How to Choose a Childminder

Choosing a childminder for your children can be a difficult task. Finding a childminder who you and your child click with, and who can provide childcare at the times you need it, isn’t always easy.

It can also be difficult to know which questions to ask when meeting a prospective childminder. Following is a list of tips that you may find useful.

The First Visit

When you visit, take your child. Allow the childminder to interact with your child and observe how your child reacts to them. It may take your child a while to warm up to them, but the childminder should be open, friendly and non-pressuring. Talk to the childminder before the meeting to arrange a time when you will be able to stay for a decent amount of time – 1 to 2 hours – as this will give your child a chance to get acquainted and for you to get a better idea of whether they will be a good fit for each other.

What to Ask

Don’t be afraid to ask as many questions as you wish – a good childminder will be happy to answer any you may have and to help you feel at ease when making your choice. You may wish to ask questions such as –

Will they provide food for your child, and if so, what kind? Do they provide cooked meals, or simple snacks and sandwiches?
What kind of discipline methods do they use, and how they would deal with certain behaviours (such as snatching, hitting and other normal behaviours for young children)?
How much time do they generally spend out and about with the children? Do they visit the park/play in the garden/go on outings to local places of interest?
Do they drive?
How many children will they generally have in their care when they will have your child?

You will also wish to enquire about costs. Childminders generally charge around £3-£4 an hour. Some will make additional charges for food and drink, whereas others will include a certain number of meals and snacks in their costs. The childminder will have a sheet or two that you will be able to take home which will have detailed information about costs, notice periods, what will happen in the event of sickness and what you will be expected to provide (spare clothing, sunblock, etc).

And, of course, you will need to find out whether or not your chosen childminder will be able to look after your children at the times you need. Good childminders are often well-booked, and have waiting lists, so it is important that you start to seek a childminder with plenty of time to spare if you are returning to work, for example, after maternity leave.

Avoiding Problems

As with any professional relationship, being upfront and honest from the beginning is the best way to avoid problems later down the line. If you have any doubts about a childminder, don’t feel pressure to hire her because you gave her the impression you would when you met. A good childminder will fully understand the importance of your decision and will certainly have no hard feelings if you choose to go with somebody else – after all, your child’s well-being is the most important thing.

Childminding: Rainy Day Ideas

Childminding can bring some challenging times, especially on those days when evacuating to the garden or local park is not an option. Childminders will often be responsible for children of different age groups, so it is vital to have some ideas up your sleeve to help keep them occupied (and to avoid going stir crazy!).

On that note, here are a few suggestions of activities do engage the children in whilst childminding that can be easily adapted to different age groups.

Play Dough

Home made play dough is quick and easy to make, completely non-toxic and a joy to play with. I challenge you to think of one child (or indeed, an adult) you’ve met who doesn’t enjoy a good dough squishing session!

There are many different recipes you can use to make play dough for use while childminding, with varying levels of success. The following recipe is pretty reliable and makes a large amount of dough. You could even split the mixture and make two different colours!

You will need:

3 cups water
3 cups flour
1.5 cups salt
6 teaspoons cream of tartar
3 tablespoons oil (any cooking oil will do)
Food colouring (you’ll need more than you think to get a vivid shade)

Simply combine the dry ingredients (sieving the flour first), before adding plenty of food colouring to the water & oil mixture. Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients gradually, stirring throughout. Transfer the mixture to a saucepan and stir over a low heat until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan and takes on a nice doughy texture.

This play dough will keep for a long time if stored in an airtight tub in the fridge. Try adding rice or lentils for an interesting texture for little ones, or even throw in some glitter! Older children will enjoy making the dough with you, or you can easily make it the night before for ease’s sake.

Finger Painting

Everybody loves finger painting. Very young ones adore the feel of the paint on their hands, and older ones can get creative and make beautiful pictures to take home with them. Finger painting is messy, though, so it may be a good idea for childminders to pre-warn parents that they plan to do it, so they can provide old clothes for the children to change into for the activity. Putting newspaper down is a very good idea, too. Messy play can be a bit of a challenge for the adult in charge, but it’s well worth it for the learning experience that the children will get.

