Activities and Documentation for Childcare Business

Nabeelah Lallmamode
Explain the documentation that is required to be kept when running a child care business from a home setting.
Businesses are governed by legislations and requirements that help support it’s continuity. In this assignment we will be looking closely at the documentation and it’s importance to guaranteeing a successful and child friendly business. CRB check, Child Record form, Accident and Emergency forms to more legally abiding forms such as the contract between the caregiver and receiver, are all in place to ensure practices are followed correctly. Various regulatory bodies such as Ofted[1] are there to ensure that this type of business is coherent to the legislations and rules to ensure a healthy and safe environment for the recipient

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The Child Record, helps to provide us with basic but mandatory information on the child. It also provides us with next of kin details and any other contact information that is essential to the child wellbeing and safety. It is a good practice to keep all forms directly related to the child grouped together such as medical records, existing injuries and accident forms.
Medical records are vital to maintaining a child’s wellbeing whilst in care. It details information on the existing medical condition and allergies as well as prescribed and non-prescribed medication. There should be a signed consent form for the worker to administer medication should the need arise. All medication should be stored safely and in it’s original packaging. Accident forms and Existing Injuries Forms are also required to protect the business legally. Upon enrolment a child must be examined for any existing injuries and detailed correctly on the forms again with a signature by both parties.
Child care Agreement Form, like the child record form contains mandatory information, however this form is the contract between parent and child care provider. Standard agreements can be purchased online from National Association of Child-minders. They provide information to parents about what they are signing up for and they have access to professional that can help with legal issues relating to contracts. The consent given by parents plays a big role in the daily activities of the child in day care.
The Outgoing and Consent Forms as well as Vehicle record and Parent permission form is required in order for the child to participate in recreational activities. It provides the business with authority to take the child out of day care. The business should have the correct insurance in place if the child is being taken out of the care setting during contracted hours. Appropriate vehicle insurance is also essential if the child is being driven by a member of staff.
Additional forms are also required to be kept by a childcare business. Finance records detailing transactions between two parties, Fire Safety detailing correct evacuation details and Complaints Records helping to deal with concerns are also required to be kept. All Records can be shared with Ofsted and other independent bodies. Staff are subjected to a CRB check before commencing employment, this will give the employer an insight into the background of the employee as well as any criminal history. All forms mentioned above can be found on Pacey[2] website to help facilitate the admin process.
In order to maintain the strict operation of a child care business from a home setting, we need to understand the importance of housing information that is directly linked to the child. There are several forms that are in place in order to help the business understand the child and their needs more closely. We can conclude by looking at the nature of the forms required, that the main purpose of the information, is provided without any flaws a safe and secure environment for any child attending. Keeping documents updated can mean the difference between a good and an outstanding Ofsted rating.
Nabeelah Lallmamode 
Describe the range of activities that can be used to stimulate a child’s development. Reference must be made to physical, intellectual and social development for both babies (0-12 months) and children (1-5 years).
In order for a child’s brain to develop, they must have experienced a range of activities, which help them to differentiate between gross motor skills and fine motor skills. We will look closely at activities that fall inline with the skills mentioned above and how this can help a child’s development intellectually, socially and physically. Regardless of age group, a child needs to be exposed to certain experiences and environment in order to build on their mental and physical health.
Gross motor skills, is developed through physical play. This can be expressed through crawling, rolling around and supervised free movement from babies ranging from 0-12 months. This can be backed up by ‘Motor development occurs in an orderly sequence, starting with lifting the head, then rolling over, sitting up, crawling, standing, and walking’[3] Developing gross motor skills in children aged 1-5 can be argued to be easier as they are more able to participate in physical activity without the help of their parents. Activities such as, skipping and running help to encourage strength and coordination. Other activities help to enhance physical development of gross motor skills such as throwing and catching a ball helping to develop coordination skills, riding a bike helps to teach balance, hopscotch which can be regarded as an intellectual game; strengthens numeracy skills as well as developing physical movements. These gross motor skills are developed into Fine Motor Skills in later years.
Fine Motor skills, develops skills and control of muscle movements. Examples of this would be fastening clothing, writing, drawing and using a knife and fork during meal times. These activities require coordinated and precise movements, which help to build a child’s development.
Babies ranging from 0-12 months require a lot of care and attention in order to stimulate a child’s development you must hold your baby as much as possible so they feel warm personal interactions like hugging, eye contact and smiling. Playing and reading to your baby as well as using Multi sensory books are excellent in aiding you child to listen and hear music see the colours and feel different textures of materials. This greatly helps stimulate a baby’s intellectual development, which can again be improved upon during later years.
‘Provide your child with social experiences with other children by age 2 years. If he or she is not in day care, consider starting or joining a play group. Young children can learn important lessons from each other, especially how to get along with other people.’[4] Toddlers require different activities to help developed their physical, intellectual and social development, which begins from 12 months. An excellent activity to carry out with them would be board games as it helps to develop strategic thinking and coordination. It is also recommended that asking them questions will help develop their intellect and also prepare them for social conversations in the future. Teaching sign language at the age of 7-8 months will enable them to sign by themselves in the future. Providing your child with recreational experiences will enrich their social development. A good type of role-play to use would be a pseudo hospital environment whether your child uses empathy as well as social skills to determine what is wrong with the patient.
Helping your child to develop physically, intellectually and socially can begin at a young age. It is important that we express the need to teach our child even as studies have indicated they pick up on audio and visual and sensory communication even from birth. We can conclude even though that a child can not communicate with us, by us communicating with them we are helping to stimulate their development that will help to provide them with the foundation of physical, social and intellectual development later in life.
Nabeelah Lallmamode
Write a draft food health and safety policy that can be used in the home childcare setting. Reference should be made to the EYFS statutory framework standards.
Policy Statement
To provide food that is deemed fit for consumption with compromising on dietary/religious needs. To ensure cleanliness and hygiene when dealing with and preparing food for consumption. To maintain without fail a clean, tidy and hygienic area where food is being stored, prepared and consumed in a childcare setting.
Code of Conduct:

