Concern is being felt and an increasing unease is flowing through the childminding community amidst reports of the ‘agency model’ currently in place for childminders in the Netherlands being used in the UK. Some striking differences between the agency model and the current UK regulation system have been highlighted in the news recently. The ‘agency [...]

Have you ever thought about making the floor more appealing for babies? How would you do this?  Read pages 16 & 17 of our May edition to find out some exciting examples and don’t forget to visit our facebook page to add your own examples of what has been successful in your setting.

      Ofsted are planning on inspecting childminders as a network rather than individually. Childminders will be grouped through an agency, that agency will then be inspected and childminders will no longer receive individual inspections. 2000 childminders have reportedly added their views on the questionnaire opened up to members and non-members of the NCMA. [...]

How do you promote movement and physical development in your indoor environment? Do you tell your children to stop running in the house? what alternative methods of moving their bodies in the way that they need to, do you give them? or do you expect them to simply stop – does this work? Read the [...]

Meal times are one of the most important parts of the children’s day. Communication, social skills, table manners and learning about food are just some of the learning opportunities which occur on a daily basis. Within our childminding group we share ideas of meals we have cooked for the children that were particularly successful as well as [...]

The Olympics - Edition 23 - May 2012 Get involved and active in this olympic themed bumper edition. Packed with olympic sport ideas, this edition also includes ideas for a sports day linked to nursery rhymes. This edition focuses on the importance of physical development, exploring how to promote children’s movement both indoors and outdoors. How to keep [...]

The National Trust has released a list of 50 things a child should do before they reach the age of 11 and 3/4′s. Their aim is to get Britains ‘cotton-wool kids’ playing outdoors. What else would you add to this list? How many of these activities do you do with your minded children?     [...]

The Children’s Workforce Development Council closed on 31st March 2012 urging the government to continue the drive for a graduate-led and level 3 based early years workforce. CWDC’s work has now transferred to the Teaching Agency (TA) and the Department for Education (DfE). Integrated Working is transferring to the Children’s Information Board (CIB) Useful Links: [...]

Do you know what Schema this child has used in this drawing? Do you know what a schema is? Schemas are very useful to assist in planning developmentally appropriate activities based on the child’s preferred schematic method of learning. Turn to pages 20 – 27 of the current April 2012 edition of Essential Childminder Magazine [...]