Caring for babies

As part of our #MagicOfChildminding campaign, we’re celebrating childminders across England and Wales by showcasing the incredible difference they make to children, families, and local communities every day. Here, Megan from England shares her story and reflects on how childminders are uniquely placed to provide babies with a magical start in life. 

How long have you been working as a childminder? 

I will have been working as a childminder for 11 years in May this year. That’s half of my adult career. 

What does a typical day look like in your setting? 

Children thrive on consistency and they love to know what’s happening in their day. We keep daily journals and there are a lot of things we do day in day out to keep that consistency for them. We are often out in the morning whether that is a phonics group, mathematics group, expressing arts or meeting up with people in the local community as well. We have quite a group of people who are regular in our lives. My setting has a lot of focus on play which can be indoors or outdoors. 

How are childminders uniquely placed to care for babies? 

As I’m thinking about this campaign, what keeps coming up is childminders’ motivation to keep on learning and keep on striving to offer best practice. The best way to settle in babies is to start that transition early. So, I’ve got babies that started with me officially in February and I started my transition with them in the November. These are twin boys who were on my books from their 12-week scan. 

I understand the complexities of caring for twin babies. I’ve got others right now who are bigger and I’ve seen them from when they were babies, so I know that I need to be in their lives before they officially start with me.  If they are coming to me at 10 months. I need to be in their lives from about six months. I need to be speaking to the parents, offering support, understanding what their routines are. I’ll say “come to the club that we will be going to”, “why don’t you go off and do your food shop?” “can I have them for an hour?” I’ll be chatting with them all the way through, keeping that contact, doing little sessions here and there. I think they had spent approximately 25 hours with me before they’d even started, which is all free of charge. Some people do charge for it and I understand that. I don’t because I need to see how it’s going to work with the children. 

It is so important to know the family. Understanding what their cultural values are, what their social values are and really understanding how they’re bringing their children up. This means that when you’ve got a parent that has been the primary carer and they’re returning back to work, that you can give them that reassurance on that first day so they’re not heartbroken, which they inevitably will be anyway.

How do you support the parents of the babies you care for? 

I support parents with the funding, making it all easy for them, talking through how they would access it. These little boys started before their funding kicks in. So, mum and dad have had some hefty bills. Therefore, we’ve looked at the finances and how we can split it so that it’s not such a big blow.  

We have a WhatsApp group that has not only got Mum and Dad on it, but it’s got Mum’s Mum and Dad, and Dad’s Mum and Dad on it. I send daily updates on what the little boys have been doing. It is that generational involvement which then gives them that feeling in their heart that it’s a really holistic approach to the childcare of the boys. 

How do you approach having mixed age groups in your setting when that includes babies? 

For childminders looking after babies it is crucial to understand that you have to plan. You have to have knowledge, you have to keep your CPD up. It is a career. It’s not a job. You need to just love it. I think that heralds to the common misconceptions of childminding and it’s that it’s just a job. It’s not just a job. Anybody who does this, it’s because it’s what runs through you.  

I think if you start off like I did, very much go in, well, this ticks all the boxes, and it means I can bring my child up. You’ll not last very long if all of a sudden you realise this is just ticking the boxes on paper. Babies are a very unique customer, and you have to really, really forward plan and make sure that your entire day is tailored around them. That comes with experience, I suppose. 

How do you encourage children to engage with your local community? 

During the day, we’re outside as much as we can be. We use local libraries for their rhyme times, and we go to specific sessions during the week so that they are getting a really good mix of everything across the seven areas of learning. It also means that they are around other trusted adults in the community and they feel confident and comfortable navigating the environment around where we live.  

The children have developed lovely attachments to people that are outside the setting as well. So yes, we’ve got a lot of flexibility in what we do, especially in the holiday time when we have big days out. But week to week there is a lot of consistency in their routine so that they can anticipate our activities, get excited and understand the routines of the day. 

How do you create a warm, ‘home‑from‑home’ environment and how does this benefit the children in your care? 

The home environment is flexible to the family. We can accommodate slightly earlier start time; we can do a drop off if that makes it easier because families need it on a Wednesday for example. Oh, grandma and granddad are going to pick up. All of those little extras we can accommodate and it’s absolutely fine.  

That home environment gives children a really fantastic understanding of the world and the home space that they’re going to be in for the rest of their lives. I believe this gives them that home-from-home, that’s what parents say when they choose a childminder, “we want that home from home vibe”. If you’ve got pets in your environment that’s quite a lovely thing to have with children as well, so that they’ve got that as an extra bonus and something that you wouldn’t get in another environment.  

The main thing is the mixed age groups. Children develop at a fantastic rate and pace when they’re scaffolding their learning with the older children. Physically, educationally, they’re part of all of our activities. A good childminder is planning differentiated activities that mean that all children can be involved on every level and therefore be in a rich environment of communication and learning. It is absolutely fantastic.  

