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

Observing the learning characteristics

I have written lots of blogs about the learning characteristics ... here is another one! I keep trying to share the information in different ways so that it is accessible to everyone.

Observing the characteristics of effective learning
Each of the learning characteristics is split into 3 sections – and there are examples of observations you might spot given for each section. The 3 sections help you to describe, in your paperwork and when chatting to parents, how the child is learning. You can then use what you have observed in your planning.
Let’s look at the characteristics in more detail –

Characteristic 1 - playing and exploring – you are being asked to observe the child’s engagement in activities. What does ‘engagement’ mean? Engagement describes when a child is curious and wants to learn more about what is happening. They have their own interests (schemas and learning styles) and they are positive about challenges.

Finding out and exploring Playing with what they know Being willing to ‘have a go’
• The child is curious about what is happening around them;
• The child explores using their senses;
• The child enjoys activities for the sake of them – not just because there is an end product;
• The child uses a schema • The child role plays by themselves – using the buggy, making tea etc
• The child uses a block or banana as a telephone
• The child pretends to be someone else in their play
• The child joins in with other children’s role play • The child involves other children in their play
• The child wants to challenge their learning and understanding
• The child is positive about what they are doing and keeps trying
• The child takes risks to try something new

Remember – not all children display all learning characteristics at the same time. Think about your own learning characteristics – do you prefer to read a book or listen to an audio book or watch the film? Children are just the same as you – they have favourite learning characteristics which you can develop and support through your planned and free play activities (routines) and any extra planned learning activities you provide for them. Have a look through the characteristics and see if you can work out some links -
• Jane talks about an outing at the weekend with her family… links to playing and exploring - ‘finding out and exploring’;
• Janet makes a cup of tea… links to playing and exploring - ‘playing with things they know;
• John struggles but carries on and finishes… links to active learning - ‘keeping on trying’;
• Jane says that if you add water to the oats they ‘might go fluffy’… links to creating and thinking critically ‘making links’.

Characteristic 2 – active learning – you are being asked to consider whether a child is motivated to learn. Do they want to learn? Are they interested in what is happening around them?

Being involved and concentrating Keeping on trying
Enjoying achieving what they set out to do
• The child can concentrate for longer periods of time when they are enjoying something
• The child is fascinated / involved / excited in their play
• The child sits and works something out
• The child looks at things around them in detail / points things out • The child does not give up, even when the going gets tough
• The child tries to do things in different ways
• The child copes with a problem and tries again
• The child struggles but refuses to give up
• The child asks for help and is determined to finish a game or work something out • The child is proud of their achievements
• The child is proud of trying – not just succeeding
• The child copes with disappointment when something goes wrong
• The child enjoys challenges – not just to get a sticker or praise – but challenges for their own sake

Remember – you are less likely to spot learning characteristics in a very little one – aged under 1. While the EYFS expects us to use the learning characteristics for all children, you need to think about how you can provide experiences to help little ones develop the characteristics.
For example, you might –
• Provide lots of sensory play to help a child enjoy exploring and using their senses;
• Introduce challenging games and support the little one to try – even if he doesn’t succeed just yet because he is too small;
• Talk about what is happening and point out places and things of interest so babies learn to look carefully at the world around them;
• Take babies on outings and plan lots of outside play so they learn about the world around them – expose them to the weather (not extremes obviously) but let them learn what rain and sun feel like on their faces;
• Encourage little ones to guess ‘how many do you think?’ or ‘what do you think is happening?’ in stories and when watching television;
• Provide activities that stimulate all the senses so babies learn to use them all;
• Praise a little one for trying as well as succeeding;
• Help little ones to make choices and ask them what they prefer to do / wear / eat etc, even if they cannot respond clearly yet.

Characteristic 3 – creating and thinking critically – you need to think about the ways the child thinks and how you can use these to support their learning. We all think in different ways – some children are leaders and others prefer to follow… some children talk a lot about home and family life while others are more reticent to share information… some children work out how to do things while others get quickly frustrated… what sort of thinkers do you look after every day?

Having their own ideas Making links Choosing ways to do things
• The child thinks up new games
• The child finds new ways to solve problems
• The child watches other children and learns from them, trying out new things in their own play
• The child wants to add something new to a game to change the play
• The child thinks up new ways to do things • The child uses learning from home or another setting to solve a similar problem
• The child can predict / guess what might happen next
• The child tests their ideas eg they try to do something even if it might not work.
• The child learns about cause and effect – if he does xx then yy will happen • The child can plan their time
• The child solves problems by thinking them through
• The child can make choices
• The child makes decisions about what they want to do
• The child recognises he might need to change how he is doing something
• The child can review and consider how well / badly things went

Remember – it’s not just about spotting a child using a learning characteristic in their play. It’s also about using your observations of the child’s learning characteristics to plan for future learning. So when you observe a learning characteristic, think about how you can plan.
Here are some examples…
• Jane is learning through a transporting schema – provide lots of baskets, bags and small toys that she can transport in the house – and a buggy and dolls in the garden (playing and exploring – finding out and exploring);
• Janet enjoys playdough – and next time you play with it she says she wants to add the lavender scent she smelled in the garden (creating and thinking critically – having their own ideas);
• John tries to get the jigsaw piece into the space over and over again before deciding to turn it another way (creating and thinking critically – choosing ways to do things / active learning – being involved and concentrating);
• Jack picks up a block and pretends it is a telephone. He makes a call to mummy to tell her about something he has just done in the garden (playing and exploring – playing with what they know).

I hope you find it useful. Chat soon, Sarah x

PS E-book 59 'Characteristics of Learning' contains a lot more detail. You can buy it for £3.99 from my Knutsford Childminding website. Thank you.

Messy and destructive play

It is important for babies and young children to play in ways that are natural to them. Some little ones will carry small toys around in bags and boxes… others will throw everything across the room (often with great accuracy)… some will tip out toy boxes and make a huge mess!

Repeated patterns of play (where little ones do the same thing over and over again) are part of how children learn – their learning characteristics. The importance of this messy, sometimes quite destructive play might not be clear when you first observe a child tipping out all your toy boxes! However, children are learning by being destructive and we need to support their play –
• Provide resources that can be tipped without anyone getting hurt
• Remove excess resources from the room to make the play manageable
• Keep the floor clear for the child to explore
• Explain to the older children how the little one is learning and make tidying up fun for everyone.

When tipping out containers the little one is developing fine and gross motor skills (Physical Development – moving and handling) and finding out about, for example –
• Cause and effect
• Object permanence
• Weight
• Capacity
Once empty, the container might be a hat or a boat. The child might simply enjoy tipping rather than doing anything with the container – if you sit alongside and play with them you can teach them new ways of using the container and the toys they have tipped.