Where meals are to be provided, they should be healthy, balanced and nutritious.
Due to religious beliefs and dietary needs, the ingredients used and method of preparation should be individual to the worker/child’s needs if required.
All food is to be checked before consumption by the workers within the childcare setting to minimise the risk of poisoning.

Requirements:

It is a must that the correct training is given to each member responsible for handling food.
Fresh drinking water should be provided during every mealtime.
Providers must record and act on information provided by parents of the children attending the childcare setting.
There must be a well-maintained, hygienic area where food is being prepared and consumed.
Where deemed necessary baby equipment used when aiding consumption should be sterilized before and after it’s use.
If for any reason the member dealing with food is unwell or unable to handle food they should notify a superior.
Any food incidents resulting in a two or more children becoming unwell will need to be reported to Ofsted or Child minder agency of which they are registered. Notification must be made within 14 days unless stated otherwise.

Daily Practices:

Food is fit for consumption.
Make sure food is handled in the correct manner.
Make sure the food is of the highest quality as expected by health officials.
Food is not to be mislabeled or stored in a way that could make it harmful for consumption.
Records of where the food is brought from will need to be detailed.
If food additives are to be used make sure they are safe and will not compromise a child’s dietary needs or religious beliefs.

A registered provider who fails to comply with all of the above, without reasonable excuse/circumstances, will be committing an offence.
Nabeelah Lallmamode
Construct a travel plan, which discusses the various factors that need to be taken into consideration when carrying out a visit from the childcare setting.
Travel plans can be defined as being a package of actions designed by a workplace, school or other organisation to encourage safe, healthy and sustainable travel options.[5] In this assignment we will be looking at the effectiveness of these plans and implement different situation’s and it’s outcome. In order to make a journey safe we must evaluate different factors that can influence and alter the pattern of travelling. When carrying out a travel plan from a childcare setting we can look to various means of transportation such as walking, public transport and personal transport.
If travel is being planned under the basis of walking various factors will need to be focused on. Depending on the age of the child in the childcare setting we have to establish whether he or she is physically able to walk the distance. The childcare setting will need to establish if there is sufficient pushchairs/wheelchairs, reigns and reflective tabards for the children, any equipment used will need to be tested beforehand. Not only is it essential to plan before setting out, it is also essential to teach the children about different signs and situations that can occur whilst on path to the destination.
Children need to be taught about road safety and the best way to do this is through theory and practice. By teaching children about road safety (do’s and don’ts) pelican crossing, green man signals and Zebra crossing we are expanding their road safety knowledge. Embedding safety practices such as stop, look and listen will help build awareness of the traffic on road. It is often expected that public transport will be used during travel and making the children aware of the correct procedures when using these services will also provide them with the safety knowledge required.
We have to establish the children’s independence of using public transport. Will they be able to stand and wait for the transport? Will transportation be used during rush hour? If so how can we decrease risk and increase awareness. Children will also need to be made aware of the risks present when using trains such as minding gaps and standing behind the yellow line. There are many activities, highlighted on government website[6] that can be practiced before setting out. Issuing correct paper work and obtaining consent also helps build a secure travel plan.
When carrying out visitation from a childcare setting, the persons responsible (a CRB checked employee) will need to have all correct documentation in place such as consent forms. A first aid kit must be carried at all times by the worker along with a means of communication. Workers required, is dependent on group size. . If visitation is carried out through means of personal transport such as car or company van the correct, ‘vehicle record and permission to travel in a vehicle’ consent form is required.
We are made aware on a daily basis through the means of advertisement, the safety and cautiousness that is required when travelling ourselves. It is even more essential to implement these procedures when carrying out visitation from a childcare setting. As can be seen above various methods and practices can be explored before a child is exposed to such activities and all this plays a part in constructing an effective travel plan. Safety awareness is all too important and helping to embed these into a child from an early age we positively increase awareness when they are travelling by themselves in later years.

[1] How ofsted inspects 08/07/2014: http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/early-years-and-childcare/our-early-years-childcare-work/how-we-inspect-providers-early-years-register.
[2]http://www.pacey.org.uk/childminders/sample_childminder_policies.aspx#StepOne (8-07-2014)
[3]1 http://www.brookshealth.org/motor-skills.pdf
[4]2http://www.childrenshealthnetwork.org/CRS/CRS/pa_bstimula_hhg.htm (8-07-2014)
[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travel_plan
[6] http://think.direct.gov.uk/education/early-years-and-primary/pupils/under-5s/see/