Please visit our
Press Releases Page to see
how BCMA has been represented in the
local Press and in other publications.
Watch out -
A Bromley Childminder warns us about thieves stealing car spare wheels. Download her letter here Watch out!
Child Not in School?
Are you aware of a child who is of compulsory school age but
is not attending school? You can now download a form to complete and return to the
Education Welfare Service with the details of the child and any additional details
you may know. This form has been approved by the Bromley Safe Guarding Board and
has been introduced as a result of a recommendation of the Laming report.
If you have any concerns regarding a child attending school please contact the Education Department at the Civic Centre Notification Form
NEWS ITEM PUBLISHED 29 APRIL 2008
New Childcare Registers
This week Ofsted have written to all Childminders regarding the new registers.
These letters explain the registers and the changes which will occur on 1 September 2008. In the letters the Childminder is given a proposal, this is Ofsted's view of what register(s) they should appear on in accordance with the new law.
The Childminder can use the reply slip which is attached to the letter
to let ofsted
know if they don’t agree with their proposal.
NEWS ITEM PUBLISHED 13 MAY 2008
Bromley Safeguarding Thresholds Guidance
This guidance
has been developed and endorsed by the Bromley
Safeguarding Children Board . It supports
the rollout of the Common
Assessment Framework (CAF), which was launched in Bromley
in
January 2008.
The document gives guidance on what to do when you
have concerns about
a child or young person: when you
should carry out or consider carrying out a CAF
assessment and
when you should make or consider making a referral to Children's
Social
Care. It is designed to help develop a common understanding
and agreement on thresholds
between workers from different
services. Download Guidance Document
NEWS ITEM PUBLISHED 16 MAY 2008
Their Reading Futures
2008 is the year of reading. 'Their reading futures', a website resource for libraries has recently been redesigned. It contains some useful hints and tips on group storytelling, book recommendations and how to encourage an interest in books.
With the introduction of the Early Years Foundation Stage in September 2008, resources
from this site will support childminders to deliver the Learning and
Development
of 'Communication, Language and Literacy'
in particular the Reading aspect
NEWS ITEM PUBLISHED 16 MAY 2008
Ofsted Figures -
Once
again it demonstrates the high quality of care and education provided by the Childminders
in the Borough.
32 Childminders have now been graded as 'Outstanding'
Nearly 70% of all inspected
were graded 'Good' or 'Outstanding' .
This puts Bromley well above the National Average
( 60%)
View a full copy of the profile here
www.ofsted.gov.uk/reports/pdf/?InspectionNumber....pdf
Other Areas
If you are from another Borough and would like to access the profile for
your Borough click onto the following link and select your Borough, then
scroll down
and select 'Early Years Statistical Profile'
www.ofsted.gov.uk/portal/site/Internet/menuitem.4ee...
NEWS ITEM PUBLISHED 19 MAY 2008
Revised version of EYFS published 19 May
The Early
Years Foundation Stage has now been reprinted and
the Welfare Requirements have been
amended. A copy of
the new booklets can be downloaded from
http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/teachingandlearning/EYFS/
along with a table of all the changes to the Welfare Requirements.
The main change is to medication and the administration of non prescription medication.
“Medicines should not usually be administered unless they have been prescribed for
that child by a doctor, dentist, nurse or pharmacist. Non-
We will be looking at all the changes and amending the EYFS pages if required.
NEWS ITEM PUBLISHED 21 MAY 2008
Who Do We Think We Are? Week -
One example is
www.globaldimension.org.uk/ResourceDetails.aspx?id=1191
This FREE pack
for early years teaching includes eight glossy posters and an activity booklet. The
activities focus on four key topics and link with the Foundation Stage curriculum.
