What has it been like switching from nurseries to childminding?
I was 19 when I started and now have 26 years’ experience in early years, which includes working as a nanny, nursery practitioner, nursery manager, playscheme manager, and helping a close friend set up her own nursery. When my son started secondary school I wanted to be around for his formative years, and with nursery hours I couldn’t do that. So I set up Pebbles last summer and actually what I’m enjoying most about it is doing what I set out to do – care for children.
What is your new setting like?
I’ve developed a partnership as I’ve taken on a childminding assistant, Chloe. She is 24 and in four days a week. The other day she is at university doing a degree in early childhood studies. This is great for parents as they can immediately see she has a high level of commitment. Now with Pebbles I am able to apply all that I’ve learnt in my 26 years to a bespoke home-based setting. It’s opened my eyes to what an intimate service it provides to children and parents because of the low ratios.
How does it differ from working in a nursery?
Having studied child development and care throughout my career, including an extended trip to Reggio Emilia in Italy, I wanted to still be involved in current issues and go to conferences and support my own CPD. So connecting with my local childminding network Magic Minders has been invaluable. It has been a wonderful support and resource for me, offering training, drop-in groups, and also a parent matching service. And a vacancy co-ordinator sends emails to members with parent requests. Also, what I have found is that I have a lot of babies and am supporting mothers to return to work.