Chunky jigsaw boards carefully set up on the table with animals removed to challenge older children who like to put them together often end up swiped onto the floor by little ones who like to destroy. However, if we sit together with the little one and show them how to lift and replace the pieces they are developing wrist and hand strength and learning about –
• Animals, shapes, fish or whatever is printed on the jigsaw
• Shape – as the child tries to put the pieces back
• Hand-eye coordination
• Spatial awareness
• Patience and self-control – keeping trying rather than giving up

High chair play - we have a couple of little ones who have been through the stage of throwing everything we give them to eat or drink off their high chair tray. We recognise that now is probably not the best time to give them an open cup – but at the same time we are keen to encourage independent eating and parents do not want their child to go home hungry – so we have to find a way of ensuring the child eats and enjoys learning through their play.
We tend to have a rather pragmatic approach to this type of learning – the child needs to throw the object off the chair and look for it so we need to encourage eating by giving them small pieces of food – when the piece has been eaten they are offered more. When they start throwing they are generally full so we remove the food until next meal time.
Young children are learning about –
• Object permanence – the food is there even when it disappears
• Cause and effect
• Distance and speed
• Height and depth

We have a Lego board on a small toddler height table – we often build Lego creations for the younger children to pull apart. They are developing fine and gross motor skills which they will need for writing in the future and –
• Problem solving – as they take things apart
• Learning how things go together
• Exploring shapes and different sizes

Older children love building towers – we show them how to build for the little ones who will take great pleasure in knocking them over. Tell them ‘that’s what babies do – it’s their job – isn’t it fun!’ to encourage their play. When knocking down towers, little ones are developing fine and gross motor skills while learning more about –
• Cause and effect
• Direction as the blocks scatter around the floor
• Playing with other children – the starting points for cooperative play
Play alongside the little one and talk about what is happening as the blocks fall over. Show them how to build the towers themselves.

Our treasure basket has taken years to put together and contains lots of carefully chosen natural resources. I am sure you sympathise with me when I say that my heart drops for a moment when a little one cruises past and tips it over before moving on to tip a few toy boxes into the mix and push everything around with their legs.
This type of messy play is important to the little one who is learning through it and is finding out about –
• Capacity and weight
• Space
• Adult tolerance 

If you set aside spaces for messy play and encourage little ones to help tidy up afterwards, it can be very rewarding to watch them learn and see them happy in their learning. You do need plenty of space to allow them to follow their learning interest – time to let them explore and help them put things away again – patience as you hear your toys being tipped for the nth time – sense of humour as you sing the ‘tidy up song’ again!

You might enjoy reading this blog about decluttering your house and garden … very useful if you have a child or a few children who play in a destructive way.

I hope you find this blog useful. If you have a messy or destructive child you might find it helpful to share with your parents, to reassure them that it's quite normal, their child is learning... and to give them some ideas for extending learning in the future.

Chat soon, Sarah :)

Childminders and children with absent parents

Childminders are often asked to support children from broken or fractured homes or children who do not live in a ‘traditional’ family unit.

Childminders are in an excellent position to be able to offer a very flexible environment for all children and their families and should constantly reflect on our provisions to ensure we continue to provide a service which is appropriate for the needs of the children in our care at the time.

Families become damaged or fractured for many reasons including having a parent who, for example…
• Is in the armed forces and goes away on tour for extended periods;
• Lives in prison;
• Has died;
• Has left the family home and no longer plays an active part of the child’s life;
• Has left the family home and sees the child every other day on a rota;
• Works away during the week and is only home at weekends;
• Lives a long way away from the family home and wants to be involved but struggles because of distance.

Such living arrangements can cause a lot of challenges both for the parent who is on their own caring for the child and for the child himself. We need to understand the pressures on the child and their family so they can effectively support them through difficult periods.

How children react

When a child is struggling with frequent moves (such as the regular 2 year military deployment cycle) or missing an absent parent, practitioners might notice that they find it hard to appropriately express how they are feeling and either go quiet or act out the upset in their head through behaviour challenges. Similarly, children dealing with the loss of a parent might suddenly cling to the parent who is at home and not want them to leave in the morning or cry and need a cuddle from their key person during the day for no apparent reason.

Many practitioners find that the child is likely to be withdrawn and more overtly emotional as they remember their absent parent and worry about where they are and what they are doing.

Supporting the child

Managing misunderstandings - media reports about war, prison conditions etc can leave children uncertain about what is happening to their absent parent. Plus as we all know children are very good at ear wigging and getting the wrong end of the stick about things that are said around them. The practitioner needs to be alert to such misunderstandings to try and support the child to more fully understand what is happening around him.

Knowing where the absent parent is - it can often help if the child is able to visualise where their absent parent is geographically… working with their families, childminders might help the child to put together photo albums or maps showing where in the country or abroad they are currently living.

Communication - if absent parents are able to send postcards or letters and photographs children should be encouraged to share them with other children in the provision so the child whose parent is away feels special. Children might like to write to their absent parents and this should be encouraged. Little pictures, letters, cards, photos etc can all be sent from the child either by letter or email (with written permission from the resident parent first). If the provision has access to Skype the child might even be able to chat to their absent parent every so often to help them feel closer to home.

Managing grief - if a parent has died or left the family home without warning and is not coming back the child might respond well to grief counselling and this should always be advised. Meanwhile practitioners can support the child by finding out what the resident parent says has happened so everyone tells the same story. There are books and other resources available which might be useful and practitioner bereavement training is recommended.

Being sensitive - there are, as discussed earlier, a lot of reasons why parents might be absent from home. One of these is that they might have been sent to prison. If this happens to a child’s parent in the provision you might need to consider carefully how you tackle certain subjects. For example, if you are doing a ‘people who help us’ theme it is possible the child and their family will not have positive feelings about the police service!

Developing emotional vocabulary - the practitioner needs to spend time working with the child to develop his emotional vocabulary so he can say how he feels. This will support him to speak and role play rather than exhibit unwanted behaviours.

Being honest - most of all practitioners need to be honest within the child’s level of understanding – their absent parent loves them very much but because of circumstances / their job / their relationship etc they cannot be here at the moment. The child needs to understand that the parent is not absent because of something they have done or said.

Role play - one of the best ways of supporting children is through role play which helps them to make sense of what is happening around them. Children should be encouraged to dress up and take on various personas in their play. By doing this they will act out different roles and scenarios and work things out in their heads.

Physical and war related role play

If children are from a military background practitioners might find they want to role play their father or mother’s work and might appear with toy guns or services related small world toys. Having worked with children for many years I would also say that some of them can make guns out of just about anything if they are that way inclined, including their fingers and a couple of pieces of Lego™ joined together.

Each childminder needs to reflect on their own feelings about allowing children to role play using toys which can reflect the violence in our world. Plus, of course, you need to consider where the line will be drawn – are water guns ok? What about ‘Star Wars’ figures or characters linked to popular children’s films? How about if the children want to play pirates – are knives and cutlasses ok?

This is an interesting article from Education.com which will help you with your decision making.

Family reactions to separation

Families react to separations (divorce, death, working away from the home etc) in different ways. For example, research has shown that if parents have warning that they are going to leave the family home, maybe for a prison sentence or if there is a divorce pending, before the parent goes away they might start to withdraw from family life as they mentally prepare for the trials ahead. This may cause young children to think they have done something wrong… why is mummy or daddy not responding to them in the same way as they did before?

