What's inside the Book?
Section 5. Keeping Effective Records
Childminders need to keep a wide range of records. In Section 5 of Registered Childminding - The Secrets of Success we explain what to include in contracts, attendance records, permission forms and accident records - all complete with example documents.
Contents
- Planning Numbers
- Attendance Register
- Contracts
- Contract Review
- Retainer Fee
- Deposit
- Annual Holidays
- School Holiday Retainers
- Payment
- Termination of Contract
- Second Child Discounts
- Disputing Contracts
- Record of Information
- Outings & Transport Permission Form
- Administration of Non Prescription Medicines Permission
- Permission for Emergency Treatment
- Permission Form for use of Photographs
- Keeping a Diary
- Accident and Incident Records
- Existing Injuries Records
- Administration of Medicines/Treatment
- Correspondence
- Organising your Office
Quotes from this chapter:
Childminding Permission Forms
Permission forms are a means of ensuring your practice is approved of by parents, protecting yourself should there be an accident, and to comply with legislation and regulations. When producing permission forms common sense should be applied. Parents will not wish to sign vast numbers of forms and only those most relevant or required by your regulator are required.
Forms can be written in several ways. They can be added to the bottom of a contract or child record form and the text included "In signing this contract you give permission for...". They can also be written as a separate form, either as optional statements "I do/do not give permission for..." or as on the contract, that in signing the form parents give permission. They can be combined in a document with boxes to tick or initial to indicate a parent is in agreement and a signature and date for the document as a whole. Some permissions can be amalgamated in policy documents which parents sign to signify approval. For example, outings to the park will include the use of the swings and slide. Some example permission forms are included in the following text.
Attendance Register
An attendance register is a requirement of most regulatory bodies, including Ofsted, and needs to record the actual times a child is present, not the times they are booked in for. This is important so that if you have to check back in your records for what time a child was picked up, you have the actual time not the one they were booked for. Remember a parent still pays for the hours they have booked (contracted hours) even if they pick their child up half an hour early.
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