Indoor Picnic

You’d be hard pushed to find a child who doesn’t love picnicking. Picnics in the garden are lovely, but if the weather isn’t accommodating, bring the picnic inside! Make a finger-food lunch together with the older children – sandwiches, breadsticks, houmous with vegetable dippers, crisps, cut up apples and cupcakes are all good choices – and take the plates of food to a blanket on the floor. The children will love helping themselves to their lunch, and the novelty of eating on the ground can be enough to convince even the fussiest of eaters to dig in. For extra fun, make a canopy with a sheet laid over the back of some chairs.

New Years Resolutions: A Fresh Start for the Whole Family

The New Year gives us all the opportunity to start afresh. We can leave behind the previous year, and look forward to the one approaching with a clean slate.

Many people make New Years resolutions – but how can these relate to our children and our families in general?

For children, making New Years resolutions can be very beneficial. It is well known that there is little more satisfying in life than setting – and reaching – attainable goals. Children’s New Years resolutions could include learning a martial art, joining a dance troupe or an art class, or even learning to play a musical instrument.

However, it is important not to make children feel under pressure. The modern life of a child is already a fairly stressful one – the last thing children need is to feel as though they must meet their goals perfectly. Rather than rigid goals (like “I will always share with my siblings” or “I will always do my homework on time”), see New Years resolutions as an opportunity for your children to explore exciting new opportunities.

The New Year is also a great time to focus on making positive changes within your family unit. This year, alongside your usual resolutions, why not make some group resolutions as a family? Following are some simple suggestions.

Spend more time together

With today’s busy lifestyle, it is hard to find time to spend together as a family. Quality time is so important – not just for the children, but for the entire family unit. Forget about trying to find the time, because it won’t happen – you have to make time. It can seem impossible sometimes when you’re contending with long working hours, school and other commitments, but it’s important to carve out regular time to spend together. A few hours of dedicated, quality time each week is a must for happy families.

Less screens, more conversation

We live in an age where communicating has never been easier. Email, texting, social networking and phone calls have all but replaced good old face-to-face conversation. Your older children may spend the majority of their time talking to their friends over electronic devices, rather than having real-life chats. Set an example as a family and agree together to make more effort to really talk to one another, and to your own friends and relatives. The art of conversation is at risk of being lost within our digital age – keep it alive in your family.

Be present with one another

The aforementioned technological advances can also have an impact on our time spent together as a family, without even realising it. You may be in the same room as your family, but while you are, how many of you are tapping away at your phones? How many of you are watching a television? When you manage to snatch some valuable quality time with your nearest and dearest, put the screens away and be present in the moment with each other. You don’t want your children’s memories of you to be a face buried in a smartphone.

The Countdown to Christmas – How to Make it Run Smoothly for All

The countdown to Christmas is an exciting time for all of us. Advent, traditionally beginning on the 1^st December, is also a great opportunity for learning about the meaning of Christmas, as well as different cultural takes on the season.

However, the countdown to Christmas can become stressful – children can become over-excited, parents may be anxious about family commitments and financial obligations on the lead up to the big day, and all of this may end up making the lead up to Christmas a fraught experience, rather than the happy and exciting one it should be.

So how can you make the countdown to Christmas a relaxing and enjoyable one – as well as being fun for the kids? This list should be useful for nannies, childminders, babysitters and parents alike.

Shop in advance

Try to do the majority of your Christmas shopping in the months before December. This will leave you far more time to spend enjoying the lead up to the big day, rather than panicking about present buying. Although be sure to stash gifts where curious small people won’t find them! You can also encourage children to make gifts for one another in the lead up to Christmas.