Similarly practitioners might find that children are being told stories by separated and divorced parents which are causing them upset. Some children are used as puppets in such situations and practitioners might find, temporarily, that their provision is the only safe haven the child has during the week.

Supporting children’s families

As childminders we are aware that it is not only the children who need ongoing support… we are often used as sounding boards by parents as well and the childminder / parent relationship can often become blurred as emotions run high. The parent left at home might be struggling or not coping as well as normal because of financial or other worries which will make the situation even harder.

Childminders are in a very difficult position – parents come into our homes and trust us to care for their children. They also have to tell us various personal details so that we can understand how to look after their child. At the same time, many childminders find that parents lean on them quite heavily in times of family crisis, sometimes expecting them to take sides.

While we strive to be flexible, an hour of heated or upset discussion at the end of a busy day, a third late paid invoice, a trying day with a difficult and very upset child followed by a parent who doesn’t appear to want to go home … can cause them serious family issues themselves!

It is important to remain as professional as possible. The childminder needs to ask the child’s family what s/he can do to support them and understand that they miss their absent partners too… they might appreciate someone to talk to or a shoulder if they are feeling a bit tearful.

However, at the same time, a certain professional distance must be maintained and the childminder must never take sides in a family argument.

Sharing information with absent family members

Newsletters, photos of the child at play and information from daily diaries / developmental notes can be emailed. Children’s art work can be scanned (by the children if they are old enough) and sent to absent parents and children can use the internet to chat with their absent parents (as appropriate).
However, before this happens the childminder must have written permission from the child’s resident parent and must be registered with the information Commissioners Office (www.ico.gov.uk) before information is shared electronically.

If the parent returns

Some parents are not going to come back. Words like ‘gone away’ and ‘with the angels’ do not help a child whose parent has died to understand that he is not coming back. I have talked about death in a previous blog here.

Similarly, parents who have left the home for a lengthy prison stay or who have moved across the country after a divorce will be less visible in their lives and in some cases might never return.

When / if the parent does come back there will be a huge rush of emotion and excitement, perhaps tinged with the worry that they are likely to go away again. The absent parent may find that they struggle to adapt to the new family routine which can cause further upset to all concerned.

There are agencies to support parents and their families and childminders should keep the details handy. Many childminders have an ‘information file for parents’ or similar folder which contains leaflets about local support services and a list of relevant books and agencies which might be useful. More information and advice can be found –
• Benefits advice from AdviceUK.
• Benefits for forces personnel from HMForces.co.uk.
• Citizens Advice Bureau .
• For children whose fathers are deployed contact SSAFA or the Royal British Legion.

Childminders and food allergy legislation

The EU food regulations are changing from 13th December 2014 and all early years providers who provide food for children (including snacks, food used in crafts and meals) must comply - including childminders. The Food Standards Agency have provided advice about the changes for childminders here.

14 common allergens have been recognised and we must record what food we give children each day so that we can inform parents what their child has eaten if they ask us for the information.

How are you complying with the changes?

At Knutsford Childminding we are using the ‘scribble what children have eaten down each day’ method of recording what food has been provided for children. We are busy and this is one more layer of paperwork we don’t need… but the ‘scribble it down’ method has been in place for a few weeks and we have found it to be successful.

We have also provided parents with information about the new legislation in our newsletters and our chef has taken a training course (details to follow) and displayed the certificate.

We have taken the opportunity to chat to parents about the new regulations and ask them to re-confirm whether their children have any diagnosed allergies … but of course it’s not always the child with known allergies who reacts to food, so we are happy to comply with the new EU regulations.

The change in regulations has led to some childminders to decide that they do not want to provide food any more and from January they will be asking parents to send in packed lunches. Here is some advice for childminders who ask parents to bring in food for their children to eat…

Healthy eating

If the food parents put in their child’s lunch box is not considered healthy it is possible that you will be downgraded and / or actioned by Ofsted at inspection. We have information from a group member that on the day she was being inspected a child had a biscuit in their lunch box – our member’s action is that she must work more closely with parents to ensure children eat healthily.

So, if parents bring food you will need to have a conversation with them about the contents of their child's lunch box - getting the right balance between carbs, fruit and veg, protein, dairy, fat and sugar. It might be a good idea to make a healthy lunch box leaflet to share with parents with ideas for ensuring children are offered a variety of different foods through the week – you will be able to show your inspector that you have given parents healthy eating information.

If you do this you might also include information that early years children (up to the age of 4) should not be given low fat foods and need a little sugar and fat in their diets. There is a useful booklet from the Caroline Walker Trust to refer to when putting together your leaflet – and you might also share it with parents.

Some childminders have a healthy eating policy in writing to give to parents. It is not a requirement of the EYFS to have a written healthy eating policy – the requirement is to be able to explain your healthy eating policy to parents and an inspector. However, if you do have a written policy, you can add information to that about healthy lunch box contents and what you will do if the child arrives with an inappropriate balance of food in their lunch box.

Independence

Ofsted are looking for children being independent during meal times – opening their own yoghurts, setting the table, preparing their own food as part of their daily routine, finding their own plates, pouring drinks, serving their friends, helping to clear the table etc.

You might need to consider how to make sure you promote independence for children who bring packed lunches in the same way as you would for children if you were all making lunch in the kitchen together because their food is already prepared so they can’t help with that part of the routine.

Some problems you might encounter...

You need to think about what you will do if –
• Parents forget to bring lunch;
• Parents do not provide enough food or the child says s/he is still hungry after eating;
• Parents provide too much food for their child;
• The child wants what another child is eating;
• The child does not eat the food parents have provided.

Will you give children extra food – and if so, will you charge parents for the food? If you decide to charge extra you will need to publish your lunch cost somewhere and check parents are happy with the extra charge – and you will need to make sure you have appropriate food in the house for the child to eat. How much will you charge? When will you ask parents for the money? What if they refuse to pay, saying they can’t afford it or they have provided a lunch and you shouldn’t have given their child extra?

What if children bring unsuitable food and drink – a can of coke and a bag of salty crisps? Will you put it back in the lunch box or let them eat it – what will you say to parents – how will you deal with the inevitable tantrum if you don’t let children eat what they have brought? Will you offer the child healthy alternatives if they don’t have enough food in their lunch box without the food you are refusing to let them eat – what will you do if the alternatives you offer are not eaten and the food goes into the bin … and the child is hungry later?

How will you tackle it if parents are sending too much food for their child’s dietary needs and their child is overeating? We have a duty of care to ensure children are fed appropriately through the day and not over-fed – especially with the rise in infant obesity. The Infant and Toddler Forum contains useful information which you can share with parents about portion sizes.

Childminders who ask parents to send in packed lunches report there is often food jealousy between the children with one child asking for something another child has got because they feel they are missing out. Think about how you will manage this to minimise issues.

Storing packed lunches

To comply with food hygiene legislation you need to ensure lunch boxes are stored appropriately in a fridge which is temperature checked to between 0 – 5 degrees each day. Safer Food Better Business for Childminders (which every childminder should be using) does not say that childminders have to write down the fridge temperature unless there is a problem – in which case you will need to record the problem and what you did to resolve it in your Safer Food Better Business file. There is a print friendly version of Safer Food Better Business for childminders here.

