Here - Health Promotion Agency

Learning and playing
TRANSITION FROM PRE-SCHOOL
TO PRIMARY SCHOOL
All funded pre-school settings follow
the curriculum set out in the
document Curricular guidance for preschool
education published in 2006 by
the Council for the Curriculum,
Examinations and Assessment
(CCEA).
This document reflects a new
foundation stage which will be
implemented in year 1 in September
2007. The foundation stage aims to
build on the characteristics of good
early years practice by giving teachers
more flexibility in what they teach.
This allows them to follow the
interests of the children, encouraging
the children to see links in their
learning and to appreciate that the
skills they learn in one area can be
applied elsewhere.
More integrated and family
friendly services will continue to be
the focus of early years policy, arising
from a government review of
pre-school provision. From 2007, the
Department of Education will
oversee Sure Start.
WHEN YOU
CAN’T BE THERE
CHOOSING CHILDCARE
WHILE YOU WORK
If you’re returning to work, you’ll
need to consider how your baby or
child will be looked after when you’re
not there – not just the need for
adults, but also for other children as
companions.
Although playgroups and
nursery classes may not keep children
for long enough to suit all working
parents ideally, they can still be
used alongside other care from
childminders or nannies, so they’re
worth keeping in mind as you
consider your options.
All childminders and daycare
providers (with the exception of
nannies who work in your home)
should be registered with Ofsted or in
Northern Ireland, with the Early Years
Team in your local Health and Social
Services Trust. Your local CIS or in
Northern Ireland, Early Years Team
will be able to give you information
about available care options.
Childminders
Childminders look after small numbers
of children in their own homes.
Anybody paid to look after children
under eight in this way for more than
two hours a day has, by law, to apply
to register as a childminder with
Ofsted or in Northern Ireland, with
your local Health and Social Services
Trust. This doesn’t apply to close
relatives, but does apply to friends or
neighbours. Childminders are
registered to care for up to three
children under five, including any of
their own. Registered childminders are
visited by Ofsted inspectors or in
Northern Ireland, by social workers to
check that their homes are suitable and
that the level of care they provide
meets the National Standards for
childcare. So, if you go to a
childminder you don’t know, ask to see
the registration certificate.
You should be able to get the
names of childminders with vacancies
from your local CIS or in Northern
Ireland, your local Early Years Team.
Other working parents will also be
able to tell you about childminders. If
you don’t already know parents who
use childminders, ask your health
visitor to put you in touch.
Home Child Carers
Childminders can now apply to be
registered as Home Child Carers.
This allows them to look after your
children in your own home with the
safeguards which registration gives.
Contact your local CIS or in
Northern Ireland, your local Early
Years Team to help you find the
details of Home Child Carers in
your area.
Whatever registered childcare
provision you choose for your
0–3 year old, the childcare
provider will probably be
following the principles and
practice set out in the Sure
Start Birth to Three
Matters support framework.
This is a set of resources for
practitioners and workers,
guiding them to think about:
your child;
your child’s needs;
•
the things your child
enjoys doing;
•
ensuring that your child’s
time is spent in a happy
and productive way.
Ofsted does not apply in
Northern Ireland, instead
childminders and day care
providers must be registered
with the local Health and Social
Services Trust. For further
information, contact the Early
Years Team in your local Trust.
For contact details see
www.childcarechoices.n-i.nhs.uk
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