Childminding quality indicators: Nurturing care and support

'Very good' nurturing care

Childminders practice is built on the understanding that nurturing relationships are essential for children's growth and development. As a result, children experience warm, consistent and responsive care that fosters their wellbeing. They are safe, sensitively cared for and skilfully helped to express their needs.

Childminders recognise the importance of supportive transitions and understand that their significance can vary for each child. They regularly assess each child's individual needs and evaluate the effectiveness of the transition strategies in place. They ensure consistent relationships to support smooth transitions and to minimise disruptions to children's care and their experiences. Guided by best practice, such as 'Realising the ambition: Being me,' childminders evaluate their  approaches and continually strive to improve practice. The varied age groups of children positively impact transitions because older children are encouraged to welcome, support and guide younger or newer children.

Children’s privacy and dignity are respected. There is a balance to promoting children's independence with providing support where it is needed. Childminders continually reflect on their practice to ensure it adapts to children's evolving needs and development.

Children are supported to socialise, play in small groups or alone if they wish. This positively impacts children's ability to regulate their emotions and build social skills.  

Children's food choices are nutritious, culturally appropriate and aligned with current dietary guidelines. For example, Setting the table and Food matters.  Fresh water is readily available throughout the day. Childminders consider daily routines, such as mealtimes as valuable opportunities to promote children's involvement, independence and enhance their experiences.

Consistency in routines such as mealtimes, nap times and personal care provide children with a sense of safety and security. Childminders recognise these daily routines offer time to connect with children and support their growth and development.

Childminders work closely with families and, when appropriate, children to administer medication safely.

Childminders are committed to the safety of all children and ensure their care and support approaches align with current best practice, guidance and policy.

‘Weak’ nurturing care

Responses to children's verbal and nonverbal communication is inappropriate. The rushed nature of interactions can lead to a tone and manner that conflicts with children's needs. This often results in children not seeking comfort or support from the childminder, compromising their wellbeing.

A rigid approach to daily routines limits children's opportunities to build confidence and grow through their own experiences.  Children are not actively involved in planning routines or the experiences offered, and their preferences and needs are often overlooked.

Food choices are not healthy.  Meals and snacks are not planned in line with current nutritional guidance. There is limited understanding of children’s individual cultural and dietary needs, making it challenging to keep them safe and respected.

When meals or snacks are provided, there is little involvement of children in the planning or preparation. Childminders are busy during mealtimes and do not have time to sit with children to supervise them or enhance the mealtime experience.

Children’s access to water is limited. Childminders fail to recognise signs indicating a child might need a drink of water. They do not understand the importance of supporting children to stay hydrated.

‘Very good’ personal planning

Children’s wellbeing is supported through effective personal planning. All children, regardless of their personal characteristics, are recognised as capable individuals who are listened to, valued and respected. Personal plans promote children’s rights and value the individuality of each child and their family.

Personal plans are tailored to each child's individual strengths, needs and interests. Achievable goals are set, and childminders regularly review progress to ensure plans are suitable and effective. Children and their families are meaningfully and sensitively involved in their plan.

Childminders work proactively with children, families and other professionals to identify support needs and have clear strategies in place to ensure that children’s wellbeing is sustained. When a child requires support from multiple agencies, other professionals contribute to children’s personal plans. Each child's personal plan is achievable, adaptable and includes strategies for care, learning, support and protection, as necessary.

Approaches to personal planning considers best practice guidelines and is grounded in the Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) framework, utilising wellbeing indicators to assess and plan for children's overall wellbeing. The indicators provide a common language for assessing and discussing children's strengths, needs and progress with families and other professionals.

A child-centred approach guides strategies for transitions. Childminders place children and families at the heart of any decision-making process. This includes when a child starts in the service or moves between services. Key information to support continuity and progression in a child’s care, support and/or learning is shared appropriately, securely and in good time. Childminders use well-planned and flexible approaches to enable children to feel safe and secure with any changes. 

‘Weak’ personal planning

Personal plans are not individualised or meaningful and do not effectively meet the needs of each child. Children requiring additional support, whether short or long term, are not receiving adequate care. This has the potential to adversely impact children’s development.  

