Childminder pre registration visit

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Hi everyone!
I am due my pre reg visit next week and feel ready in terms of resources/house set-up, etc.
I'm trying to prepare for questions that may/will be asked... has anyone recently had a childminding pre reg visit that can give me some examples of what was asked/key topics. I know obviously safeguarding will be a key point!
Thank you so much in advance! x

Safeguarding is a big one as you know. They may ask you some questions about EYFS, but don't worry - you are allowed to have a copy of it in front of you to refer to. They may ask how you will plan activities to meet different areas of learning. They may ask how you plan to communicate with parents.

Try not to worry. It's not a test and there are no set answers. Just think of the ways that will work for you. You can change your kind before your next inspection and if they ask why you have changed, you can use it as an example of how you have evaluated and improved your practice.

Good luck.

Thanks for your reply 😊
Hopefully it’s not as scary as I’m thinking it will be!
Have you recently been visited? X

I've been minding a long time, but help out new minders. Be confident. Also don't be afraid to ask your inspector for their opinions on your plans. They can be quite helpful.

Hi. Newly registered Childminder here. I was so nervous beforehand but the Inspector who carried out the visit was fantastic. She really put me at ease and as a pp said, it's not a test and they're not trying to catch you out. We did a tour of the house and garden and then she checked all of my personal docs so make sure you have all that to hand (birth cert, photo ID, recent utility bills or similar, proof of qualifications, DBS checks for every adult in the house). The rest of the visit consisted of her questioning me on safeguarding/child protection, how I planned to support the 7 areas of learning & development and the characteristics of effective learning for the different age groups, and working in partnership with parents, I made lots of notes beforehand and she was happy for me to refer to them. She also had a look at my policies and procedures. The visit lasted approx. 3.5 hours. The Inspector was great because throughout the visit she gave lots of really useful tips and imparted some good advice. Hopefully all inspectors are just as helpful. Good luck!

As others have said, safeguarding is a big topic. My inspector spent a good couple of hours on safeguarding alone. Asked me about it's meaning, different areas of abuse and we had a great discussion about grooming and child sex exploitation.

Spent a while going through paperwork and policies and procedures.

I was asked a lot of questions based on the EYFS and the areas of learning. Whilst checking out every inch of my house we talked a lot about risk assessment and acceptable risk.

I also asked my inspector questions and her opinion which went down well.

They don't expect you to know everything but they want to know you have a well thought out plan.

Great, thank you both for sharing your experiences, so helpful and making me feel better about it.
I have done a safeguarding course (January) but will definetly recap key points and write lots of notes.
I’ve been doing a lot of research into the characteristics of learning etc and just hoping by hitting down notes, I won’t forget any key points.
We also don’t have the biggest house (living room/play area and dining in one room as we are currently waiting on building regs for our extension to come back, so hopefully I cannot explain to him/her how I would use the extra space when we have it (I’m not planning on starting up childminding until the extension is built and finished!)
Thank you again for sharing with me, hopefully it goes well 😊 xx

Lots of typos there! Hopefully it makes sense

Interested to hear how you get on OP, I am just finalising my paperwork to send off for registration. How soon after you sent it did they contact you/arrange to come and inspect? Good luck

You might find that they want to come out and reinspect once you have had your extension built. Might be worth ringing them to check as if you are not going to start child minding until after building works are completed next week then you'll have to go through 2 inspections.

Sorry, ignore the words "next week" in penultimate line as otherwise it doesn't make sense!

How long are your building works going to take?

I just assumed it would be the same if we were moving (you just call them and update your address and any risk assessments.)
I shall call tomorrow though just to make sure, thanks for bringing it to my attention.
It’s only a 3m extension out, probably take 5-6 weeks builders have said. We were going to start within the next month, as I applied to Ofsted close to Xmas time and am very aware of how far behind Ofsted apparently are with their visits, but luckily I’ve got a visit before the build starts!

But if you move house Ofsted still need to come out and inspect your new property. A local CM moved premises and she wasn't allowed to work out of new setting until Ofsted had been out. Worth a phone call to check the situation.

When they checked out my house they literally checked every inch, every nook and cranny any change to the floor space may require further inspection.

Yep I will def call and check tomorrow Two inspections is something I don’t want to have to go through (and waste their time with) if I will need another one at a later date anyway! X

Late to the party here, but Ofsted won't come and inspect based on a house move or building work. Providers need to carry out their own risk assessments, they may have a visit if there are any concerns about the address or any household new members but generally if a childminder moves house or has building work they won't come out to inspect!