Do you have enough room in your fridge for lunch boxes? What about on a Monday morning when you have your family shopping in there from the weekend? You will also need to ensure lunch boxes are kept separately from raw food and unwashed vegetables – preferably on their own shelf. Are lunch boxes sent by parents clean? What will you do if a child regularly arrives with a dirty, smelly lunch box or if it is not cleaned out properly each day? How will you tackle it with parents?

Allergen legislation

Regardless of whether parents supply food or you make it for children, you need to know what each child eats through the day to ensure you comply with the new EU food legislation.

Will you have a ‘no peanuts’ policy? What if a child in your provision is allergic to nuts – how will you manage the situation if another parent repeatedly sends nuts for their child to eat? You might find it useful to think about where children sit for lunch if they are eating a packed lunch which contains food that other children round the table are not allowed to eat.

If children drop food on the floor you will need to pick it up immediately to ensure other children to not eat it to keep children safe. If a child mistakenly eats food that contains any of the 14 allergens you will need to record it and share the information with parents.

You might find this food allergy training (with certificate at the end) useful.

Outings

If you take children on outings you need to think about how you will safely transport the lunch boxes while keeping contents cold. If you buy food for children on outings (any food) you will be required, from 13th Dec 2014, to know the contents so you can share the information with parents on request. Most childminders are using their mobile phones to take photos of labels so they can be downloaded later and put into a file in case they are asked about the food the child has eaten at a later date.

Similarly, if you visit friends houses or go to groups and eat food there, you will need to write down what the child has eaten, including allergen information, so you can share the information with parents on request. You could, of course, take your own snacks / meals with you.

You will find more links and information about the allergy legislation changes here in free downloads on the Childminding Forum.

I have updated e-book 21 ‘Healthy Eating’ from Knutsford Childminding to include information and advice about food allergies – please contact me if you have an old copy and would like me to send you a free update.

If you have any questions about the new food allergy requirements or about healthy lunch boxes, please ask.

Wooden, plastic or natural? Which resources do you choose?

I was chatting to a childminder the other day who told me that she was getting rid of all her plastic toys and replacing them with wood and other natural materials. She said she was totally fed up with plastic toys that were only good for doing 1 thing at a time … she had recently been on training where they had talked about the joys of loose parts play and she was keen to make sweeping changes to her provision with the aid of some clever storage solutions such as wicker baskets and hanging baskets outside.

There are a lot of useful Pinterest boards singing the praises of loose parts play – they are worth exploring if you want to add some natural resources to your provision. However, while I know it is personal choice, I remain concerned about whether a total move to natural materials would work for a childminder who looks after babies and children of very different ages… there are so many bits and pieces (stones, fir cones, coins, beads, buttons etc) and they are often quite small.

I agree that plastic doesn’t always teach children a lot – it is the same temperature (unlike wood and metal) and texture (unlike stone and fir cones) and it is often made in very loud colours (unlike natural materials which are calming, relaxing colours). Yet plastic can be cleaned easily (important if you have little ones), it is readily available in charity shops and at car boot sales and it is comparatively much cheaper than buying all wooden resources.

We have a combination of wooden, plastic and natural resources here at Knutsford Childminding. We collect and use natural materials during our walks and we make some of our resources from recycled materials. We often make our own books when we have been on outings as well – the children love taking and printing photos and the rich language they use reassures us we are supporting their learning. Fabric is an excellent way of bringing natural resources into the provision – lengths of material can be used to create spaces and envelop children and much more.

So, to go back to the title of this little blog – wooden, plastic and natural? I advocate a balance and when new childminders are registering I always advise them to buy a range of resources – some plastic and some wooden toys both inside and in the garden – then they can take the children on nature walks to find natural resources. In our provision, some of our best play sessions have involved children using their imaginations to create play scenes from ‘finds’ during our regular nature walks. However, we have plenty of plastic resources as well and some of them are the children’s favourites such as Peppa Pig and Action Man role play figures and our collection of Happy Land characters.

In mini e-book 56 ‘Resources and the EYFS’ (from Knutsford Childminding - £1.99) I have looked at how you can provide children with a range of different resources to support their holistic learning and development.

Which resources do you choose in your provision… and why?

Risk assessments after an accident…

Accidents and near miss accidents sadly happen, even in the best managed provisions. We cannot keep every child safe from harm all the time because children trip and fall, run and crash, jump and bump, climb and tumble, pull and push and run in front of swings… and do all sorts of other dangerous things without thinking or realising. We simply cannot be there to watch out for them every single time! We are even told by experts to engage children in risky play and to let them explore the world around them which increases the risk of them having an accident. Plus, studies tell us (and we know from our own personal experiences) that children have to learn about danger if they are ever going to learn to risk assess for themselves.

Accidents and near misses present important learning opportunities for providers and must be carefully reflected on and managed because they can tell us a lot about our provisions and ways of working and they can help us to prevent future accidents. When a child has an accident or near miss, write it up on an accident and injury form along with any first aid administered and, when signed by parents, put it in their file… report the accident or injury if required… and keep a brief record of what happened in your personal diary so you can look back on it and think about how you might improve your provision in the future. A list of previous accidents and near misses will also help you to see if there are any trends – things that are happening over and over again which need to be resolved.

For example, looking back at your accident and injury or incident forms you might note –
• 3 children have bumped into the same garden feature –> move the feature to another area of the garden.
• A child is regularly running towards the road on outings –> give her a choice between reins or a wrist strap from now on.
• A child is constantly falling over your threshold and tripping on steps –> suggest parents take him to the optician for an eye health check-up. Meanwhile, think about how you can highlight the threshold / steps so they are more visible to the children.
• Children are slipping and falling on your grass -> cover the grass, re-seed, cordon the area off or take other steps to keep them safe.
• 3 children have slipped on your new wooden floor -> supply / ask parents to provide non-slip socks or slippers.
• A child is biting others -> start to shadow the child to note any triggers. Ask parents in for a meeting to discuss your concerns and plan a strategy to work together and support the child.
• A child is getting out of their car seat on journeys -> stop the car, re-fasten the child, explain the danger firmly – and ask parents in for a meeting to discuss a plan for the future. You might also consider buying a safety cover for the seat fastener.
• An older child has caught a younger child’s finger in a car door -> think about whether the older child is taking on too much responsibility. Revisit your procedures for getting in and out of the car and ensure you are in charge of closing doors and taking responsibility for keeping the little ones safe.

Of course, making changes to your provision goes hand-in-hand with teaching children about their own safety by, for example –
• Involving them in the risk assessment process;
• Teaching them about personal safety through books and role play;
• Reading books, telling stories and planning sessions to cover stranger danger;
• Reminding children about safe play rules at the park before they run off to play;
• Asking children to walk in the house so they do not slip;
• Explaining why it is important that they wear high visibility clothes and wrist bands on outings;
• Using wrist straps, backpacks with reins etc even on very short outings;
• Reminding children that they need to tell you if they hurt themselves or break your equipment or notice something is wrong or spot a hazard.

