Finding Safe and Reputable Childcare
Nothing is more important than the safety of your child! Finding a recommended and safe childcare provider with an excellent reputation is crucial. You want your child to be happy, well looked after, safe, entertained and educated. Many people will advertise their childcare services, and it’s important to know how to determine if they’re the perfect childcare provider for you. It is obviously helpful to look at recommendations, ideally from people you know, family and friends who are trusted, but there are other ways to ensure that your childcare provider is perfect for your family too, and this article will explore these:
Visit the Childcare Venue
Ensure that you narrow down your search for a perfect childcare provider to two or three options, and make sure that you visit these to look round, prior to placing your child in them. This will allow you to see if the place looks as clean, safe, and is set out in a way that appeals to you and your child. You can ask any questions about the daily routine there and check certificates there too. Every childminder or nanny must be registered with Ofsted in England, and the Care Inspectorate in Wales and Scotland. It is important they can show you their registration certificate. You can enter their registration number onto Ofsted’s site, to ensure that they do not have any complaints against them or their facilities.
Check Their DBS Certificate
It is super important for parents to request to see a copy of your prospective childminders Enhanced DBS Check with Barred List. The certificate should show that their name is not on any barred lists, which means they are not banned from working with children. Their certificate will report any spent or unspent convictions, any official cautions, reprimands or warnings, or information held by the local police force that is relevant to the job.
Check Two Proofs of ID
It is best to check two forms of identification from your childminder, and ideally ensure the ID is photo ID, as well as proof of an address. This is important to ensure that all documents match, after all, your child’s safety is vital.
It is important when checking ID to ensure that you childminder can work in the UK. This is important if you are hiring a nanny, because if you employ a person, it is law that you check they are legally able to work and reside in the UK. If the person is not legally allowed, you could receive a £20,000 civil penalty notice.
Check Qualifications
It may depend on what qualifications you would like your childminder to have, but they should have an up to date paediatric First Aid Certificate, so that they know how to respond to any health care emergency issues that could arise, whilst they are looking after your child.
Request References
It can be a good idea to physically phone and speak to referees, rather than just receiving an email, because email addresses are relatively easy to set up, and it could be anyone at the other end replying to these. Some childminders may have online reviews too, which it can be worth looking at. Be mindful not just to rely on these because again, anything can be put on a website.
You can do Internet research to check identities, and social media accounts which will give you some background insight.
In conclusion, there are a lot of things to check, but it is well worth doing these rigorously to ensure you have thoroughly checked the background of your childminder as much as possible, to ensure that your child will be safe in their care.