RUTH & CRAIG  CHILDMINDERS

We work as a team of three - myself (Ruth), my husband (Craig) and my mum (Glenda) who takes it a bit easier now but still helps out when we're busy. We are all registered with NICMA and the Early Years Team, we are fully insured (including liability insurance) and have comprehensive car insurance. We have all attended core training including paediatric first aid, health and safety and child protection plus other training such as speech and language, behavioural management, outdoor play and child psychology.

I have been working as a childminder since 2001,Craig since 2006 and Glenda since 1985. We have provided respite care and foster care when required.

Craig and I have two children who live at home - a daughter (born in 2004), a son (born in 2008) and a daughter (born 1991) who currently lives in England.

​

Our aim is to provide a safe, caring, nurturing and fun environment. We believe that childhood is the most important time in a person’s life and we aim to provide a setting in which we can teach children by example to be kind and considerate of each other.

We have an open policy - equal opportunity regardless of race, religion etc.

​

We provide a drop off and pick up service for local schools, nurseries and playgroups.

We provide home based childcare with plenty of toys and crafts. We provide healthy snacks and lunches which are cooked from scratch with fresh ingredients. 

We enjoy a lot of time outdoors in the garden, also walks to the park, playgrounds and library.

We read to the children, have set TV times and can provide a quiet area for arts/crafts and homeworks.

Routine varies from day to day depending which kids we have and what they would like to do. We don’t like to stick to strict routines as we believe children are individuals and their needs/interests change from day to day.

As there are three of us working together, a child with additional needs can have one to one care when required. This may be to remove the child from a situation if they are getting stressed/upset, help with certain tasks or teaching new things that they are struggling with.

​

We have the following facilities in our childcare setting;

Safe playroom (cupboards attached to walls, radiator cover).

Large selection of toys, games, play kitchen, puzzles, lego, dress up clothes and books.

Art locker with paints, crayons, pens, play doh etc.

Fully enclosed, safe garden with a large range of outdoor toys -bikes, scooters, ride ons, mud kitchen and water table.

Fully insured 7 seater car with car seats for all ages

3 double prams and a single buggy

3 travel cots with additional thick mattresses (all with individual bedding for each child)

​

We keep in constant contact with parents and keep a note of development in a diary (if necessary).

We like to chat to parents daily about their children - if there are any problems and how they are getting on/what they have been doing. We prefer to do this at home time as we are busier in the mornings. We can contact parents by email if it is unsuitable to talk in front of the child. Confidential, out of hours meetings can also be arranged if required.

When children are settling in at the beginning we ask that the parents work with us to ensure an easier transition. Methods/advice will be discussed with parents on a day to day basis.

We expect parents to drop children in and pick up on time (and contact us if they are going to be unavoidably late) as lateness can upset the child.

We expect payments by the date shown on the invoice.

​

Parents should let us know about any change in circumstances that may upset the child or alter their behaviour - bereavement, marriage breakups, new baby in house etc. 

We also expect parents to inform us of any changes in emergency contact numbers.

​

We have policies which are compliant with the NICMA minimum standards guidelines and are reviewed annually and shared with assistants and parents including a policy detailing emergency arrangements and complaints procedures. We do not have a policy for excluding a child. This has not happened as we work closely with children and parents to resolve any behavioural issues.

However, if a child suddenly became a danger to the other children they would have to be excluded immediately from the setting and NICMA and the Early Years Team would be informed of this.

We are inspected annually and attend training sessions provided by NICMA/Early Years when possible

Children’s records, contracts, permission details, daily diaries, policies, risk assessments, accident/incident files, fire risk/drill reports are kept up to date and inspected each year by the HSC Trust