Working with parents
It is very important to work closely with parents to reinforce safety messages. When you teach the children about safety – personal safety, stranger danger, how to play safely at the park etc – share information and planning with parents and tell them the words you are using so they can reinforce your teaching at home. Similarly, if you have written a social story for, for example, a child who is running away from adults and it is working well, let them borrow it or take a photocopy so they can read to their child at home.

Parents need to be informed if their child is not responding to safety messages. Ask them in for a meeting to discuss your concerns and try to find out what is happening at home. For example –
• If a child is getting out of their car seat with parents and they are not strapped back in it is going to take much longer for them to learn the importance of staying safe in the car
• If grandparents indulge a child by laughing when he hits them, he is not going to learn that hitting is inappropriate in a childcare setting
• If an older child is frightened to tell parents he has broken a toy because he is always harshly punished, he will hide things in your house as well which might lead to a baby choking or hurting himself on small parts.

Communicating concerns with parents works both ways… if a child is doing something dangerous with parents or other family members at home they need to tell you quickly so you can take steps to support their child. For example…
• If a child came shooting down the slide head first at the weekend you need to know for when you next take them;
• If a child is worrying the pet dog at home you can take steps to keep him away from your animals unless fully supervised;
• If parents have noticed their child is fascinated by electrical sockets, you can put barriers in place around yours – and plan some activities to teach the child about electrical safety;
• If a baby has started climbing or rolling over the weekend you can be extra vigilant;
• If a child is opening the door at home to try and get out you might need to re-think where you keep your keys;
• If parents are worried because their child is talking to / approaching strangers on outings, you can suggest some books to read and activities for role play in the provision and at home;
• If an older child is fascinated by fire, you can advise parents who to speak to for help and ensure risk assessments are in place for flammable materials and the child is closely supervised while on your premises.
Remember - if a child has had an accident at home you need to record it so you can keep an eye on them in the provision – and so you can learn from what they have done and review your own risk assessment - it is good practice to have some printed ‘existing injury’ forms with your attendance register so you can quickly fill them in when children arrive. You will find some free forms (written by me) on the Childcare.co.uk website.

Going back to the original reason for writing this blog – we need accept that accidents happen but, instead of getting defensive and saying, ‘it wasn’t my fault’ we need to reflect on accidents and near misses and consider how we can improve our provision and ways of working to support the children. We need to do this for a number of reasons -
• For ourselves – to ensure that we are reflective practitioners who take safety seriously and are ready to respond positively to learning experiences.
• To support parents – they are sometimes ok after an accident and sometimes they need to blame someone. If they see you thinking about what happened and reflecting on how you can improve things in the future, they are more likely to respond positively to your explanations.
• For Ofsted – if a complaint is made or we have to notify them about a serious accident and injury and they come out to investigate, they will want to see that we have used the incident as a learning experience.

The following self-reflection questions after an accident or near miss might be useful…
• What happened? Did you see what happened? If you didn’t see it, why not?
• Were there any witnesses? Can they suggest how the accident might have been avoided?
• Was an accident, injury and first aid form promptly written up to be signed by parents?
• How did parents react? Did they shed any light on why it might have happened eg ‘oh yes she’s doing that at home’ or ‘yes we have noticed him biting’?
• Does the accident / injury need to be reported? If yes, who needs to know – Ofsted, RIDDOR, Local Safeguarding Children Board, Local Authority advisor? Has it been reported promptly and within the required timescales?
• What does the current risk assessment for the area of provision in which the accident happened say? Does it cover what happened? Does it need to be re-written / updated? Is it robust enough?
• Were you within ratios at the time of the accident?
• Were children being effectively supervised? Were you distracted elsewhere?
• Was there a problem with your premises or equipment? For example, was the flooring uneven or the rug a trip hazard? Were the locks on your cupboard doors in need of replacement – but you hadn’t got round to it yet?
• Did you make a mistake? For example, did you leave the ironing board out or forget to put away a knife after making lunch? Did you forget to strap the child into the pram? Did you answer the phone while a child ate the paints? Did your enthusiasm to take the children to the park in wet weather lead to the child slipping on play equipment? None of us are perfect – and it is important to acknowledge that sometimes we need to change our own ways of working to ensure we protect children – especially as we work from a home environment. We need to remember that we are, after all, running a business and not a home during working hours.
• Were you following your own safety rules? For example - baby needed a nappy change and your procedures say ‘1 in all in’… but you left 2 children out playing because they were involved in their game... and one of them bit the other or had an accident that was avoidable if only you had followed your procedures and brought them inside with you.
• Was a child taking on more responsibility than they should for their age? For example, was an older child lifting a baby who they subsequently dropped or putting food in a toddler’s mouth causing them to choke?

And then the big question… how can the child/ren be kept safe in the future? What, if any, changes need to be made to your provision or ways of working? For example –
• Do ratios or staff deployment need to be reviewed? Perhaps you were in ratios but in the future staff could be better utilised to ensure more effective supervision. Or you were in ratios but on reflection 4 children under the age of 5 or 2 babies under 1 plus 2 pre-school children for continuity of care is too much to manage by yourself and you need to take on an assistant or give notice to a child.
• Can you plan some group or one-to-one activities to teach the children to take more responsibility for their own safety? How can you share this learning with parents so they use the strategies you are teaching children when they are at home?
• Do the older children need to run their pent up energy off at the park after school rather than climbing the walls in the house?
• Do you suspect that a child has an as yet undiagnosed medical condition that means he responds to danger in a different way from other children? How can you work with parents to get him the help he needs?
• Do you need to buy extra safety equipment / update your house or garden to keep children safer?
• Is the child over 8 and impacting negatively on outcomes for the little ones? Do you need to give notice as required by the EYFS?
• Were you expecting too much from the child for their age / stage of development? You might find it useful to go back to Early Years Outcomes and Development Matters and look at physical development / health and self-care and note typical behaviours for different ages of children.
• Think about how parents / the child’s family can be involved to support the child in the future and record this on your ‘working with parent’s documentation.

It is very easy after an accident or near miss to go into denial mode. You want to protect your business and reputation and you don’t want to accept that something you did (or didn’t do) has contributed to a child being hurt. However, parents need to see that you are taking responsibility for what happened to their child and changing your procedures as a result of the accident.

If Ofsted come out to investigate a serious accident to a child, they will want to see that you have reflected on what happened and recorded how you will prevent similar accidents from happening in the future. This can be very hard sometimes because you might feel that you did everything possible and it was simply an accident – and as we said at the beginning accidents do sadly happen. However, it is an unusual situation when some lessons cannot be learned after a child has been hurt, even if it’s to bubble wrap the child from now on…

For more information about risk assessments please see e-book 5 ‘Risk assessments’ from my Knutsford Childminding website.

I have also written some free risk assessment advice on my EYFS for Childminders website.

I hope you find this blog useful and informative. Please let me have your feedback - or contact me to ask me to write other blogs which you feel will help you to improve your provision. You can contact me via the Independent Childminders Facebook group or the Childminding Forum.

Thank you. Sarah.