The topics covered are:
The Water Cycle
Water Conservation
Water Safety
Water in Other
Countries
The posters include useful questions to encourage thoughtful discussions,
and the booklet gives lots of fun and interactive exercises
Who do we think we are is a great source of information to support the Every Child Matters Outcome 'Making a Positive Contribution' and links to the Early Years Foundation Stage, Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Sense of Community and the Statutory Welfare Requirements, Equality of Opportunities. www.wdwtwa.org.uk
NEWS ITEM PUBLISHED 21 MAY 2008
Help children learn about safety while they enjoy
a fun interactive game of building their own play space. Produced by the Department
for Children, Schools and Families it enables children to be involved in the Governments
Play Strategy Consultation. Links to the Every Child Matters outcomes, Staying Safe
and Making a Positive Contribution.
www.dcsf.gov.uk/playspace/
NEWS ITEM PUBLISHED 22 MAY 2008 UPDATED 5 JUNE 2008
EYFS ratios for minding four and
five year olds
It has been brought to our attention that there is an issue
regarding
ratios with the new EYFS Welfare Requirements.
The Appendix reads:
Each childminder may care for:
"a maximum of six children under
the age of eight; of these six children, a maximum of three may be young children,
however where four-
However, this poses a dilemma during school holidays when the children will not be cared for just before and after school. Currently Ofsted are stating that the children would revert back to the lower age ratio and childminders would need to apply for a variance.
We emailed Ofsted and DfCSF requesting some clarification on the matter.
Ofsted sent
us the following response: “This particular section of the EYFS is currently under
consultation with the Department of Children Schools and Families, and will hopefully
be resolved before the EYFS is re-
UPDATE 5 JUNE 2008
DfCSF have responded as follows:
“... where four and five year olds attend school full-
These children may also be counted as children
over the age of five during the school
holidays.”
We are pleased that this situation has now been clarified
NEWS ITEM PUBLISHED 5 JUNE 2008
With this year being the year of reading I CAN have
produced a communication cookbook that will be available FREE of charge from July.
www.communicationcookbook.org.uk
Five essential ingredients for children's communication skills are described in I CAN's Communication Cookbook, which is available for free.
The Communication Cookbook contains activities to support children's
language and
communication and was developed by the children's
charity I CAN and the BT Better
World Campaign. It focuses on five
essential ingredients: Attention and Listening,
Vocabulary,
Building Sentences, Story Telling and Conversations.
The Cookbook will be published in July 2008. There are also
downloadable PDFs of
the activities in the Cookbook on the I CAN
site, and online games such as 'Add an
adjective' and 'The stinky wood'.
NEWS ITEM PUBLISHED 8 JUNE 2008
Consultation
The HM Treasury and HM Revenue & Customs,
have released a discussion paper on Tax credits: Improving Delivery and Choice and
are inviting responses.
The discussion paper identifies a number of options that may improve the delivery of the childcare element of Working Tax Credits. These include making payments directly to the childcare provider, and aligning payments with the school year.
If you would like to download a copy of the paper, including information on how to
respond, visit www.hm-
hard copy of the paper,
you can request one by emailing
tax.credits@hm-
NEWS ITEM PUBLISHED 8 JUNE 2008
Read Ofsted’s Latest Newsletter
From this link you can view or print Ofsted’s latest newsletter
http://ofstednews.ofsted.gov.uk
NEWS ITEM PUBLISHED 8 JUNE 2008
Outcome of the consultation on
inspecting provision
in the Early Years Foundation Stage from September 2008
“We consulted with the sector
about a number of proposals underpinning our inspection of the Early Years Foundation
Stage. In the consultation document we outlined our proposals for the inspection
of early years provision from September 2008 in response to changes introduced
by
the Childcare Act 2006. We asked for views on a number of aspects specifically
relating
to the inspection of early years settings. “ Ofsted
visit Ofsted’s website to find
out more
NEWS ITEM PUBLISHED 17 JUNE 2008
Forms and guidance from Ofsted
Please see the following links from the Ofsted web
site
Application to register on the voluntary part of the Childcare Register
Guidance on fees
for registration on the voluntary part of the Childcare Register
NEWS ITEM PUBLISHED 20 JUNE 2008
Minister responds to concerns on childcare registration
fees
In response to comments from the childcare sector, increases in registration
fees for child care providers are to be introduced gradually, and in small increments
over the next three years, and a new system of fee banding introduced from September
2008.
