Childminding quality indicators: Staff skills, knowledge, values and deployment
Staff skills, knowledge, values and staff deployment is a 'leadership' quality indicator. There are illustrations of practice and challenge questions below. These can help you to evaluate your current practices and identify areas for growth.
Illustrations of staff skills, knowledge, values and deployment are also available for early learning and childcare and school age childcare.
Themes for staff skills, knowledge, values and deployment
The themes for this quality indicator are:
- staff skills, knowledge and values
- staff deployment
About this quality indicator
This indicator focuses on the ability of the childminder to build strong relationships with children, families and assistants, when applicable. It highlights the importance of skilled interactions to promote children’s confidence and to have a positive influence on their lives as they develop and learn.
Professional learning and development is promoted through training and reflective practice. This is well planned and linked directly to enhanced outcomes for children, their individual needs, and the service improvement plan. A positive, compassionate and responsive culture where children thrive should be evident.
It focuses on childminders making informed decisions about how to effectively use their own time and resources, and, where applicable, those of assistants. This highlights the importance of these decisions on the quality of children's overall experiences and outcomes. It recognises the need for responsive deployment to meet children’s needs across the day.
'Very good' skills, knowledge and values
Childminders have a clear understanding of how children develop and learn. They have high aspirations for children's achievements. Children benefit from high-quality care as the childminder’s practice reflects current best practice documents and guidance materials. They make good use of professional development opportunities that link directly to enhanced outcomes for children, their own individual learning needs and their improvement plan.
Childminders use a variety of sources to shape their skills, knowledge and values. These include professional reading of best practice guidelines, national and local policies, and underpinning legislation. They also refer to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the Health and Social Care Standards.
A wide range of opportunities is available for childminders to hold professional discussions, and they use these to inform practice. They are highly reflective in their practice and engage in professional discussion to build knowledge and effectiveness. Shared values with assistants and partners guide their work and result in improved outcomes for children.
Childminders maintain effective records of the impact of their learning and development. They can talk with confidence about the difference this has made to experiences and outcomes for children. Celebrating success and learning from mistakes is integral to a culture of openness.
'Weak' skills, knowledge and values
The quality of outcomes and experiences for children and families is negatively impacted as the childminder fails to engage in professional learning to improve their practice. Where learning needs are identified, these are not fully taken forward. This results in gaps in professional knowledge and skills, which impacts negatively on the quality of children’s experiences.
There is an absence of professional discussion to support children’s development and learning. As a result, children do not benefit from high-quality care based on the latest best practice and guidance.
'Very good' staff deployment
The approach to deployment ensures children experience responsive care that meets their needs. Arrangements are in place to promote continuity of care across the day and ensure positive transitions and communication with families.
Children are kept safe and are effectively supervised by childminders and their assistant, should they have one. This is well-considered when children are moving between the childminder’s home and another setting or educational establishment. This supports children to feel confident and secure when in the childminder’s care.
When an assistant is employed, the childminder supports the sharing of skills and knowledge to ensure they and the assistant are working well together.
'Weak' staff deployment
The approach taken by childminders to keep children safe and effectively supervised does not support children to feel confident and secure. Gaps in supervision and opportunities to improve are missed. The lack of reflective practice, and ineffective deployment, significantly compromises the quality of experiences and outcomes for children. This has the potential to lead to harm to children.
Arrangements for busier times of the day, such as mealtimes and transitions to and from the home, are ineffective in ensuring that childminders can fully meet children’s needs. Activities become task-oriented rather than opportunities for high-quality engagement and interaction. Children’s routines and experiences are disrupted due to poorly managed arrangements for planned transitions.
The following challenge questions can support your self-evaluation:
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How do I use self-evaluation to ensure that I have all the appropriate knowledge and skills to support children to be the best that they can be?
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How well does professional learning impact positively on outcomes for children and in what ways?
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How do I build on individual skills and interests which lead to improvements for children?
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How do I ensure I reflect on my practice and service to enhance outcomes for children?
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How do I ensure I am in the right place at the right time to support all children in my care?
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How do I ensure continuity of care for children throughout their day?
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How do I consider my own wellbeing and the wellbeing of my assistants, if applicable, to ensure my service provides safe, high-quality care and the best outcomes for children?
