Assistants????

[PinkChick]

was told at cm group last tues that one of the cm's there had assistants from local colledges..rang up to enquire and theyre sending me out a pack BUT most important question i forgot to ask........do i pay them?, or are they just like work experience kinda thing???

Why don't you ask the cm when you go to group today? When you find out could you post and let me know as have been considering assistants for a little while but am unsure about paying insurance etc. Sorry wasn't much help but at least it bumped it for you

well i will!!, but i thought you knowledgable people on here might know so i dont have to wait 20 minutes!!

Hi!

I know all about this my lovely as I trained as a nursery nurse on the NNEB and one of my placements was a chilmionder (who was sooooo lovely, and taught me so much!)

you dont pay her if shes a student trainee, however, nice biscuits for tea breaks certainly won me over!

Get her to do not just fun things but the mundane tasks too, alot of students dont like it, but there are dull parts to every career.

always supervise her, never leave her unattended even if she seems like super mary poppins she/he is still in training.

The student will probably have to do observations, make sure they ask/ you ask parental permission before hand and that the childs mane isnt included in the obs she submits (also ask to see it)

students are great assistants, I went to my placement every friday and loved it!

(my other placements were the childrens ward, the maternity ward, a primary school and a nursery.)

Good luck!

p.s. get your request in to the colege asap, as the new students wil strat sept and are prob already registered!

Hi Fifilou, thanks for that, i didnt get much chance to speak to the other cm at group but she did say she doesnt pay her, so bascially what you said.
i rang college last tuesday and she said her students would not be on placement until oct/nov time, but she has another 'agency/college'(??) who are looking for placements beginning summer so she was passin my details on..think its a fab idea as long as i get someone like you who is interested!

It depends what type of course she is doing as to whether or not you have to pay her.
There is some funding for diploma courses so that all the students require is a placement. No pay from you.
There is also the NVQ apprentice scheme where you have to pay no less than £80/wk pro rata and give holiday pay etc.

also......you will have to give feedback to the college.

When i worked in a nursery as a supervisor, alot of the students that came in hated doing mundane joibs like nanpy changes, and paintpot washing, but i explained to them that we all have to do the boring bits too, its not all about having fun in the park, polaying games, thats not how it works. Most of them were great and got on with it, but i did have one student who flatly refused to wash apint pots insisting she was going to be a nursery nurse not a washing up lady! she failed her course in the end (not through my report, but her own lack of get up and go,and interest!)

God luck!

It's important to do a thorough induction, especially covering health and safety/food hygiene/fire safety. Policies/conduct etc
Make sure you have it written down and get the student to sign that you have covered each stage with her/him.
Your childminding insurance should cover employer's liability. Check the small print carefully.

right, i hadnt thought that far ahead!, ill check insurance, im assuming she/he will be crb checked anyway?, then what should i lay out for her in way of 'duties' etc?

He/she might not be CRB checked - if not then it's not a problem. You just need to tell Ofsted about her - as you would do anyway - and get a CM2 form for her to fill in and send off asap.
As long as she is completely supervised it's ok for her to work as your assistant until her check comes through.
Make sure you have a file on her eg personal/school/previous employment references and cv.
You need to be able to prove to Ofsted that you have thoroughly checked her suitability for the position.
I know this because I have recently taken n an assistant of my own.
As for duties - just think through your days and plot where you need help the most.
For me it's supervision, getting on the floor and playing with the babies/toddlers, reading stories, helping feed the babies, helping the children get ready for playing outside, setting up the water play table, helping children wash hands properly and sitting with them during snack/meal times. Not having to jump up and down to see to things like I always seem to be doing!
She's definitely worth what I pay her. The day is much less stressful for me with her here. I love stress really but it's nice to be able to stop the clock a bit more knowing there's an extra pair of hands and eyes available.