Childminders place an overemphasis on what children cannot do and have limited consideration of their strengths and interests, leading to unrealistic and ineffective goals and strategies of support.

Opportunities to work collaboratively with other professionals to achieve positive outcomes for children are missed. When childminders do collaborate, they do not effectively share information, update children's written plans or improve their care. This adversely impacts on the consistency and quality of care and support provided.

Personal plans do not comply with national guidance or legislation. Childminders do not have opportunities to reflect on personal plans to help develop interactions, experiences and spaces to meet children’s needs. This means opportunities to make children feel comfortable, safe and appropriately challenged are missed.

Approaches to transition do not consider the needs and views of individual children and families. This means key information to help planning for any changes to care, play and routines are missed, resulting in distress and/or a sense of insecurity for some children.

Childminders do not include the voices of children and families. This means their views have not been valued or used to plan for children. This contributes to a lack of continuity and consistency in children’s care and support.

Serious inconsistencies in information sharing and record-keeping have put children's safety at risk. Childminders do not always have the information or knowledge needed to keep children safe, nurtured and supported. This has resulted in oversights, such as frequent errors in the timing or dosage of medication administration, jeopardising children's wellbeing.

‘Very good’ connections with families

Childminders know their children and families very well. They strive to create a warm and welcoming environment where children and families feel valued and supported. The care they provide children is deeply influenced by the insights gained from their family. This supports them to create spaces which are culturally sensitive, accessible and inclusive for all.

Connections with families increase their engagement in the service, positively impacting the quality of children's experiences. Childminders recognise, learn from, and build upon the strengths that families bring, while sensitively responding to individual needs and circumstances. This collaborative approach allows them to learn from families, share insights on their child’s development, and ensure their care remains responsive to children's unique needs.

Families have regular opportunities to informally and formally discuss their children's care, development and where applicable their child's learning. Childminders have systems in place to support regular communication with families, both verbally and in writing. They recognise and address many of the potential barriers that can make it difficult for families to be involved in their child’s experiences. 

Childminders understand that each child's development is shaped by their family, friends, community and experiences. They warmly welcome families into their home to share in their child's experiences and encourage updates about children's hobbies and interests. This impacts positively on the quality of children’s care and support, both at home and when in the care of the childminder.

‘Weak’ connections with families

Engagement with families is not planned or purposeful. As a result, there is little evidence of the impact on, or benefits to, children’s care or development.

Consultations with families fail to gather their views on what matters to them or their children. The childminder rarely provides follow up responses to requests for further information. As a result, many families feel unheard.

Childminders place little value on building trusting relationships with families to improve children’s wellbeing. Early opportunities to respond effectively to the needs of children and families are missed. This means that families are not always understood and treated with dignity and respect. Families tell childminders they do not feel welcome in their service.

Childminders have limited understanding of the strengths and knowledge that families can contribute. There are no opportunities for families to engage in shared care or play experiences with their child and the childminder.  This contributes to children feeling unsettled and can restrict their experiences.

There is a lack of quality feedback given to families across all aspects of their child’s care and support. Childminders avoid informal interactions with their families during key times such as, drop-off and pick-up of children. Opportunities for regular information exchanges are limited. By not actively seeking to build strong relationships with children’s families, they miss opportunities to keep children safe and to enhance their care and/or learning experiences.

The following challenge questions can support your self-evaluation:

• What best practices, theories and guidance underpin my care and support of children?
• How do my observations and knowledge of a child influence the routine of the day?
• Does my approach to transitions help children to feel safe and secure? How do I know my approach is effective?
• What systems, processes and approaches do I have in place to keep children safe? How do I know they are effective?
• How do I ensure the voices of all children, both verbal and nonverbal, are heard and responded to?
• What are my approached to ensuring inclusion, equity and the celebration of diversity?
• How well do I understand and champion the rights of care experienced children and families?
• What do I do to promote sociable and healthy eating experiences?
• In what ways do I communicate with children, families and/or partner professionals to jointly plan children’s care and support? 
• When children and their families arrive at my home, how do I know they feel welcomed?