Wanting to hire a CM but don't know where to start

[astragirl]

We would just like a CM for one afternoon a week for DS whose 11 months old. What sort of things do we look for when hiring a CM? Are they supposed to have certain qualifications and references, and what sort of questions should we ask them?

Alibubbles (a great & revered Mumsnet childminder) comiled a great list of questions

How long have you been working with children?

What training have you had? Any qualifications? Are you part of a network, achieved a quality assurance qualification, look at registration certificate, insurance details, business use for car. First aid must be no more than 3 years old, food hygiene certificate, Certificate in Childminding practice or NVQ 3, Contracts and record forms

Do you enjoy being with children and why?

Can I look around, see the rooms and outside play space? If there is no outside play space - how will you make sure my child gets the chance to play outside?

Where will my child rest?

What kind of food and drink will you give? Can I see a menu?

What will my child do all day?

How do you encourage good behaviour?

Will my child be with a regular group of children? How old are they? How will their timetable fit in with my child?

How will you make sure I know how my child is getting on?

What hours is she open?

How much does she charge?

What about when my child is sick, holidays, days off

What do you do in an emergency?

When was her last Ofsted, can you see the report?

Top 10 Quality Pointers

When you visit possible childcare options, look for these Quality Pointers:

Are the children calm, safe, happy and busy?

Do children play and talk together?

Is the childminder listening to the children and answering them carefully?

Is the childminder friendly and proud of her work?

Is she joining in joining in with what the children are doing?

Are there lots of fun activities planned to help children learn and play? Can children plan some of these activities themselves?

Are there plenty of clean toys and equipment for children to use?

Is the premises clean, well kept and safe for children with a fun outside play area (or will the child go to parks and other places regularly)?

Do parents have plenty of chances to say what they want for their children?

If there are other things you want to know, don't be afraid to ask. Good childminders expect you to ask questions and will be happy to answer them.

Always take up references. You could ask for names of other parents to talk to about the service

Listen to your child and find out more if he/she is unhappy
Always trust your own feelings about your childcare - you know your child best

You can find a childminder here just put your postcode in

Good Luck

They must be Ofsted registered and have public liability insurance. They should also have done some sort of course about childminding, all councils run one for new CM's.

Look for someone you are happy with, that you feel your DS is comfortable with.

There is a thread on here somewhere about questions to ask a CM, ill go see if I can bump it up for you.

There is also one with minders who have spaces...this might help you if you are in one of those areas!

HTH

X-posted with Katy, her answer is way better!

I would ring your council to get the list too. Online, the list doesn't include addresses (depends where you live but the fact that my CM is on the way to the tube is v important to me). I also found a lot of the info online woefully out of date (but that might just be my borough)

Katymac what a fantastic set of advice you are a credit to your profession!

Thank you very much for your quick replies. and especially to KatyMac for the list of questions, very helpful

Thanks

Now......if one of you could just do an OU question for me we will all be square (well maybe not as all I did was copy & paste)

Sorry to be pedantic, but one thing that really bugs me (and I'm sure it wasn't intentional) but you don't hire a CM! You use their services! Great advice, as always, Katy.

Now you see 'hire' is OK I think

Because employ is so wrong - but you hire an accountant or a solicitor so I think that's quite a good one?

Good point. I still wouldn't be totally at ease with it though, but since it's none of my damn business anymore, I should not comment!

Comment away you know me I like a good argument - what is the correct term

'engage' is a bit
'Employ' is so wrong and should be banned
'Hire' you don't like - I don't mind
'contract to use the service' seems a bit long winded

I have just found a lovely cm. I made almost everyone I knew aware that I was looking, particularly other parents at the school gate, toddler groups etc. Where I am most of the local cms are fully booked, so I didn't have much luck when I got my list from the Family Information Service.

The cm I have found is fairly new, and I found this topic really helpful when I have posted asking for advice myself.

That list of questions higher up the thread is extremely helpful.

Dunno really! Use, I suppose, as in use the services of a CM!

'Use' doesn't imply the financial/contractual arrangement to me - I may be thinking too hard (due to the OU stuff atm)

This thread is great, thanks for sharing such good advice. Hope thisn't too much of a hijack but would you have any advice on how far in advance you should contact a CM? My ds is off to school in sept and I think a CM is our best option for after school and I'd also like to move ds2 to CM as well so we can pick them up together and they can hang out together after school. I'd be happy to move them over earlier than Sept but have no idea how CM book their places. Thanks