CM Club - Just wanted a quick moan

[ThePrisoner]

It is now 2.30pm on this lovely, sunny Saturday afternoon. I have spent all morning since 9.30am doing paperwork, and I am really really fed-up with it.

I love my job, and I love having lots of fun with children. I work long hours during the week, and look forward to my weekends to "have a break." I haven't even had my lunch yet. I don't think people really appreciate just how much we have to put into this childminding lark.

That's it, rant over.

A break at weekends - yeah right
I've catching up on laundry... meeting with an agency, spent an hour (lunch) chatting to my mum (at her office, as she works weekends).
Now back home again, catching up with e-mail, quick peek at Mumsnet, the getting on with tidying, more laundry, making dinner etc.
So far this week I've worked 67 hours - so needless to say home gets a bit neglected.
It's a shame to waste a nice day like this doing laundry, tidying etc... but if I don't do it today, when can it be done?
Maybe us childcarers should employ our own housekeepers

I expect to do my own housework/shopping stuff at weekends. But, in addition to that, there is the extra washing (the 2 billion individual handtowels, spare clothes and bedding children have used, etc), cleaning/sorting toys, getting stuff ready for the following week (toys, activities, food) and so on. If I could be bothered, I am sure that there is a lot more I could add to the list. It would be nice to doss around if I wanted to.

Totally with you TP. Currently TRYING my hardest to get a load of paperwork sorted as have lots and lots of changes that have just happened recently and loads of bits to sort out for families and that's just that paperwork without the accounts and as you say, childminding washing, cleaning of toys etc (I have 8 week old baby starting Monday so need to wash all the soft baby toys, playgym etc that are in the loft too). I've had to ask hubby to do what he can with our own washing etc. this weekend as I've no time for it all.

Tbh, hardly started the paperwork due to own ds in the house nagging me constantly, bless him.

And yes, depressing to see the sun shining and having to stay in the cold house (warm when out but cold in here!). It was the same last weekend when I was on EYFS training and stuck in on another sunny day.

How I look forward to my 12 weeks maternity leave!!

I'm not sure that getting pregnant in order to have 12 weeks off is something that dh is going to agree to!!

PMSL at that TP

Awww TP worth a thought!

It's exhausting.. even DH is saying to me he can't wait until I go on leave, the fireplace guard is coming down, weekends without paperwork and cleaning.

Oh crace - I forgot about the fire guard, yippeeeeee, 12 weeks without that ugly thing!!!

when you all talk about mountains of paperwork - i worry - i don't really do any - what am i neglecting?

Written risk assessments
Recorded food/fridge/freezer temps
Keeping policies up to date
B23 observations/next steps
Invoices
Accounts
Tax return
Advertising

don't advertise
tax only once a year
policies in dcma book
don't do observations till sept
paid weekly mainly [one invoice p/month]
accounts very minimal [should do more]
don't do written risk assessment
no fridge thermometer / don't cook meals

oh dear . . . . am i a bad lazy childminder?

No but September might hurt

I've been introducing stuff over the last few months so they are all in place by September

Buy a fridge thermometer if you keep milk in there - take the temp once a day & write it down in your register or a diary

yes i must get a thermometer - i don't have any babies but i do put the mindees packed lunches in the fridge - but i should have one anyway

i bought a load of display folders for the EYFS obserations - i thought i'd have one for each mindee[and ds] and put photo's and drawings in them - when i did my EYFS course the tutor implied we didn't actually need to do written observations which i found a bit strange - how would i convince ofsted i was doing obs with no written evidence?

so katy what do you do for observations?

[nosey]

Photos in a scrapbook (& a copy in each child's book) plus one line obs for each child each week followed by a next step - ie one sentence about what we will do next for each child each week plus observation of the next step

thanks katy

that sounds fairly easy - lots of peole seem very upset about having to do observations - it's not like we have to do much is it?

You probably do a daily diary so it's just a matter of keeping a record for OFSTED of the important stuff

I have a (landscape) table with 4 columns with the headings
Observation
Next Steps
Link B23/EYFS
Observation of Next Steps

& I fit 4 obs per page

Hand written

You use the next steps for planning

So if a baby blows bubbles in his food
The next step could be blowing bubbles at him
So you buy some buvbbles (that's your planning or getting the bubbles out the cupboard is your planning)
Then you blow bubbles
Then you link it to B23 (something like expressing a perferance)
Then you write down that the baby likes the bubbles and tried to catch them

You next obs could be
Baby tried to catch bubbles
Next step rolling a ball to him
Link to Aquiring Physical Skills
Obs - baby likes the rolling ball and tried to roll it back

And so on

nope - no diaries : i have chat with parent at pick-up time, mentioning any problems or concerns or good things that happen! i work well below my full quota of kids, all of whom are now 3+ so i don't need to discuss bottles/nappies/naptimes.So there wouldn't be much to put in a diary. i normally just have 2 mindees at a time plus my ds - i never wanted to pack 'em in as i didn't feel i'd cope well with my own kids to look after too.

OFSTED will ask for diaries I think - they are important for sharing photos/information & stuff

Using Diaries is considered good practice - best practise is diaries/scrapbooks/video/photos etc much more multi media

But I use exercise books about half a page a day (incl what they ate/where we went/what they played with/poos/particular interests)

I do write less with children over 4 and stop at 5(ish)

Surely 2 plus you DS would be all you were allowed?

oh katymac you are so organized and efficient!

to be honest though surely if you are good with kids you would instinctively link activities to what the child likes/shows an interest in?

will anyone official ever really read these obsevations? apparenlty ofsted haven't even started their training on EYFS yet

yep i can only have 2 under 5 and ds - i only have 2 mindees per day of any age - so when the schoolie is at school i just have one mindee

Of course you would IF you are good

But there are lots of childminders out there who are just in it for the money/while their children are home for whom child development is not an interest who stick them in front of the TV and feed them chicken nuggets of the factory floor with out a F&V from one week to the next

Persaonally I don't think legislation is the way to sti=op these people childminding - i think OFSTED should visit a minimum of every year and more often if there are concerns

I am in a network which keeps me up-to-date with best pratice and visits our setting every fortnight - BUT it would normally be every 8 week (we just have 3 network childminders[blush}

I think you can't get round people visiting - but some child minders see it as an intrusion

as you can imagine i'm not exactly "rakeing it in"
another reason i'm not so hot on accounts i doubt i'll ever be paying tax!!

Me neither - I have made nothing so far this tax year

in my town there are approx. 40 c/m's
i'm not a part of the network [scared of NVQ3] BUT I DO REGULAR TRAINING AND GO TO LOTS OF PLAYGROUPS I'D GUESS I'VE ONLY MET [oops sorry] a third of them - i always wonder what they do with no support/advice from other c/m's

what's a F&V?

fruit & veg