a hug when they need one – especially if you are busy dealing with other children and the child cannot wait for support – or if you are struggling with your own emotions and need a moment to collect yourself.

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Keep talking
It is important that you keep talking about the person who has died. Just because they are not here any more does not mean they have vanished from the child’s memory. Observe the child and if they seem to be struggling during the day, give them a quiet, cosy place to go and daydream – children do not need to be distracted all the time with activities and singing and dancing and games – sometimes they need time to sit quietly and grieve.

Children’s behaviour can often be affected when they are grieving and it is important that you have systems in place to support them. Make sure they understand that while the inappropriate behaviour is not and will never be acceptable you understand why it is happening and you are always there for them.

And… remember… if you are struggling, ask your colleagues for confidential support. You don’t have to deal with it on your own.

Mini e-book 51 from www.knutsfordchildminding.co.uk discusses offering end of life care for childminded children.

Sarah x

Listening to children

I was prompted to write this blog after a discussion with another childminder. She was concerned about a child and asked me, 'how do you know what they are thinking?'

It made me stop for a moment and consider her question - little ones, especially before they can communicate effectively, often struggle to tell us what they are thinking.

We need to clue into their non verbal communications and it is very important that we are always aware of what they are saying to us.

So... a new blog was born! Catchily entitled... listening to children

It is important that children are given opportunities throughout their time with you to voice their thoughts, feelings, emotions and concerns … and that they are listened to and acknowledged when they do tell you things that are important to them.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) states that ‘a child’s opinion should be taken into account on anything that affects them’ and the EYFS 2012 and Development Matters guidance all tell us that we must listen to children and involve them in decisions which affect them.

Some practitioners get confused about how to manage this - they wonder if it means they have to ask children if they want their nappies changing … and not change them if the child runs away! Respectful, listening care means that we do ask children, when we can see they are not busy (not in the middle of a very important game) if we can take them to change their nappy and we do listen to their reply and explain that they need a clean nappy so they are comfortable and do not get sore… and then we lead them gently and respectfully to the nappy changing area and allow them to dictate the type of change they want - quick and efficient because they are busy or longer with a favourite song because they want some one-to-one interaction time with an adult.

It is not enough to write an annual questionnaire and give it to the older children… listening and respecting children’s opinions is about your day-to-day interactions and the ways you support every child - even little babies - to feel that they are an important part of your provision.

Think about the following scenarios and how you react to the babies / children involved -

• Baby is screaming constantly and you don’t know how to help him. He doesn’t seem to improve whether you hold him or put him down - what do you do? How do you best meet his needs? Do you ask yourself whether he is in the right provision to meet his needs or do you struggle on because you need the money? What do you tell parents - that he has been a bit clingy or the truth?

... Baby is telling you that he is not happy and that his emotional needs are not being met… your response if you listen to him needs to be calm and reassuring, letting him cry when he needs to express his emotions and maybe using a sling to keep him close. You should also be working closely with parents and finding out how he is handled at home - maybe a home visit would be useful?

• Toddler is running around the house and your rules say ‘we walk inside’. You have asked him time and time again to walk and you are getting frustrated…

... You need to ask yourself whether you are meeting his needs fully by asking him to walk. Would you be better getting him in his coat and shoes and encouraging him to play outside so he can run around until he has worked the need to run out of his system?

• You are getting 2 children ready for an outing to the park when 1 of them says that he does not want to go. Do you ignore him, knowing he will be happy when he gets there? Do you stop what you are doing and sit and talk to the children to try and elicit more information from him about why he does not want to go? Do you speak to parents and find out when he last went, what might be stopping him wanting to go etc? Do you still go on the outing - regardless of his wishes?

... Children usually have a good reason for saying ‘no’ they don’t want to do something. They might be tired after a later than usual night or disturbed sleep … or they could be hungry, feeling a little ill, remembering a bad experience last time they went to the park etc. We are responsible for keeping them safe and ensuring their mental health as well as physical so we need to consider whether we are doing the right thing if we ‘jolly them along’ and take them when they have said ‘no’.

• An older child is trying to do some jigsaws and struggling. He needs help and asks you to show him where a piece goes. Do you sit with him and show him how to start the jigsaw properly by looking for corner pieces? Or do you ask him how he is doing the jigsaw and chat about strategies he might use to find where the pieces go by himself, encouraging him to use his knowledge about size, direction, colour and shape?

... It is very important to listen carefully to what a child is saying to you and respond appropriately to their questions and concerns. It is very easy for us to use our experience and knowledge to take over their games and lead their play - but often this just puts a child off asking in the future because we disturbed them and they didn’t want us do more than answer the specific question.