Read the full article on the DfCSF website.
NEWS ITEM PUBLISHED 21 JUNE 2008
Early Years Foundation Stage -
demonstrating the
EYFS in action.
Visit the website to download or order a free copy
NEWS ITEM PUBLISHED 7 JULY 2008
NEW Forms and guidance from Ofsted
Are you ready for
your inspection? A guide to inspections of provision on Ofsted's Childcare and Early
Years Registers (for inspections from 1 September 2008)
Visit the Ofsted web site and download this new publication
BCMA will be looking closely at this publication and providing further support and
guidance
on this website as appropriate.
NEWS ITEM PUBLISHED 9 JULY 2008
NCMA has published Early Years Foundation Stage Getting
Started.
The publication, which has been developed by NCMA, is being mailed to every registered childminder in England, and provides information and reassurance to childminders about the transfer to the Early Years Foundation Stage in September 2008.
In particular, NCMA has listened to its members – and the wider childminding community – and addressed elements which some childminders are viewing with trepidation, such as requirements for observation and planning, and illustrated how childminders' existing work can help to meet these.
The publication was also field tested with a number of registered childminders with a wide range of experience to ensure the publication provides practical, useful information to childminders making preparations for the introduction of the EYFS in September 2008.
It is anticipated that the publication will reach all childminders by mid-
The booklet can also be viewed as a pdf at www.ncma.org.uk
NEWS ITEM PUBLISHED 4 September 2008
BCMA AGM Thursday 4th September 2008.
Jane Cole was our keynote speaker again this year.
Last year Jane was a great inspiration to the childminders who listened to her introduction
the Early Years Foundation Stage. This year her focus was on ‘capturing the moment’
-
Please do consider becoming involved in the work of BCMA.
We are a small committee,
but we are making a great difference to childminding
both in Bromley and Nationally.
Why not join us?
Contact BCMA to offer to help
NEWS ITEM PUBLISHED 19 JULY 2008
Early years self-
Ofsted has recently provided a further update on their website.
This page has a version of the early years self-
Visit the Ofsted web site and download this new publication
BCMA will be looking closely at SEF and providing further support and guidance
on
this website as appropriate.
NEWS ITEM PUBLISHED 10 August 2008
Using the early years evaluation schedule: Guidance
for inspectors of registered early years settings required to deliver the Early Years
Foundation Stage
The purpose of this document is to set out the early years evaluation schedule which shows what inspectors must evaluate and report on when inspecting early years settings required to deliver the EYFS, and give guidance for inspectors on what to take into account when making the judgements set out in the evaluation schedule.
NEWS ITEM PUBLISHED 10 August 2008
This year NCMA will be holding their Greater London
Regional Forum on 11th October 2008 and would like very much for you to attend this
event.
It is being held for NCMA members to have their say, so why not come along
after all.
Its Free. They will also be holding a free session on EYFS Observations which you
may find very useful and interesting.
Download more information and contact details
NEWS ITEM PUBLISHED 15 August 2008
Childcare on domestic premises: a childcare factsheet
Childcare on domestic premises is a new type of childcare from 1 September 2008:
its purpose is to make a distinction between childminding and larger-
This factsheet explains what it is and answers basic questions.
NEWS ITEM PUBLISHED 31 August 2008
Early Years -
Leading to excellence: a review of childcare and early education provision 2005–08 is the third review of inspections of registered childcare and early education.
This year, the report focuses on how well settings – such as nurseries and childminders – are organised, led and managed to promote positive outcomes for children and ensure they progress well.
Follow the link below to visit the Ofsted web site
send an email to BCMA
LATEST NEWS -
NEWS ITEM PUBLISHED 29 September 2008
Ofsted Newsletter -
The start of September is always a busy time and the last couple of weeks have been no exception at Ofsted. The launch of the new Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) has been a particularly important development. In this issue we take a closer look at a nursery in Newcastle to see how it prepared for the EYFS...
