Samantha Jones - Childminder in Didsbury

General information

Hi,

My name is Samantha Jones. I am 30 and I live with my husband and my son. My house is near Kingsway on the boarders of Didsbury/Burnage/Withington. I have spent 4 years working as a primary school teacher in Trafford and have run my childminding business from home for over a year now.

I completed my childminder training course with Manchester Council's quality assurance team and have had them visit and quality check my provision. I am Ofsted registered, first aid and safeguarding trained.

What can you expect from me?

• I am interested in early years childhood development and the role of play. I enjoy looking at research and keeping up-to-date by reading books and attending training courses. I use this information to help me provide fun and stimulating play and learning experiences for children in my care.

• I love to have fun; creative, imaginative, silly, fun. I put a lot of effort into making my home a safe and stimulating place for children to play and learn – but this is all background work. I am not wishing to run a nursery, my home is first and foremost a home and my main priority is that the children I care for enjoy spending time here with me. The atmosphere is fun, relaxed and informal, but with my interest and experience in early years development I know that I can also do a great job of supporting the children to learn and grow.

• I am very creative. I like looking online for new ideas for activities to do with children. I love it when I can capture their imaginations and get them really involved in an activity. I follow a child-centred approach where activities are planned bases on the needs and interests of the children I am caring for.

• I am a loving, understanding and patient person by nature. I have clear and realistic expectations of the children in my care. If they struggle with their behaviour, I remain calm, supportive and I help them to find ways to get themselves out of sticky situations. I always favour a positive approach and would never threaten or hurt a child; physically or emotionally. Please do not confuse a positive approach with being ‘soft’ – I have experience of caring for children with significant emotional and behavioural difficulties, for which I found fairness, consistency and positivity to be of paramount importance.

• I am flexible – I understand that being a working parent/carer is tricky and that things don’t always go to plan. Wherever possible, I aim to meet the needs of my customers and to help support them with their work life/family life balance. I work in partnership with parents/carers so that I can be responsible to the changing needs of their children. I understand that his can be hard for busy adults but I take the time to ensure that such relationships are maintained.

• I create an environment and experiences that are safe but still provide an element of challenge and risk in order that children grow to be confident to try new experiences whilst also knowing how to keep themselves safe.

• I value and teach the importance of a healthy lifestyle. This is reflected in the organisation of our daily routines and the meals that I prepare. However, I have no problem with the odd treat; a TV programme or a cake – particularly if the children have been involved in the baking. I aim to teach children about health and having a healthy balance.

My experience…

- Mother! I understand how important it is to find childcare that you are happy with and I know how hard it can be to leave your child in the care of another. I will always make myself available for informal chats, play dates and settling in sessions so that you and your child are entirely comfortable both in my home and with my care.

- Qualified primary school teacher (Grade: Distinction). I taught in Trafford for 4 years and have been childminding in my home for over a year.

- Experienced in teaching the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum. Having spent a large part of my teaching and training years in Reception I am very knowledgeable on the EYFS - the statutory document that pre-schools, nurseries, schools and childminders have to follow when looking after and teaching children aged 0-5. I have experience caring for multiple children at a time, both in a contained environment and while out and about on trips. I am confident in planning and delivering effective learning experiences. I am experienced in working with busy parents/carers to support their child’s developmental needs and I have a good understanding of how to prepare children for school/pre-school.

- Special Educational Needs and Disabilities: I have worked with a number of children with special educational needs. I have experience in teaching children with SEND, of developing and implementing personalised care and support plans, of managing challenging behaviours and of working in partnership with parents/carers, special needs coordinators, doctors, speech therapists and psychologists to help meet the needs of children with SEND. I have specific experience of working with children with autism, speech & language delay, emotional & behavioural difficulties, generalised developmental delay, hearing loss and dyslexia.

- English as an Additional Language: I have worked with children who come from a wide range of backgrounds and have had the pleasure of learning a few words in a variety of languages! I have experience that ranges from teaching children who have just arrived in the country with no English to those who have been brought up in the UK but live in bi or even tri-lingual households. A major part of my work here has been on developing non-verbal ways of communicating with children and on supporting parents to help their children learn English.

- First aid: I completed a 12 hour paediatric first aid training course (level 3) this February which has updated my previous training, it includes general first aid, CPR and dealing with choking. I will be renewing this every 3 years.

- Safeguarding: I have been trained in safeguarding with additional certification in online safeguarding. I took a course with Manchester Council's Children's Services team this February in order to update my safeguarding training. I am experienced in monitoring and recording safeguarding concerns. I have worked with parents, social workers and police in successfully managing safeguarding issues. Both myself and my husband have full enhanced DBS (was CRB) disclosures we are happy to share with parents/carers.

- Food Hygiene: I have a level 2 certificate which is in date.