Pre registration visit - missing the required first aid box!

[AngusDuck]

Looking for some advice from other childminders please.

I am due my pre registration visit on Monday and ordered the required first aid box on the 11th from Pacey. It still hasn’t turned up and I’m now panicking. Would it be good enough to print out the order receipt to show the inspector that I have ordered one, or do I need to rush out tomorrow to buy another one? I have other, travel sized first aid bags already, just not the big main one.

Thanks.

If you go and buy one you could return it when the inspector has been? If this makes you feel better then do it, otherwise show the receipt and that should be good enough

Yes I had wondered about doing that. It’s a bit of a pain as the closest place that will stock the one I need is about half an hour away and will take time out of my mad cleaning/organising day before they arrive, but I’d probably feel better about it.

Will you have children in your care before it arrives? If so, I'd buy another. If not then I don't see why the receipt wouldn't suffice.

No, definitely not. It can take a couple of weeks for the pre-registration certificate to come through the post and I can’t start minding until then. My first minder isn't due to start until the start of February as well.

First mindee*

Personally I would go out and buy one you would hate to fail just because it was not to hand and then just return it the next day, on my pre reg they asked to see mine, plus the fire blanket and where my fire alarms were. That morning the kitchen fire alarm died and would not stop beeping so I replaced with my upstairs one, it was noted down that I had done this and on my first inspection they check I had a fire alarm upstairs .

Show the receipt it's the same as if you've ordered fire blanket

I’ve decided to take the risk and just show her the receipt. Various things have gone wrong this morning and I don’t have an hour+ today to waste going to get another one. It’s the one from Pacey so I’m sure she’ll know it’s one that’s adequate! Everything else is ready (I hope!) and I’ve really gone overboard with all my other health and safety stuff so hopefully it will be okay.

I can’t see why it wouldn’t be acceptable for you to show the order form and say that it’s en route. It might even arrive while the inspector is there with you, if the post man comes during that time.

I always try to tell myself the inspector is not there to trip me up, they do actually want us to do well. If everything else is in order and you have the paperwork to show you have ordered the first aid box, I can’t see there would be a problem with that.

The Pacey kit will get you through inspection but I find it far from ideal for practical use. It claims to be designed specifically for childcare settings but it’s little more than a standard (adult) workplace kit with a jolly child-friendly sticker on, not to mention quite a bit of short-dated content.

What it really needs is a greater proportion of smaller dressings, so I’d recommend replacing about half the medium dressings with eye pads, which are far more suitable for little bodies.