Get creative with the kids

The countdown to Christmas is a great opportunity to get creative with the children. From making Christmas cards for friends and relatives, to using all manner of mediums to create beautiful Christmas decorations to treasure forever, there will never be a better time to indulge your crafty side with the little ones. You don’t need much to make lovely decorations – simple salt dough shapes decorated with cheap acrylic paints and glitter make a lovely addition to the Christmas tree. Christmas baking can also be a wonderful way to spend an hour on a rainy December afternoon – and home made biscuits, mince pies and sweets make great Christmas gifts!

Cook in advance

There are several parts of Christmas dinner that you can pre-prepare a few days in advance in order to make Christmas Day easier – and, of course, to give you more time playing with the children and less time chained to the stove! Stuffing can be pre-prepared and frozen, and you can even pre-peel and chop your potatoes the night before – just make sure you put them in a lidded pan or bucket and cover them in cold water.

Take advantage of local Christmas events

Your town will likely have a whole host of exciting things happening on the lead up to Christmas. Carol services, craft sessions, Christmas fetes and fayres can all be a great opportunity to get the children out of the house to burn off some of that excited energy! Charity tabletop sales are also very common at Christmas time, and give children a chance to choose gifts for their families without too much (if any) adult input.

Family Support Worker: Career Guide

A job as a support worker can be an incredibly fulfilling career choice. A support worker can work in many different environments with many different groups of people, but for the purposes of this article we will focus on the role of a family support worker. This is a job not for the faint of heart, but the rewards are many. Support workers do a great deal of good.

What does a job as a support worker involve?

As a support worker, you would be working with the most vulnerable of children and families. Your duties would be different depending on why the family had been referred to you in the first place, but they may include:

Supporting the parents to improve their parenting skills by encouraging them to attend workshops etc, and by teaching them about the importance of quality time and learning through play
Teaching the parents about discipline, the various methods of setting boundaries and educating them about age-appropriate behaviours
Helping the parents to learn how to manage the family finances more effectively
Helping them to develop their emotional and physical nurturing skills
Providing hands-on help in the event of a crisis situation
Assessing the needs of a family when a child returns home from care
Keeping accurate records, writing reports and liasing with many different health and social care professionals.
Acting as a learning support assistant with schools and teachers
Providing emotional support and encouragement for the entire family

As a family support worker, it would be your job to try to help the family stay together. Family support workers are assigned to families who are struggling, and whose children would likely end up in care without proper help.

What qualifications do I need to become a support worker?

It is important to most employers that you have at least some experience, voluntary or paid, in the field. Working or volunteering in family refuges, community centres, children’s homes or nurseries would be a good start to give you some experience.

Qualifications-wise, employers will be looking for one or more of the following:

NVQ in Children’s Care, Learning and Development
NVQ in Health and Social Care
BTEC National Certificate/Diploma in Children’s Care, Learning and Development
CACHE Certificate or Diploma in Child Care and Education

As a support worker, you will be encouraged to pursue further qualifications while you work, and you will of course be trained in various aspects of your job, such as assessment methods, legal issues, child protection issues and health and safety.

Formal qualifications aside, every family support worker needs the following traits:

Patience
An understanding, warm and caring nature
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
The ability to relate to and empathise with people from all walks of life
Level-headedness
A non-judgemental attitude

Being a family support worker is not for everybody. It is hard work, and it’s not always pleasant. However the rewards are many, and for the right person it can be a much loved, ‘for life’ job.

What is a private tutor?

A private tutor is a highly knowledgeable, usually somewhat qualified individual who teaches students privately to help them develop their knowledge of certain subjects. Tutoring can be a fulfilling and very lucrative part-time job – or even full time, if you gain enough students.

Who would hire a private tutor?