Sarah Neville / 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

The planted practitioner - ideas for promoting children's learning

When more than one childminder / assistant work together, experiment by ‘planting’ one of the practitioners somewhere exciting for the children… at a table with some resources or in the garden doing something different to the norm or on a cushion with an activity and see what happens…

What tends to happen is the children flock around the planted practitioner to see what they are doing. Reassured that the practitioner is not going to be called away elsewhere, the activity unfolds and the children display high levels of involvement and, as a result, have an increased motivation to stay and listen and talk and learn.

The planted practitioner is able to listen to the children fully because the other practitioner is taking care of any children not involved in the activity and can step in if a child needs extra support such as to change a nappy. The planted practitioner can also better help the children to explore new ways of doing things because s/he is not being constantly distracted by other things happening in the background.

During the activity the practitioner will be able to mentally note observations which can be written up later. It is important that the practitioner does not stop the flow of children’s learning to write observations, take photos or get up to do something else … they are planted and engaged and will remain planted as long as the activity lasts or until they have to, for example, wind up the activity to get the children ready to leave for school pick up.

It is a good time to make observations during planted activities because the practitioner who is planted is able to work very closely with the children who are involved in the activity. Lots of language will be heard as the children talk through ideas and share information… and children’s learning in other areas of Early Years Outcomes will be observed.

The other practitioner might take photos from a distance or write some notes if s/he is not busy elsewhere, but most importantly one practitioner is planted with the children and the other practitioner is floating.

The planted practitioner can also use the activity as an opportunity to chat to the children, ask open ended questions, wait for answers and teach the children new things because they are already interested and involved and they want to learn. As we all know, when children want to learn they are receptive to learning new things and trying out new ideas.


Important things to note
Time – the best time to plan for this type of teaching is when children are most receptive to new learning (they are not tired, hungry or expecting something else to happen) and there is a good length of time available, for example, after breakfast or morning snack. Think about daily routines and look at timescales for activities – find stretches of free play sessions every day when a learning experience can be planned.

Space – there must be plenty of space for this type of teaching so children can move around freely without bumping into each other or feeling pushed out and can see / hear what is happening without being distracted by other things going on around them.

Undivided attention – the planted practitioner gives their undivided attention to the children who want to join in with the activity. This must be agreed with the other practitioner who is on hand to step in and deal with the other daily routines such as preparing snack with a group of children, reading books, keeping the house and garden safe and clear from trip hazards, dealing with toileting or administering first aid etc.

Type of activity – all kinds of activities might be planned for planted learning times. Some popular ones include –
• Making and using playdough – add smells or other sensory stimuli
• Small parts play such as making Hama beads with older children
• Water play with cups and spoons to measure, weigh and learn about capacity, weight, floating and sinking etc
• Making a farmyard scene with Lego or building a train track
• Setting up something new such as a wormery, vegetable patch or herb garden
• Using tubing and guttering to watch how water travels
• Making a new jigsaw
• Updating Learning Journey files

Asking questions – there is a big difference between asking interested questions which gain a positive response from a child and asking questions to find out what a child knows or can do. It is important to ask open, interested questions which challenge children to think about new ways of doing things – and to wait until they reply rather than rushing in to fill a silence.
Closed questions only allow for one answer such as –
• What colour is it?
• What shape is it?
• How many can you count?
• Is it big or small? Etc…

Good questions to challenge thinking and support learning might be…
• What should we do next?
• How does that work?
• What do you think will happen if..?
• Can you think of a way to..?
• Why do you think that happened..?
• Show me…
• Can you explain that to me?

Types of play - the EYFS talks about 3 types of play – adult led, adult guided and child initiated.
• Adult led – the practitioner chooses the activity to support the child/ren to learn something new or to follow a particular interest. The children join in, sometimes guided towards the activity and sometimes through natural curiosity.
• Adult guided – children play their games and the practitioner joins them, playing alongside them and taking on roles to support their play. Sometimes, the practitioner brings them different resources to enhance their play and learning.
• Child initiated – children play their own games. Adults might later guide their play by adding resource ideas, but the play is led by the child.
Most ‘planted’ activities will be adult led or adult guided.

I think it is tricky, but not impossible, for childminders who work on their own to plan ‘planted’ sessions. The problem starts when one child wanders away from the activity or someone needs attention which takes you away from the other children. Perhaps childminders who do not have a co-childminder or assistant might join up with a colleague to plan this type of teaching and learning opportunity for the children.

Don’t forget, if you try something new write it up in your SEF with an evaluation of how it went and what you might want to do differently next time! Ofsted like to see practitioners learning and growing in their practice.

Children and choking ... some thoughts

‘Ofsted say lack of supervision was largely responsible for child’s nursery death’ (Nursery World, 07.2014) -

In this tragic incident, a young child wandered over to a sensory jelly play tray set up in her nursery, picked up a piece of jelly and popped it in her mouth. She choked and the staff could not get it out. She was apparently unsupervised because staff were in the vicinity but not directly with her.

The Ofsted judgement that lack of supervision was to blame for the tragic incident could have very serious consequences for all early years providers. We all offer opportunities for messy play and we all feed children. If we turn our backs even for a moment - or if we leave the room to answer the door or support a child on the loo - or if we pop into the house from the garden when children are playing – or if some children want to go outside to play while others want to stay in the house… what do we do?

Can we really make our gardens / homes so safe that we remove everything that might be a risk ‘just in case’ a child chokes and we are blamed for not supervising them properly? What about the 9 year old who chokes on a grape? What about the 4 year old who, totally out of character, decides to hide behind the garage and eat a snail – shell and all – and it gets stuck? Both these scenarios have happened to me – should I have cut up the grape for a 9 year old… how could I possibly have foreseen my own normally sensible 4 year old would be so daft as to wonder what a snail tastes like?

Even if it's not messy play that causes a child to choke, it could be a pebble at the park… a conker in the garden... a piece of Lego in the playroom... a crayon at toddler group… some food or a small toy another child has dropped on the floor and the practitioner has missed. We would all hope that we have been well prepared by our first aid training and can get it out but we know that sometimes obstructions cause a perfect plug and no amount of back blows and abdominal thrusts are going to shift them.

The EYFS states that ‘Children must usually be within sight and hearing of staff and always within sight or hearing’ (EYFS 2014 requirement 3.28). I imagine the staff at the nursery in this tragic accident were hovering, like we all do from time to time, between rooms supervising children who want to do different things … a bit like when Ofsted inspectors tell us we should offer free outside access but there is only one childminder and John wants to be outside while Jane wants to play in the house - and we can’t be in 2 places at once!!

The Nursery World article states that Ofsted judged ‘nobody saw or heard her choke’ … we know from first aid training that when children are properly choking we don’t hear it … and we know from our own practice that children do things when we are not watching them - so we cannot possibly see everything they do all day.

For the future, I think we all need a choking risk assessment linked to this Ofsted judgement so we cannot be accused of failing to think about how we supervise the children adequately. Risk assessments do not save lives – they are only a piece of paper - but having a robust risk assessment helps us to show evidence to Ofsted and our insurance companies that we have thought through what we do and considered the risks.

