Dedicated childminder Charlotte, who has a BA (Hons) in early years and a BTEC National Diploma in childhood studies, is currently caring for children from five different families who have a range of needs, including complex SEND and English as an additional language.
She understands the developmental and emotional impact that the Covid pandemic has had on her current cohort of children and works hard to improve outcomes for them using her robust knowledge of child development and how children learn. During lockdowns, she provided daily Zoom sessions and delivered weekly boxes of resources and activities tailored to each child. To counteract the effects of long periods spent at home, Charlotte now consciously provides opportunities for the children in her care to socialise with others, be in larger groups and experience trips and different environments outside of the home.
Her curriculum includes a special focus on helping her minded children to grow and develop into kind and caring citizens of the world. She supports them to understand more about their wider community and instil a love of nature, including how to respect and care for the planet.
Charlotte has undertaken further training to support a child with complex physical and learning disabilities and rearranged her home to accommodate the additional equipment needed to support her. The parent of the child with complex needs says, ‘Charlotte has been nothing but supportive and encouraging to help my daughter achieve her potential. She has worked tirelessly to ensure that P is included in all activities and that the other children in the setting understand and work with her limitations, while also understanding and celebrating her skills. I truly believe that this not only helps P achieve her full potential, but also is important in educating the other children about disability and inclusivity.’
Charlotte’s ongoing support for this child includes helping the family to navigate through funding and assessment forms and providing respite care, enabling the sole parent to have some much-needed ‘me time’. She is invested in supporting all of her families by engaging in parents’ concerns and offering practical suggestions where appropriate or simply being an emotional sounding board.
Judges commented on how Charlotte has ‘obviously provided significant support for families through Covid and in particular for P and family, fighting to get an EHCP and offering emotional as well as practical support for P’s parent’.
In what can be a lonely career, Charlotte is proactive in making links with other local childminders and gives them support. One colleague comments how listening to Charlotte read stories changed the way that she now reads to her own minded children.
Charlotte’s nominator for the award said, ‘Charlotte does good just by being in a room with other childminders and children. Her practice is exemplary – if it were possible to bottle it, I would! She is a perfect example of the amazing learning environment that a highly skilled and dedicated childminder can provide. She deserves to win this award, not just because of her dedication to the role and her families, but also because she should be celebrated and held up as an example of the amazing work childminders can do.’
FINALISTS
• Kimberley Forteath, Little Sunbeams Childminding Service – Guisborough
• Debra Meakin, Cheeky Cherubs Childcare – Leicestershire
CRITERION
Open to registered childminders.
