The parents of Anjum a little girl who is new to your setting moved to England only 3 months ago. Yours is the first setting that they have used for 18 month old Anjum. They have very little understanding of the legislation covering home based childcare or the role of the regulatory body.
Consider 4 pieces of legislation that are important for home based childcarers and how you would outline these to Anjum’s parents?
How would you go about outlining the 4 different roles of the regulatory body to Anjum’s parents?
The four pieces of legislation that I would bring to Anjum’s parents attention are:
• The Children Act (2004), explaining every child matters and identify the five outcomes for children -
1. Be healthy
2. Stay safe
3. Enjoy and achieve
4. Make a positive contribution
5. Achieve economic well-being
I think that these outcomes should underpin a child minder’s work ethic and it would help Anjum’s parents to understand that these are my priorities for every child.
• Public Health (Control of Diseases) Act (1984)
As this covers the notification and exclusion periods for infectious diseases, I would high light that if a child is sick they must be clear for 48hrs before returning to my care, and general childhood illnesses.
• Food safety (General Food Hygiene) Regulations 1995, setting out basic hygiene requirements. Although this is not required for a childminder currently I think demonstrating a good knowledge shows parents my commitment to responsible care.
• Code of Practice for First Aid (1997), giving guidance on the provision of first aid. This would show Anjum’s parents that I was qualified and able to care for their child if anything went wrong.
I would outline this information to Anjum’s parents by providing them with a prospectus showing them an information sheet that outlines key current and Relevant Legislation for Parents/Guardian. I would show them copies of my First Aid Certificate and Food