• You are organising a game of ‘follow the leader’ and one child always pushes to the front and wants to take control of the game. You are worried that if the child is not allowed to go first he will have a tantrum (this has happened before) … but you are also aware that it is not fair on the other children who have to wait their turn every time. How do you support all the children in this type of situation? What games can you play / what activities can you introduce to help them take turns and share more effectively? In a similar situation, you are sitting reading with a group of children and asking them questions to check their understanding of the book. One child constantly shouts out the answers while another child is quiet and rarely responds. How do you ensure both children are given opportunities to have their voice heard?

... In this sort of scenario, the child who is pushing forward and shouting out needs someone to listen to them and reflect on why they need to be first … working with parents is normally a good place to start in situations like this.

• You are feeding the children when one child pushes his plate away / spits out food he ate yesterday / refuses to eat his sandwich (and you know he likes it). You know that his parents don’t give him any more food at home if they think he is being ‘silly’ with his food. You also know that the child’s nutritional needs will not be met if you do not feed him.

... Childminders are not responsible for making rules about what happens when a child does not eat - and we are not allowed to starve a child! The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) is clear that children have a right to food. It is a good idea to have a little store of food that you know children like that is also nutritious and healthy so you can offer it if they refuse their main meal - we always give children the option of a toastie or sandwich, milky drink or water and yoghurt plus fruit to follow if they dislike something we have made them. While not a perfect meal, they are getting their necessary food groups - and we are respectfully acknowledging that their tastes change and they can sometimes be picky and we understand that they are trying to tell us something when they refuse the food we offer - rather than trying to be difficult.

I hope this gives you just a few examples of how listening to children will help you to manage your provision and time with the children just a little better. I am sure the majority of childminders use these techniques, but it is good to reflect on practice sometimes and ask yourself if you can improve the ways you work. I know I have learned a lot researching to write this blog!

You can find out more about listening to children in e-book 44 from my Knutsford Childminding website.

Schemas in the early years

Do you ever wonder why a child lines up their toys... seems fascinated by things that go round and round... hides repeatedly under blankets and in boxes... throws everything round the room?

What you are probably seeing is a child learning through a schema. A schema is a repeated pattern of behaviour. I first found out about schemas in 2009 when I attended some training and researched about schemas for my e-book 32. I have been totally fascinated by them ever since!

Some of the most common schemas include -

• Transporting - the child carries toys around and loves sitting in a buggy so you can push him around the house and garden;

• Trajectory - usually spotted when a child simply cannot stop throwing - everything they can get their hands on is lobbed around the room. They will normally love water play as well;

• Enveloping / enclosure - the child covers themselves or their toys with blankets and hides in things; linked very closely to enclosure schemas where children draw borders round their work or prefer to be within a boundary made with cushions or boxes;

• Assembling / disassembling - lining things up (toy animals, trains, cars), putting them together and taking them apart;

• Rotation - pictures in paint and crayon show lots of circles and the child can often be found spinning themselves or toys round and round;

• Scattering - children are not being ‘naughty’ when they throw contents of sand trays or toy boxes in every direction. They are learning through a scattering schema and will appreciate you providing lots of baskets of bits and bobs which they can tip out and move around on the floor with their hands or legs;

• Orientation - the child looks at things from different angles eg upside down, through their legs, sideways etc.

Once you have observed and recognised that a child is learning through a schema (not all children use schemas to learn so you need to spot it a few times first), you can share information about how they are learning through their play with parents and research to find lots of ideas for follow on activities that their child might enjoy.

I write little information sheets in parent friendly language when I spot a child exploring a new schema and give them to parents. They contain a little bit of information about the schema I have observed, photos of the child learning through their new schema (I find that parents will engage better if they are asked to read something that features photos of their child!) and some ideas for extension activities to develop the schema further.

Do you want to find out more? You can...

• Download this document from Leicestershire Early Years - http://www.leics.gov.uk/penn_green_schemas.pdf;

• Borrow a copy of ‘Again Again’ by Sally Featherstone from the library or local Children’s Centre;

• Look at the lovely pictures on my friend Lucy’s website - http://lucy-locket.com/schema.html;
• Print this illustrated sheet to put into your Learning Journey files and share with parents - http://www.sennenpreschool.org.uk/uploads/5/4/5/9/5459458/early_years_schema2_copy.pdf;

• Buy e-book 32 ‘Schemas’ for £3.99 from www.knutsfordchildminding.co.uk.

Enjoy schema spotting! Sarah x

Cameras, childminders and the EYFS

With the shocking headlines that a Nursery worker has been abusing children and using photographs in improper ways, the camera debate has inevitably started up again.

Leading early years practitioners are calling for calm and common sense. They suggest that instead of panicking and losing so much of the good practice we have built up around taking photographs of children we must instead ensure our safeguarding practices are robust.

First of all, think about why you use photographs of children. You will...