Private tutors teach tutees of all age groups, from very young children to mature adults. There are a huge number of reasons why someone might hire a private tutor – private tutoring is popular with many different people. They may be:

· A teenager wanting to improve on a certain subject that they are struggling with for their GCSE’s

· Parents of a home educated child, who feel that their own knowledge or teaching skills in some subjects is lacking

· A mature student (or indeed any student) who feels the need to ‘bulk up’ their learning outside of school hours

· Anybody who feels they need a more tailored approach to education than a school environment can offer

How much will a private tutor cost?

Depending on the subject and level of education, you can expect to pay somewhere between £20-£35 per hour for private tutoring. However, many trainee teachers will offer their services as a private tutor for much less than this as a way to hone their teaching skills further. If the private tutor will have to travel, it is generally expected that the tutee will pay their travel expenses.

I want to become a private tutor. What qualifications do I need?

You will need to have an excellent level of knowledge in the subject you wish to teach, plus the ability to tailor your teaching techniques to your student. Excellent interpersonal skills are of a very high priority. It is not necessary to have a teaching qualification, however your level of formal qualification will dictate how much you can charge. PGCE graduates will be able to charge more than those who haven’t qualified yet, just as experienced teachers will be able to charge more than NQT’s (Newly Qualified Teachers)

How can I find work as a private tutor?

You can advertise your services anywhere you wish – local papers, shop windows and billboards are popular choices. However, arguably the best way to advertise is through specialist agencies. These of course will charge a fee but many feel that it is a small price to pay to ensure your ad reaches those who want to see it. Many private tutors find work solely through word-of-mouth recommendations, so do a good job and you may find your tutees spread the word!

Is there anything else I need to know?

As a private tutor you will be self-employed, so you will need to deal with your own income tax and National Insurance contributions. Also, it would be very beneficial for you to obtain an enhanced CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) check. At the present time it is not possible for individuals to obtain these, so signing up with an agency for private tutors would be a good idea.

Nursery Jobs

Nurseries take care of children from just a few weeks old until the age of 4-7 (depending on the nursery), so they are usually very noisy and busy places! One thing’s for sure – no two days will be the same!

You don’t usually need any specific qualifications to start – employers generally want to see some evidence of education in the form of 3 or more GCSE passes, but specific childcare qualifications are unnecessary for somebody starting out as a nursery assistant. One thing that everybody who works with children is required to provide is a CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) check, the cost of which will usually be met by your employer.

Aside from qualifications, to be a great candidate for any nursery jobs you may apply for you will need certain traits, such as:

A caring and sensitive nature
A love for spending time with children
Responsibility
Ability to work as part of a team
A positive, fair approach to discipline
A good sense of humour
Creativity is always a bonus
The ability to relate to young children
An awareness of safety and hygiene practices, although training on these areas will be provided

As a nursery assistant, you can expect to earn about £10k-£12k pa. Fully qualified nursery nurses can earn up to £18k and other nursery jobs, such as a nursery manager, can provide in excess of £30k. There are other jobs available in a nursery, such as cooks and cleaners, the wages of which are usually not far above minimum wage.

In nurseries, there are separate rooms for different age groups, the baby rooms having a higher staff ratio than the rooms for older children. The days are usually structured, especially so for the older children, but play is the focus for the majority of the time. Gone are the days of strict learning schedules for young children. Play-based learning has been proven time and time again to be more effective (and more fun for all involved!).

So what does the average day look like for somebody with a nursery job?

Planning and facilitating activities such as arts, crafts, cooking, music and dancing
Personal care such as changing, feeding, bathing, and assisting toilet training children with using the bathroom
Reading stories in a group setting, or one-on-one
Taking children on planned outings
Playing outside
You may be responsible for some paperwork
Implementing health and safety guidelines
Being aware of possible signs of abuse and neglect, and reporting any concerns you may have to the appropriate person

There are many opportunities for advancement in nursery jobs. From being a nursery assistant, you could qualify as a nursery nurse, then a senior nursery nurse, and move on to becoming a nursery manager or an EYP (Early Years Professional). To gain further qualifications, you may be able to train on-the-job (an apprenticeship), or work part time and attend a college course.

