The Equality Act 2010 and childminders

The Equality Act 2010 affects...

• All childminders;

• All early years providers including Nurseries, Playgroups, pre-schools etc;

• Childminders (and early years providers) who employ others, including assistants;

• Childminders who work together with other childminders.

The Equality Act 2010 is law in England, Scotland and Wales and draws together the contents of a number of previous documents including the Disability Discrimination Act.

The Equality Act 2010 says that everyone has a legal duty to be inclusive, which means that, as childminders, we must offer an inclusive service to children, their families and any visitors to our homes.

The Equality Act 2010 also says that everyone must be anticipatory... we must not wait for something to happen or someone to knock on our door looking for care before thinking about how the Equality Act might affect us.

This new e-book is written in the format of an inclusion audit - an audit is a type of reflective practice. The audit in this e-book gives you an easy way of checking your current commitment to equality and considering how you might be more inclusive in the future.

I have spent time examining the Equality Act in detail and I have included lots of background information and support to help all childminders and early years providers get to grips with the Act.

E-book 47 – The Equality Act 2010 - £4.99

Happy reading :-)

Information Commissioners Office

Childminders have been told that we are now classed as 'data handlers' if we use a computer or digital camera to hold information about childminded children or their families.

Since most childminders take photos of childminded children to help meet the statutory requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage (Eyfs) it affects us all.

So, I duly paid my £35 annual fee to the Information Commissioners Office and I can now use my camera, computer and any other digital devices to hold information about the children.

Now this is something I do not quite understand... before I paid this fee, I used to take photos, immediately print them and then delete...

Now I can take photos, store them on memory sticks, put them on my computer, upload them (with parents permission), send them online for printing etc.

Similarly, before I paid this fee, I never used my computer to process information about children, it was all done by hand.

Now I am busily typing up reports, summary assessments etc and preparing my invoices and other forms on the computer before printing.

While this has undoubtedly made my life easier and speeded up the monthly paper production process, I am doing far more on my computer and camera than ever before... and I am at a complete loss to see how paying £35 has made things safer for children!

If anyone can answer that one, please let me know!

Talk soon xx

Information for new childminders

Since writing my e-book 42 'Registration advice for new childminders' I have received a number of emails from new and potential childminders asking me for follow-up e-books explaining other areas of the registration process.

For this reason, I have put together a series of 3 mini e-books, which are priced at £1.45 each and which cover...

Mini 34 - Writing a business plan;

Mini 35 - Marketing your business;

Mini 36 - Meeting with parents.

The 3 mini e-books follow on from each other and give essential advice on everything from business planning to getting your marketing right to welcoming parents and children into your home.

The 3 mini e-books are available from my websites...

Knutsford Childminding and Knutsford Childminding.

I hope you find them useful :)

Inclusion, childminders and the EYFS

Inclusion forms a big part of the EYFS.

Most childminders have been approached at some point in their working life to care for children with conditions ranging from eczema to ADHD, from asthma to threadworm.

This e-book aims to support you in effectively caring for these children ... I have done the research for you so when you talk to the parents you will already have some background knowledge of the child’s condition.

I have also included information about how to write a care plan and how to effectively manage a child's condition while meeting the requirements of the EYFS.

Please remember that every child is different and parents know their child best.

There are over 100 pages of information laid out over 3 chapters... and I will research any conditions for you if you need more information, just email me - knutsfordchildminding@hotmail.com.

I know that nobody will need all the information included in this e-book every day, so I hope I have priced it for buying as a useful reference book to keep in your files and dip into when needed.


This new e-book is priced at - £3.99

It is available from my website... my e-books are now set out over 4 pages!!

Thank you! :)

Making a den

There is a bit of unused space in between 2 computer desks and I have often wondered what to do with it...

I have not previously encouraged children to use it because it has printers to the side and some cables to the back of one of the desks which, while not risk assessed as dangerous, didn’t make it a particularly inviting space.

After some thought, Nige made me 2 wooden sides for the computer desks which removed the issues of the cables and printer and left a small rectangle of usable space.

At Early Excellence in Huddersfield, I received a voucher to purchase resources and decided to buy some pretend grass and a large woven circular (quite shallow) basket. I also bought a large ethnically inspired cushion from a local shop.

I then found a length of green net material which can be draped across the space and held in place by the computer monitors so it is easily removed when not in use.

My thought was to set up the space and see if the children were interested in exploring it with any resources. The first child to go in there is aged nearly 3. He took a train, block and teddy with him and curled up for a short while playing with his toys. This sparked interest from the other children who wanted to see what he was doing.

Over the next few days a few other children explored the space, taking various resources with them. A 5 year old sat and read her school book in there and another 5 year old introduced the caring, cosy side of the space by bringing a tired dolly who needed some peace to go to sleep.

Inspired by the children’s enjoyment of the newly created space, I decided to see what might happen if I introduced some resources for them.

I popped a soft bodied doll, small baby blanket, sensory doll book (from the ‘That’s not my...’ series) and comb into the basket I bought from Early Excellence to see what would happen.

Very quickly, the doll had a friendly dinosaur to play with and she was untucked from her blanket because she wanted to read the book. Since then she has been asleep and awake as various children have played with her – yet when she was in a box with a group of other dolls, she was largely ignored.

Next week I intend to put some other resources into the basket and see what happens!

Happy days! :-)

Photographs and childminders

Information for parents about taking and using photographs

In view of recent allegations of abuse surrounding the taking and illegal use of photographs of children, childminders are advised to clarify how they use and store photographs of children with parents.

We use photographs of children in the following ways –
• To display around the house, which gives the child a sense of belonging;
• To share with the child’s parents so you can see what they are up to here;
• To go in the child’s Learning Journey or scrap book folder which parents will take home when the child leaves Knutsford Childminding;
• As presents for parents eg photo albums, photos in frames etc;
• To go in albums to show parents and Ofsted the range of activities we do at Knutsford Childminding.

Our safeguarding commitments to parents regarding photographs –
• All photographs remain the property of the child’s parents;
• Photographs will not be used on the internet or taken on a mobile phone;
• If required in the future, we will register with the Information Commissioners Office. You can find more information here – www.ico.gov.uk;
• Any photographs not returned to parents when their child leaves (that may be in albums, photo frames or part of laminated displays) will be destroyed on request;
• We will not use photographs of your child for any reason other than above without your prior written permission.

Group photographs

Sometimes, there might be more than one child in a photograph or children from different families. This might happen when, for example, children request we take group scenes or when photographs are taken during group activities.

Sometimes group photographs might be placed in different children’s folders and / or used in the ways stated above.

If you are concerned about your child appearing in group photographs, your child’s face or any identifying features will be blurred on the photos in which s/he accidentally appears. You need to let us know if you want this to happen.

If you have any questions or concerns about the taking of photographs, please have a chat with one of us.

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