• Display them around the setting to promote children’s self esteem (PSED);

• Give them to parents to feed back their achievements (2.2 Parents as partners);

• Use them to build up an interesting and informative learning journey (3.1 Observation, assessment and planning);

• Put them on birthday charts to teach children about a sense of time (KUW);

• Make albums with the children to show outings they have been involved in to promote a sense of place (KUW);

• Organise visits to promote activities such as people who help us and take photographs to remind children about their learning (3.4 The wider context);

• Send cameras home so children can take photos of their home lives to share within the setting, thereby promoting home and setting links (2.2 Parents as partners) and giving children a sense of belonging (PSED);

• Put on a CD to give to parents at Christmas or on birthdays (if celebrated) to promote partnership working (2.2);

• Use pictures of the children as story prompts (CLL);

• Add them to collages that promote equality of opportunity and diversity (1.2 Inclusive practice);

• Personalise resources such as adding baby’s photo to a jam jar lid for him to find in his treasure basket (4.2 Active learning);

• Make alphabet charts featuring all the children in the setting (3.2 supporting every child);

• Take pictures of children washing their hands or involved in other healthy living routines to support other children’s learning (1.4 health and well being);

• Photograph a child’s achievements (4.2 supporting learning) and document his learning to promote his continued interest (PSED)... and much more!

So, photos are useful and educational as tools to support us when we are working with children, working with parents and providing evidence of our activities etc for Ofsted.

However, we must make sure children are safe and protected from abuse so we need policies and safeguards in place...

• Parents must sign to say they are happy for their child’s photo to be taken and used in a variety of situations such as to display on your wall, put in their learning journey, go in general albums etc;

• You need to promote photos to parents and be clear with them about why you take them and how they are used. You could do this through your initial parent literature or by including information in your welcome booklet or on your website for parents to access (2.2 Parents as partners);

• Consider having an open door policy, so parents can stay and watch you with their child until they are confident you are the right person to work with them. This might take some parents longer than others and you may be concerned about the disruption to your setting but it is good practice and an excellent way to reassure parents that they are making the right decision;

• Ensure you have clear paperwork in place, which is shared with parents before their child starts with you, including information about how cameras are used in the setting;

• Prioritise regularly updated (at least every 3 years) safeguarding training for yourself and anyone who works with you;

• If you put photos from which children can be recognised on your computer, you must find out if you need to register with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO);

• If you work with a co-childminder or assistant, they must have a valid CRB check which is shared with parents to reassure them that you take steps to ensure their child’s safety. If you act transparently in all dealings with parents they will have more reason to trust you;

• Have clear information, to be shared with parents, for co-childminders and assistants about how to whistle blow if they have concerns about bad practice related to anyone connected with your setting;

• Risk assessments need to be updated to say what you would do if you see adults taking photographs of your minded children in the park or on outings. It would probably not be wise to challenge them as you could get hurt (although that might be our first thought) but you would be within your rights to call the Police;

• A Confidentiality Policy that clearly safeguards a child and their family’s right to privacy and states what information may and may not be shared, including mention of photographs;

• Reassure parents that you do not store photos and explain how you taken them... promptly print them... then discard from all media to protect against theft of memory cards full of children’s pictures. You might also show parents where you lock cameras and memory sticks overnight so if there is a theft, they are safe;

• Share Visitor Policies and a visitor log book with parents, so parents can see (at any mutually convenient time) who has been in the setting when their child was there;

• Be absolutely clear when speaking with parents that you would never take inappropriate photos of their children for example, in the bath or without clothes. If parents would feel more comfortable seeing photos of their child before you print, organise this in a sensitive way that ensure confidentiality for other children’s images;

• Do not use mobile phones for photos – maybe adding this to your safeguarding policy – I feel a re-write of mine coming on;

• A clear Complaints Procedure and details provided to parents about how to contact Ofsted if they have a concern;

• If you work with students, they will never be asked to evidence their work by taking photos of children... but they might take photos of the setting and displays they have helped make etc. This information would need to be shared with parents as part of the information pack and permissions you give them if you agree to mentor a student;

• Childminders are their child’s key person – if you work with another childminder, you might share the key person responsibility. Parents must be told who their child’s key person is and that person should do the bulk of the child’s care routines to follow parents wishes;

• A Safeguarding Policy that is treated as a working document and updated at least annually, in partnership with the parents;

• A clear policy throughout the setting and shared with all assistants and co-childminders that the children come first – not parents, not colleagues and not visiting friends. If the children’s safety is compromised in any way, then steps must be immediately taken to protect them.

I hope you find this useful to add to your Portfolio of evidence of how you protect children from inappropriate use of cameras and photographs in your setting.

If you have any comments I would enjoy hearing them.

Please email me – knutsfordchildminding@hotmail.com