I think we need to consider the following in our risk assessment –
• Should we Velcro all children to us and keep them with us at all times? How will that work when we are in the kitchen preparing food (depending on house layout) or going to the toilet?
• Should we remove messy play or food from the children every time we turn our back?
• Should we have a ‘one in all in’ rule for garden play, regardless of what some Ofsted inspectors say about free flow play?
• Should we reflect on whether using food for messy play is a good idea?
• Should we limit resources so if we have younger children in the house / garden we only offer toys that are suitable for them eg no small Lego or small parts play for older children on days little ones attend?
I also think each one of us should look at how well we supervise children through the day and see if there are any areas of our provision where we cannot see / hear them and think about how we can rectify this.

Hopefully this will be enough to protect everyone – until the next tragic incident presents us with yet another judgement we need to consider.

Childminders - focus on quality provision

Questions to help childminders focus on quality provision

Gill Jones, deputy director of early years at Ofsted, spoke to early years providers recently at the Childcare Expo in London. Further information about what she said can be found in the May/June 2014 edition of Morton Michel’s Home Childcarer – a free online magazine.

Ms Jones set a series of questions for childminders to help us examine our practices –
• Am I providing enough high quality experiences to enrich children’s communication skills?
• Is there enough high quality interaction with adults who are good role models?
• Do I challenge the children enough?
• How well am I working with parents to support the children’s learning?

Our guiding principle here at Knutsford Childminding when reflecting on areas of provision and making changes to accommodate new requirements / expectations from Ofsted, our Local Authority and elsewhere is – ‘we know that we already do this really well but it would be even better if we…’
We set very high standards for ourselves and our provision and we want to continue to demonstrate these to Ofsted, regardless of any new documentation / expectations they throw at us. We have reflected on the questions asked by Gill Jones – here are our thoughts…

Am I providing enough high quality experiences to enrich children’s communication skills?

What we already do well… we focus on children’s communication skills as part of our commitment to ensure the 3 prime areas of learning are well established as early as possible in children’s lives.

Children’s communication is supported through high quality interactions with staff and during our daily planned learning activities such as –
• Daily group singing and reading sessions;
• Daily routines eg at the table during snack, lunch and tea and nappy changing;
• One-to-one planned interactions with children;
• One-to-one unplanned interactions during adult guided and free play sessions through the day.
We regularly review each child’s communication through observations of their interactions during different types of play. We use these observations to evaluate what changes we need to make to their individual planning in the future.

We use the following nationally recognised communication and language schemes –
• ‘Letters and Sounds phase 1’ – games are incorporated into children’s learning experiences;
• ‘Toddler Talk’ (from the Communication Trust) – a new Toddler Talk card is used with the children every day;
• ‘Every Child a Talker’ - which helps us to monitor children’s social communication and use of speech sounds.

To further reflect on this area of provision we will…
Consider whether communication is effectively supported in the garden and on outings - as well as it is in house.


Is there enough high quality interaction with adults who are good role models?

What we already do well… we recognise that quality teaching is a big part of the revised inspection framework. We know that we need to consider how well we are teaching and interacting with the children so that they are given the best chances to make good progress while they are with us.

We aim to offer every child a range of varied and imaginative experiences every day they attend and we adapt planning and available resources to follow their interests and learning needs. We have a very clear understanding of how children learn (from training and over 20 years’ experience) and we attend / engage with further training and CPD when it is available to enhance our knowledge.

We work very closely together and talk about children’s needs as part of our regular meetings to discuss the children and the progress they are making. We are confident that our expectations for every child are consistently high.
To further reflect on this area of provision we will…
• Look carefully at the way routines are used and complete a routine continuous provision plan. Use it to consider if we are making best use of our daily routines to support children’s learning including –
o Adult led sessions;
o Adult guided sessions;
o Child initiated play.

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Do I challenge the children enough?

What we already do well… we recognise that the Ofsted inspection process is focussed on raising outcomes for children – if they are not challenged they will not learn new things and make good progress.

To challenge children we…
• Use observations to assess current abilities, strengths and weaknesses.
• Assess observations using Early Years Outcomes (EYO) as a guide to the progress each child is making – our assessments are closely linked to EYO and focussed on what the child can do as well as what they need to learn next.
• Note how we can help children to make progress.
• Share information with parents about how they can support their child at home.
• Work with other settings to promote shared learning experiences.
• Plan individually for every child as part of our educational programme which also includes group planned activities to support children to learn new things and to challenge and extend their knowledge.
• Evaluate activities we have planned to ensure our activities, resources, use of space, routines etc are being used effectively.
• Discuss if we need to make focussed interventions for any of the children.
• Observe children’s play to monitor their ongoing engagement, wellbeing and learning.

We regularly make changes to our layout, garden access and resources to ensure our environment effectively stimulates each child – and make changes as necessary. We discuss staff effectiveness and our use of the house, garden and outings in our monthly meetings and access further CPD when useful.

To further reflect on this area of provision we will…
Consider whether our observation, assessment, planning and evaluation schedule is robust. To do this we will look at Learning Journey files from other providers to ensure we are including everything that might be needed to ensure we can effectively monitor children’s progress.

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How well am I working with parents to support the children’s learning?

What we already do well… we work very closely with all parents, involving them in their children’s learning experiences and asking for their input. We aim to share children’s learning with families and we regularly suggest ways children’s learning might be enhanced at home in newsletters, children’s Learning Journey files, daily diary books, emails we send to parents through the month and daily chats.

We use the following methods to share information with parents to support children’s learning –
• Daily diaries - which focus on one area of learning each day and talk about children’s engagement and enjoyment of the activity
• Daily doorstep chats with parents to share information about their child’s learning during the day
• Parent ‘what we are doing today’ display in the entrance hall
• Learning Journey files which parents are encouraged to interact with regularly
• Ongoing ‘what I can do now’ documents and observations from home
• Monthly newsletters - which inform parents in brief about what their child has done, is doing next and provide a learning at home idea
We are trialling a new way of communicating via email (to cut down on printing costs) and will evaluate the effectiveness of this with parents shortly.

To further reflect on this area of provision we will…
Speak to parents about how well they think we are working with them to support their children’s learning. We will use what they tell us to enhance our already robust ways of working.

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We will use this article by Linda Thornton and Pat Brunton to help us reflect on our provision and what changes we might need to make to ensure compliance with the latest Ofsted expectations.

The article is linked to the latest Ofsted evaluation schedule (doc 120086 – Nov 2013).

More thoughts…

We intend using these questions from Gill Jones at Ofsted as a starting point for a professional discussion. We will talk about what we already do and how we might improve our provision in the future. We will involve local and national childminders in this professional discussion so that we can carefully evaluate how well we are doing and how we might improve our already outstanding provision.

