CM - registers

[dmo]

just got me thinking when i was talking to a new childminder
how many of you use NCMA registers
i do and each week the parents sign which is fine thats what we are all used to
i had my ofsted inspection last week and inspecter said that she wouldnt use this register and it would be better to use a normal book
she also said parents dont have to sign each week
i am worried to change (if i do it will be april anyway) because each inspector is different and the next inspector may want to see a parents signature for each week
what do u lot do?

I try and get them to sign for the whole month.

yes but osted inspecter said parents didnt need to sign at all

I get them to sign in & out daily (nothing to do with payments) and my OFSTED inspector expected that

Message withdrawn

i dont know you all seem to get parents to sign like i do
do u think i should just stay as i am and stuff the ofsted inspector

i fill in ncma reg for my own ref, but since started back jan, i have got each parent to sign and time when they drop their children off and the time they leave..its for me to charge them extra if needed as i had lots of probs with that but also for fire and H&S, i can confirm i was no longer resposable for child after x time

sorry, not ncma reg, but a normal daily diary

i use the ncma registers and fill the in daily, i always forget to get parents to sign them at end of week so its normally a few weeks at a time!

I don't get parents to sign anything except the cheques they pay me with. I would assume that this means they accept the hours I've written on the bills!

I get the parent to sign in & out of an ordinary A4 dy to a page diary

I do this for primarily child protection issues -who was responsible for a child at a particular time. So if child normally gets dropped off at 8am but falls over at 8:30 (whilst not at my house) I have evidnece that they weren't at my house

It is also useful for the fire drills (or a real emergency??) and for H&S and ensuring my numbers are always right (important as I have so many)

This is not to do with payment as they pay me a set amount irrelevant of how many hours they do

OFSTED have never cared about payment -so they wouldn't care about the NCMA register (iyswim)

If its stated on your inspection report that you need to change I would send a copy to NCMA and ask their advice. If you don't have the parent signature how would you resolve any issues where the parent insists your record is incorrect. Could make it difficult for cm to prove childcare was provided if taking parent to court for non-payment and as Katymac rightly pointed out child protection issues too.

If it was simply a verbal suggestion then I would take it as well meant advice and ignore it if you don't agree with it.

I don't use the NCMA sheets; my forms have space for parent & cm signature each week (some parents sign each week some sign the whole sheet at the end of the month).

Having worked with two mums who would swear black is white and even if it wasn't they distinctly remember me saying it was purple - I now like to have everything in writing and signed by parent whereever remotely appropriate.

I don't get parents to sign anything except permission forms and written agreement.
I provide a receipt for every payment I receive.
Ofsted were fine with this.

I have just re-issued all my "permission-to-do-anything-I-want-to-do-with-your-child" forms (taking them out, applying suncream etc). The list now fills an A4 sheet.

One of the dads has said, semi-serious, that he would like to complain to Ofsted. He said that when they were looking for a childminder, they wanted someone kind and caring, who would play with, cuddle and love their child. He thought it would be a foregone conclusion that this meant that they would trust whoever they chose, and he thinks it's mental that he has to sign for everything!! (I have managed to persuade him that writing to Ofsted, even in jest, would not be a good idea!!)