How do you celebrate each child’s individuality and weave their interests into your daily routines and learning?   

I work closely with children’s parents and understand what works in terms of behaviour, what systems they’ve got in place at home, and really having that communication and knowledge means that when they come into your setting, you can tailor for those unique needs. They’re learning through play that is interesting to them, not because the resources are just what we have. As a childminder, if I know I have a child that has an interest I go on Facebook Marketplace and buy all the toys second-hand to suit that interest.  

I plan learning flexibly. I wake up on Monday morning and have a plan for the day, but once children come through the door and I’ve had four chats with four different parents I sometimes decide that my plan’s not going to work today. On those days, I turn on a sixpence and decide today we’re going to do it differently because something else is more important. I can do that because one of my children has had an awful night’s sleep and they’re probably going to be a bit of a space cadet for the first couple of hours. Well, I’m not going to sit them down and do a great big learning session of Maths. Right, we’ll do that later on in the day. Let’s just have a big old literacy session. Let’s do some reading. So we can really, really tailor that learning to the unique child.  

Everybody’s child is unique and has their own needs. I understand how my children work. I know how to get the best out of my four-year-olds. I can’t get the best out of my two-year-olds the same way as I get the best out of my four-year-olds. Every child has their own specific way of learning and that’s something that, again, a childminder very rarely will miss because they are so there and present with them. 

What is your approach to early learning and child development of the children in your setting? 

This comes back to being dedicated to learning. I’ve just finished a six-year degree in childcare and early years. I am actively reading all of the beautiful information that is available to me from yourselves and from other publications. I have, after 11 years, built up quite a structure of how I deliver that as a childminder and therefore I am constantly planning, I’m constantly using development trackers, doing the daily journals etc. I am constantly looking at next steps for children to ensure that we are meeting the three prime areas and more specifically for me, the seven areas of learning. If children are split across settings, I work with the other settings to make sure that we’re not doubling up on what we’re doing. I take time to notice if we need to do any intervention, if there’s an area that’s not quite cutting the mustard and regular reviewing of the children’s development.  

How do you build trusting relationships with the parents of children that you support?   

It starts before children come into my setting. If people are interested in the space, I’ll invite them into the setting and I really want to talk to them about their social and cultural thoughts on how they want their child brought up. 

I’ve got robust policies and procedures, which I think is really important for anybody, especially in childcare, because it sets out expectations for both parties along the way. It means that also we can have quite a good conversation right at the start of a contract starting, where we really talk about any concerns they have with anything, what age the child is and what their preferences are. I have toilet trained many children and I go with what works for the parent. If they’re using a particular potty, it comes with them and I’m a crazy lady with a ladybird potty going around with me. If we’re doing nappy off in the afternoon, fine, okay. I’m very much focused on supporting the parent. What is working for them, having that consistency.  

It’s the same with the behavioural support as well. What works for the parent at home, what isn’t working. The biggest thing is being somebody that parents feel that they can talk to. There’s never any judgment. Thinking really carefully about the words that I use when I talk to parents and how I am viewed to them as somebody that is supportive rather than judgmental and just making sure that, again, it’s that understanding of who those people are and who you can be to that person.  

How have you supported children and families through difficult transitions? 

I have a child who comes from a family which has had a relationship breakdown. I have undertaken training to support them when I knew that was happening, ensured there was a lot of communication. It did have an effect on the child and I did look at training which I had done previously to refresh me in terms of supporting their needs. We’ve managed to work between the maternal and the paternal side and I make sure all communication is open between all of us and Dad and Mum are treated equally. We talk about both parents in our setting and it works really successfully because they both talk to me individually. Part of the job is being somebody that people can talk to.  

With illnesses and hospital stays, we go and visit the kids in the hospital. I’ve cared for a little lad who’s had a lung issue for his entire life. We’ve been at the hospital to cheer them up. If there’s a child that needs your support for a longer period of time, for example, asthma or anaphylaxis, then you get the relevant training. We’re all paediatric first aid trained etc. Again, it comes down to managing yourself as a childminder. Make sure you are trained, make sure you are experienced and make sure that you are confident in what you’re doing.  

This is important in reassuring parents and supporting them all in all areas. More often than not, you’re a counsellor at the front door. You have to say two seconds about what the child’s done because you’ve sent them information throughout the day. However, they’re there complaining about work today and that’s good too because sometimes you might be the only person that they’re talking to that evening. A childminder’s role is listening and being that person for families. 

See more case studies for the Magic of Childminding campaign on our campaign webpage. You can read from childminders reflecting on the magic of SEND/ALN provision, wraparound care, outdoor learning and more in their settings.