FAQ

These are some questions that we've been asked recently. If you do have anything you want to ask or are unsure about, please do get in touch.

• What is the daily routine? What sort of activities do you do? Do you go on days out?

Generally, we start our day with breakfast once all the children have arrived, followed by circle time and then a morning snack. Next,  we try to get outside, whether this is for a local walk or a play in the garden, then back inside to wash our hands and get ready for lunch. After lunch it's nap time for the younger ones, and anyone not sleeping gets to choose whatever they want to play with. Depending on the children we have in on the day and their personal routines, we may switch it to have nap time in the morning and outside play in the afternoon. We have a theme each month and activities are mainly based around the theme (have a look at my Facebook page Alison Wicks childminding for examples). Over the course of the month we try to make sure we fit in some cookery, some gardening, some ICT and some art and music along with our literacy and numeracy. About once a month we try to have an adventure day where we go on a day trip related to our theme. We have recently been on trips to Caldicot Castle and Caerleon's Roman Amphitheater amongst others. 

• Food - Is it provided or do we need to bring some? What type of food?

All food is provided, unless your child has specific dietary needs or you want them to have pre-prepared baby food or formula/breast milk. We are a healthy eating setting and most food is home cooked, we try to use produce from the garden or seasonal produce where possible and the children are encouraged to take part in preparing and serving meals wherever possible. (We do have some naughty treats sometimes!) Children have access to water all day (and milk if they want.) For very little ones, we are happy to follow traditional or baby led weaning, but this is something to discuss before little one starts as all children and parents are different. For examples of the menu please have a look at the menu pages. (A menu is also included in the initial parent welcome pack.)   

• Payments - how do I pay and how often?

Payments are made by BACS in advance and you can choose if you would prefer to be invoiced and pay weekly, fortnitely or monthly. We are signed up for the tax free childcare scheme through HMRC and will soon also be able to offer the free childcare for 3 and 4 year olds. We can chat about this on your initial visit.

• What age children do you look after? How many a day?

We are happy to look after children from 0-5 years of age. The setting itself is registered for 9 children, and each childminder can have no more than six children under 8, of those six children, no more than three may be under the age of 5 and only one may be under 1 year old. We have 3 childminders in the setting but we do have to take our ratios into account when accepting new children. The amount of children we mind varies during the day and from day to day and month to month, but will always be within the CIW guidelines, and our own assessment of how many children we can have together after meeting them and assessing them. 

• Annual leave days - for both of us?

Under the terms of the contract we ask that you give us 4 weeks notice for days off and we will do the same. If we have any holidays coming up we will tell you at our initial meeting, but we do not tend to stick to set holiday weeks, we just aim to take time off during quiet periods. Unfortunately we cannot offer you alternative childcare if we have to close unexpectedly. 

• Availability during school holidays?

We do mind during the school holidays and our long term mindees will be our priority bookings during this time, and again we ask that you give us at least 4 weeks notice if you want to drop/ add days during this time, but if you can tell us sooner that is even better.

• What kind of equipment do you have (high chair/ car seats/ buggy)?

We currently have 6 high chairs, a buggy, 2 double buggies, 2 travel cots and a range of car seats for different ages which are all strapped into our 9 seater van which we use for trips, we also have business insurance on our personal vehicles. They have all been checked and passed as child safe by CIW.

• Do you have a sickness policy/ late policy?

All my policies are on the website under the heading 'Our Policies'. The sickness policy is called 'Exclusion Due to Illness'. The procedure for late collected children is called the 'Lost/ Missing and Not Collected Child Procedure'.

• What happens if my child needs a nap?

We have a dedicated room with a travel cot and baby monitor for naps for little ones, older ones tend to cwtch up on the sofa with a blanket and cushion if they get tired. If a child needs to go to sleep we will encourage them to settle down with some quiet time and a cuddle for younger ones (other children permitting!), and although we have preferred nap times, we would never deny a child a nap if they need it, nor would we force a child to sleep when they're not tired.