Babysitting

We all remember having a babysitter at some point in our childhoods. Usually a babysitter was a trusted family friend, or a familiar and responsible neighbourhood teen.

Babysitting can be undertaken by anybody, qualified or not. There is no legal lower age limit for babysitting, however the NSPCC recommend that any babysitter should be over the age of 16.

Babysitting is somewhat of a hybrid job, somewhere between nannying and childminding. The babysitting usually occurs in the child’s home, but babysitters aren’t generally required for the same long hours as a nanny would be. Babysitting usually entails just a few hours at a time, often in the evening when the children are already in bed.

Babysitting is usually thought of as an odd job for a teenager or older sibling, but it can be a great way to make extra money on top of your normal job. Many childminders and nursery nurses offer babysitting services for evenings and weekends. Babysitting is a good way to top up your earnings, as the money is normally rather good.

So, what do you need to do in order to make good money as a babysitter?

Babysitting Courses

There are many courses available nowadays that will give you the basic skills you need to be a good babysitter. These courses usually teach basic first aid, child development, early childhood education and the importance of play. Of course, these things can be learnt elsewhere – and many babysitters don’t have any formal qualifications – but it is reassuring to parents if you can show them proof of your skills.

First Aid

It is very wise for anybody to have up-to-date, basic first aid knowledge – especially those of us who spend any amount of time looking after children. However, to ensure that the children in your care are as safe as possible – and to give you the edge over other babysitters – it is advisable to undertake an in-depth first aid course, with a focus on first aid for babies and young children (assuming that’s the age group you’ll be working with).

Own Transport

This isn’t essential for all babysitting jobs, but it may come in very useful. You can’t always rely on the parents to drop you home when you are finished, and you may finish too late in the evening for public transport (depending on where you live, of course). Make sure you always have spare change for a taxi, should you need one.

Set Rates

When applying for babysitting jobs, you should be able to give the family a quote for your services. It is perfectly acceptable to charge more for evening, weekend and bank holiday babysitting, as they are considered to be unsociable hours. It is also worth considering working ‘special’ nights such as New Years Eve, when babysitters are traditionally paid a lot more than usual.

A Contract

If you regular babysit for a family and it is more of a job as they expect you to cook a meal, do homework or bath and put the children to be it may be wise to have a contract in place.

Also, don’t forget that you may need to complete a tax return if you are babysitting regularly and earning a certain amount of money. You should seek further advice from HMRC if you are unsure.

Private Tutor 101

What is a private tutor?

Who would hire a private tutor?

A teenager wanting to improve on a certain subject that they are struggling with for their GCSE’s
Parents of a home educated child, who feel that their own knowledge or teaching skills in some subjects is lacking
A mature student (or indeed any student) who feels the need to ‘bulk up’ their learning outside of school hours
Anybody who feels they need a more tailored approach to education than a school environment can offer

How much will a private tutor cost?

I want to become a private tutor. What qualifications do I need?

How can I find work as a private tutor?

Is there anything else I need to know?

A Career As A Nanny, Is It For You?

What is a nanny?

A nanny is a professional childcare provider. A nanny works in a similar way to a childminder, with the difference that she will work in the client’s home rather than in her own home.

What does a nanny do?

Many people are under the assumption that being a nanny is easy. They think that it’s simply a case of playing with somebody else’s children all day. Well, there is playing involved, but there’s a lot more to it than that.

A nanny will usually work long hours, and will spend the majority of her time ferrying children around to various activities, doing the school run, preparing meals and tidying up after the children. As a nanny, you will earn a reasonably good wage but you will not usually get very much time off.

Being a nanny is hard graft. You will need to have excellent interpersonal skills and a high level of patience. As well as looking after the children, you will likely be responsible for some housekeeping too – the level of which should be negotiated when drawing up your contract.

