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Acknowledgement Liz Hodgman

2007 NATIONAL CHILDMINDING WEEK 16 - 23 JUNE 2007

This year’s National Childminding Week is 16 to 23 June 2007
with the theme "Supporting Families"

We would very much like to hear from any childminders, whether in Bromley or from around the country, on how you are planning on celebrating National Childminding week, so that we can include them on our ideas page. Email us at info@bromleycma.org.uk

On this page we aim to provide you with a few ideas on how you could celebrate National Childminding Week in your own setting and promote the flexible and unique role a Childminder plays in supporting the minded child and their family.

If you have planned /held a special event, why not inform the local press and
even send them a photograph (with parental permission)

Newsshopper: newsroom@london.newsquest.co.uk

Bromley Times: www.bromleytimes.co.uk/comments/suggestastory.aspx

Biggin Hill News: www.biggin-hill-today.co.uk/today/options/locator/
letterform.cfm?to=Web%20Team&mail=jim@internet-today.co.uk&dept=web

Hold a special picnic lunch or tea.
Invite all your families to attend a special picnic lunch or tea so that they can spend time with you and see how the children interact with you and each other. Consider holding the event at a weekend so that working parents are more likeley to be available. Maybe widen the invitation to the child's extended family to include grandparents etc. Involve the children in helping to make the invitations, table decorations and preparing the food. Even very young children enjoy helping to make sandwiches.

You could join up with other local Childminders to organise a bigger event and hold it in the local park. This would be a great opportunity for your minded parents to meet up with your emergency cover or holiday cover and their children, providing them with greater reassurance.

School/Pre-school Display
Join up with other local Childminders and ask if you can organise a small display in your local school or pre-school about Childminding and the services that you are able to offer. You may also be able to have a stall at the school’s summer fair to promote Childminding as a quality form of childcare. Contact Bromley Early Years to ask if you can borrow one of their display boards and if they have any promotional material you can use. The NCMA and BCMA also have promotional material available on request.

Parent's Support Pack
Put together an information pack for parents. This could include details of local toddler groups (available from the CIS) activities for children, local shops and restaurants that you have found child friendly, contact details of local support services etc. You might also include a brochure on your service, policies and documentation. Include a sheet with your contact details on it and ask them to pass it on to any families looking for childcare.

Ask the parents
Do you ever ask the parents what they think about the service you are providing? The BCMA website has sample parental questionnaires available to download, but we have written a new one based on how we support parents, especially for National Childminding Week.    Download Supporting Parents Questionnaire

Travelling Teddies
Introduce activities into your practice that involve parents and support them in helping their child to learn and develop. Travelling teddies is an excellent way of involving parents see our Travelling Teddies Page

Father’s Day
Don't forgot to use Father's day as an opportunity to show your minded Dad's that  they are valued. Help the children to make cards and small gifts to give to their dads.  If you need help with writing a poem for inside the card:

Daddy, I love you
For all that you do.
I'll kiss you and hug you
'Cause you love me, too.

You feed me and need me
To teach you to play,
So smile 'cause I love you
On this Father's Day.

Copyright Nicholas Gordon

The following website has a large selection of fathers day poems, also ones
for stepfathers, adopted fathers and grandfathers.   www.poemsforfree.com/fathpo.html

If you want to make a card with a difference then visit
www.kidsdomain.com/craft/fathers-day-cards-around-the-world.html, this explains
how to make a really multicultural fathers' day card, along with ideas craft activities and recipies.

Celebrating National Childminding Week with your minded families will demonstrate to Ofsted
that you are meeting one of the commitments from the new Early Years Foundation Stage:

Positive relationships: parents as partners
Respecting diversity

• All families are important and should be welcomed and valued in all settings.
• Families are all different. Children may live with one or both parents, with other relatives
  or carers, with same sex parents or in an extended family.
• Families may speak more than one language at home; they may be travellers, refugees or asylum seekers.
• All practitioners will benefit from professional development in diversity, equality
  and anti-discriminatory practice whatever the ethnic, cultural or social make-up of the setting.
   
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