CPD courses for Childminders

What is Ofsted?

Ofsted is the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills in the UK. It is the government body responsible for inspecting and regulating schools and childcare providers, which includes childminders. Ofsted assesses the quality of teaching, learning and care and reports on its findings to the government. It also provides parents, staff and other stakeholders with information about the performance of the childcare provider and makes recommendations for improvement.

Childminders registered with Ofsted in the UK must meet the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) as well as local authority regulations. The EYFS sets out the seven areas of learning and development that should shape educational programmes in early years settings. All areas of learning and development must be met in the activities they provide. They should also ensure that they plan and provide activities that are appropriate to the age and stage of development of the children in their care. Additionally, childminders must provide a safe and stimulating environment for the children in their care, which includes doing regular risk assessments and having the necessary safety equipment.

A guide to CPD for childminders

As a childminder in the UK, you need to comply with a range of pieces of legislation including:

• The Children Act 1989.
• The Childcare Act 2006.
• The Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).
• Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
• Equality Act 2010.
• General Data Protection Regulations 2018.

 

The list above is just some of the pieces of legislation that childminders must meet, which is on top of Ofsted and local authority requirements. CPD can help childminders stay up to date in the industry and incorporate any changes into their working practices.

Some CPD Online College courses we provide that can suit a childminder include:

• • Allergen Awareness – This course provides an overview of autism and includes how autism can affect learning, and the steps that can be put in place to help children in education.
  • Child Development – Child development knowledge is crucial for anyone working with children. It teaches the key development milestones for each age, and what contributes to healthy and unhealthy development.
  • Managing Behaviour that Challenges – This course is targeted at people who work with children who display challenging behaviour and what strategies can be incorporated to manage it effectively.
  • Nutrition and Healthy Eating – This is important for childminders who provide and supervise mealtimes for children. It teaches what healthy eating choices are, and how to create healthy menus that are well balanced.
  • Paediatric First Aid Training – This training will teach the basics of first aid such as how to administer CPR to babies and children, and how to put them in the recovery position.
  • Safeguarding Children – This course is crucial for all people who work with children to protect them from harm and abuse. It teaches staff how to recognise the risk of harm, spot the signs of abuse, and how to report concerns.

   

  CPD certificates

  Childminders have a lot of responsibility so we understand that it can be challenging to meet your CPD requirements. That is why we make all of our courses accessible online so that you can work on them flexibly. Once you enrol on a course, you do not need to complete it in a single sitting. You can save your progress for the next time you log in to complete your course. However, we advise trying to complete the course soon after you have started it so that the knowledge you gain remains fresh in your head. To obtain your CPD certificate for your course you must complete a quiz at the end of your learning, so it can be helpful to do this soon after you have completed your modules.

  You can access your certificate as soon as you have passed the end of your course quiz. It is available for you to download and save, or you can print your own hard copy. If you don’t have access to a printer, you can even have CPD Online College post a hard copy of your certificate to you.

  Your CPD Online College certificate can be used as a strong piece of CPD evidence. We are professionally regulated, which means that our courses are recognised by all relevant professional bodies. This means that you can show our certificate as proof of meeting some of your professional standards.

  Logging CPD hours

  Some professionals require you to keep a running record of the time that you have spent on CPD training. You can do this by simply tracking how much time you spend on your CPD training, such as time spent on our courses, research, reading, webinars, events and podcasts. By tracking your CPD hours as you go, it makes them readily available for whenever you need to report them.

  Keeping evidence

  Tracking your CPD hours, as mentioned above, is one way of keeping evidence that you have been keeping up to date with your CPD training. You can add to this by dating the days that you do some CPD training and also logging the days that you completed the activity. Any training materials you have used or gained during your CPD training can also be used as evidence, so we advise keeping all of these. This can include emails, presentations, PDFs and webinars. Additionally, you can keep track of your CPD activities by using a CPD plan or journal. This will help you to keep organised and easily reference any activities you have completed. We advise that you keep your records and evidence in a safe and secure place to easily refer back to.

  Renewing CPD certificates 

  Most CPD certificates should be renewed every two years. Renewing your CPD certificates with CPD Online College is easy to do by simply completing the next level of your course, or by refreshing your training two years following completion. It is important to keep track of when your certificates will expire so you can make sure you renew your certifications in a timely manner. You could keep this information with your other CPD training records to help you to stay organised with your CPD.