We will consider what changes we might need to make to areas of provision such as –
• Record keeping / documentation
• The way we use the key person system
• Resources and equipment
• Daily routines
• Continuous provision plans
• Children’s wellbeing and engagement
• The effectiveness of our use of the 7 areas of learning
• Children’s behaviour
• Inclusive practice including how well we promote equality and diversity
• Safety and how well we support learning using risk benefit assessments
• Parent partnerships / conversations
• Use of the characteristics of learning
• Working with other settings
• How well we share ideas for developing children’s learning at home
• Use of space / layout of the house and garden
• Partnerships with other agencies / professionals / settings
• Children’s interactions with each other
• Community involvement including outings

To further enhance provision we will consider whether we need to update our self-evaluation form as a result of working through this self-reflection process – we use the Ofsted SEF.

As a result of further reflection it may be necessary to update e-book 18 ‘SEF guide’ from Knutsford Childminding.

It will also be important to consider what information is shared with our childminder colleagues via the Independent Childminders Facebook group and the Childminding Forum to ensure all childminders who want to stay independent of agencies and individually inspected are able to share good practice and benefit from each other’s experience and knowledge.

I hope you find this blog useful. Please ask me if you have any questions.

Chat soon, Sarah

Activity ideas for all areas of learning

I initially wrote this information for members of the Independent Childminders Facebook group who told me that it was a useful planning prompt. It is not a definitive list of everything you can do with children – it is just a few ideas to support children in each of the areas of learning.

During your Ofsted inspection, your inspector will be looking to see how well you teach each of the children in your care. Part of teaching is showing evidence that the planning you have in place ensures you have appropriate resources available – because children cannot learn well if they are not challenged and stimulated in their play.
We all know that the most important and effective type of planning is individual, linked to each child’s interests, learning styles, schemas, previous observations, learning characteristics etc.

You can use this activity ideas list as an enhancement to your individual planning, to help you prepare ‘invitations to play’ which children can access through the day in addition to the individual learning you have planned for them.

For example…
Jane enjoys playing with the dolls and would happily wrap her doll up and take it for a walk round the garden all morning. You offer this activity and add some water play so she can bathe her doll.
As additional ‘invitations to play’ you also have some of the following outside experiences available –
C & L – role play flower shops as part of your spring themed activity planning;
PD – flower sewing cards to promote fine motor skills;
PSED – games where Jane is encouraged to play cooperatively with other children eg playing flower shops with friends etc…

John enjoys playing with cars and garages. Dad is a mechanic and has taken John to work with him recently. You have observed John using a lot more garage role play in his learning. you set up a garage for him and add a notepad and pen along with a phone so he can take bookings for his garage from other children.
As additional ‘invitations to play’ you also have some of the following outside experiences available –
C & L – spring themed activities linked to your spring words display to support John’s extending vocabulary and cooperative games to support John’s developing listening skills;
PD – flower sewing cards to promote fine motor skills;
PSED – discussion with John about his favourite spring changes which will lead to arts and crafts as part of his individual / next steps planning etc...

 
Activity ideas for the PRIME areas of learning…

Communication & Language
1. Listening & attention
2. Understanding
3. Speaking / communicating

Activity ideas include -
• Books, comics & stories*
• CDs* – music, stories
• Chatting to friends – communication friendly spaces
• Helping with jobs
• Jokes
• Library visits
• Listening games* – listening lotto, listening walks, recording sounds (ICT)
• Question & answer games*
• Role play
• Sign language
• Singing and rhymes*
• Story sets / bags* extend learning
• Story telling*
*Letters and Sounds phase 1

Physical Development
1. Moving (gross motor skills)
2. Handling (fine motor skills)
3. Health & self care

Activity ideas include -
• Art & crafts – rubbing, stencils
• Climbing – up & down steps & stairs
• Cooking – learning about healthy food and healthy eating
• Construction toys
• Dancing
• Fine motor practice – cutting, stickers, glue, pencil control, tracing
• Hand washing - germs
• Mark making – chalk, crayons & pencils
• Outside gross motor skills – bike, scooter, rocker, slide, swing etc
• Park visits & soft play – climbing, jumping, running, kicking a ball
• Sewing
• Threading reels & treading cards
• Throwing & catching - balls, bean bags & balloons

Personal, Social and Emotional Development
1. Self-confidence & awareness
2. Managing feelings & behaviour
3. Making relationships

Activity ideas include -
• Body parts – songs, pointing & naming games
• Books & games to promote sympathy, understanding of others, empathy
• Cuddles – tickling games
• Dressing up
• Games
• Group activities – working together to make something, talking in a group
• Helping with little jobs
• Meeting / visiting friends
• Sharing / taking turns – games, with resources
• Time – to speak & make themselves heard, to be with adults & children, to be alone & daydream, to be bored

Activity ideas for the SPECIFIC areas of learning…

Literacy
1. Reading
2. Writing

Activity ideas include -
• Alliteration games*
• Books* – different sizes, types & shapes
• Initial sounds games – phonics*
• Letter shapes – in the air, on paper, outside with chalk, at the easel, with playdough, in salt or sand
• Poems / poetry*
• Print in the environment – shops, labels, computer
• Rhyming games*
• Signs - words in displays, labels on toy boxes
• Songs & rhymes*
• Story telling* – with or without puppets & other resources
• Writing (not mark making – that’s PD) – pencils, crayons, paper, labels, captions, name writing
*Letters and Sounds phase 1

Maths
1. Numbers
2. Shape, space & measures

Activity ideas include -
• Cooking – weights, measures, time, capacity
• Counting & numbers
• Jigsaws – shapes, sizes
• Matching & sorting
• Money – shopping, café
• Number activities, games, books, jigsaws etc
• Number rhymes – counting forwards & backwards
• Positional language – up, down, over, under, through, behind, in front
• Quantity language – heavy, light, more, less
• Sequencing – colours, shapes, sizes, numbers
• Shapes – stencils, pictures, freehand, playdough
• Size – big, small, bigger, smaller, emptying, filling
• Sorting – size, shape, colour, weight
• Time – visual timetables
• Weight – heavy, light – sand & water play

Understanding the world
1. People & communities
2. The world
3. Technology (ICT)

Activity ideas include -
• Environmental awareness – recycling, walks in the woods, map making
• Equality & disability awareness – small world people, dolls house
• Experimenting – cooking, finding out how things work
• Festivals from around the world – themes for over 3s
• ICT – computer, dance mat, toys that do something, finding out how things work
• Listening to music on CDs, YouTube etc
• Matching games
• Messy play – sand, water, gloop, playdough, foam
• Model making
• Nature & the natural world – plants, animals
• Relationships & friendships
• Role play – home & community influences in pretend play
• Seasons – time & changes
• Weather
• World around us themes

Expressive arts & design
1. Media & materials
2. Imagination

Activity ideas include -
• Collages
• Colour mixing & experiments
• Colouring sheets
• Construction & tools
• Dancing
• Glue & tape – joining things together, taking them apart
• Imaginative / pretend – role play, dressing up clothes
• Malleable & messy play – sand, water, playdough etc
• Music – CDs, radio, creating with instruments
• Outings to gain experiences that can be used to develop imagination
• Painting
• Rhythm & rhyme
• Sensory learning
• Singing songs & rhymes
• Small world resources – dolls house, little people, farm, under the sea, zoo, cars, trains, insects
• Textures

I hope you find the ideas useful. Chat soon, Sarah x