However, the rewards are not just monetary. Being a nanny can be an incredibly enjoyable and rewarding job for somebody who loves taking care of children. It is a very important job – the children you care for will remember you for the rest of their lives. You will be the person who is mostly responsible for their day-to-day care, therefore the bond you will forge with them will be strong.

Why a nanny?

All kinds of families hire nannies, but the majority of families that do are busy, full-time working parents. They choose nannies because they are the most convenient solution to their childcare needs. They often start work early and finish late, so they need a childcare provider who will either be on-site (most nannies are live-in nannies) or who will come to the house to work. They haven’t got the time to be dropping off and picking up their children from nursery or from a childminders home.

Additionally, many parents prefer to use a nanny because it can be beneficial emotionally for the children. It is vitally important that children are able to form strong attachments with their carers in their early years. A nanny often becomes like a much-loved relative, or even a third parent. This kind of bond is very important and this may well be the parents’ motivation for choosing a nanny.

What qualifications do I need to be a nanny?

Although you do not technically need any qualifications to be a nanny, employers will be looking for proof of your skills. The N.N.E.B Diploma is widely recognised and, up until recently, was considered to be the only nanny qualification that was necessary. Now, there are many courses you can attend to gain skills, but an N.N.E.B Diploma is what employers will be looking for.

However, many experienced and brilliant nannies will have no formal qualifications. They will have excellent references, though, and many years of experience under their belts.

You will also need to provide an enhanced disclosure to be able to work as a nanny in the UK, and at least a basic first aid certificate.

Please note – for the purpose of this article I have referred to nannies as female. However, there are male nannies out there, but they are not as common as female nannies.

Childcare: Which Provider is Right for You?

Childcare is something that nearly all parents will have to consider at some stage. Nowadays, most parents need to work at least part-time, or they may choose to work. Even those that are full time stay-at-home parents will probably need to utilise the services of a childcare provider at some point during their children’s lives.

There are lots of options available to choose from when it comes to childcare. In this article, we will go over the commonly available childcare providers in the hope that we will make a sometimes-difficult (and often emotional) decision a little easier.

Childminders

Childminders are self-employed childcare professionals who look after children in their own homes, from very young babies to pre-teens. They are usually able to provide flexible hours, and are sometimes able to pick up and drop off children, which can make life a little easier for a busy working parent. Childminder rates across the country vary, but the average is £3.84 per child per hour. The benefits of using a childminder are many, especially for the child who will usually find it easier to settle in than they would at a nursery.

Nurseries

Nurseries provide childcare to many children at once. They generally accept children from a few weeks old, until the age of four. The children are usually cared for in large groups, with the babies being kept separately from the older ones. Many parents prefer to have a childminder or nanny to provide childcare for their little ones because the busy environment of a nursery can be too much for a baby or toddler. However, some children thrive on the stimulating and structured environment of a nursery – it all depends on the child’s individual temperament. Nursery fees vary, but for a child under two it can cost £177 per week for a full-time place – even more in inner London.

Nannies

Nannies provide childcare in the child’s home, and usually live on-site. You would be the nanny’s employer, and therefore would be responsible for paying her tax and NI contributions. Nannies are a popular childcare choice with parents who both work long hours. They are generally the most expensive childcare provider, with their take-home wages ranging from £280-£380 per week. Many parents see this as a small price to pay to have their childcare provider on site, available for unsociable hours if she is needed (although her hours will need to be agreed upon in advance and contracted). There is also an emotional benefit to the children, who will be looked after by the same person each day in a familiar environment.

Au Pairs

Au pairs are usually the cheapest childcare option, as they don’t generally charge a real wage. They will live in your home, so you will be required to feed them and house them, as well as paying them pocket money of a minimum of £65 per week if they are working 25 hours. Au pairs come from other European countries, and come to the UK on au pair schemes to improve their English whilst doing some babysitting to earn money. They will also usually do some housekeeping. Au pairs should be treated as part of the family rather than an employee, and they shouldn’t be required to work the same long hours of a nanny because they need time to study.