Policies and procedures
The Early Years Foundation Stage welfare
requirements state that providers of childcare for children aged
0-5 in England should have clear policies and procedures
for safeguarding children and ensuring that every child reaches
their full potential.
A policy is a written
statement about how you will work in one area of your practice
A procedure is the actions
you will take to carry out the policy
NCMA has produced a series of
sample policy and procedure documents which you can refer to
for ideas when writing your own. These are only available to NCMA
members and can be found in My NCMA.
The sample policies have been written to meet
the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
for childminders in England. Most of the policies also meet the
requirements of the national minimum standards for childminders in
Wales.
Childminders are not required under the EYFS
to make written copies of policies and procedures available.
However it is recommended good practice for all home based
childcarers to have written policies, and to give copies of these
to parents and carers.
It is important that you take time to go
through these policies with parents and carers during settling-in
visits, rather than assuming that they will have the time or the
inclination to read them at home.
NCMA provides a range of sample policies for members to edit and
adapt to their own settings.