As we enter autumn here at KiddyKare we thought we would pick out our favourite autumn activities to do with children. Now everyone is getting back into a normal routine, some easy activities will be a nice way to keep the little ones busy and all these activities can all be done after a lovely autumn run around the park!

Some autumn Playdough

A great activity for children to use all their senses and a lot of imagination!

AMAZING Pumpkin Spice Play Dough

A leaf garland

Autumn decorations can be nice to give a warm cosy feel, start with creating your very own leaf garland.

Autumn Leaf Spin Art Garland

A leaf head dress

We all known children love role play, what is better than creating your own headdress to go with your imagined activity?

Easy paper bark nature crown for kids

A leaf suncatcher

These will look lovely with the autumn run shining right through them on the window, plus looking through one will make a grey day look beautiful.

https://www.fantasticfunandlearning.com/fall-craft-for-toddlers-and-preschoolers-leaf-sun-catcher.html

We hope you all love trying out our favourite autumn activities! Please do send us some pictures of your creations to team@kiddykare.co.uk or share with us on social media, as we would love to see what you come up with!

Love, The KiddyKare team

A guide to a DBS check and the update service

December 22, 2020

What is a DBS check?

For those of you that are not familiar with a DBS check it is an abbreviation for the Disclosure and Barring Service. It helps companies make safer recruitment decisions by providing a background check on anyone who applies. These background checks can come from local or national police stations, there are also many different checks dependant on the role you have applied for.

Such as a basic check, a standard check or an enhanced check.

How long will it take?

DBS checks can take any amount of time, so people will receive them faster than others. However, they do generally say between 4 – 8 weeks, things like having multiple different address locations or a mistake on a form could delay your DBS. So, it’s best to double check these things when applying.

Who needs a DBS check?

There are many professions that require a DBS check such as educational staff, healthcare professionals or a job role that requires you to enter the home of a member of the public such as pest control or even a taxi driver.

A lot of people think it is only something required by people who work within education; however, this is not true. Everyone who is working within many different sectors should always have DBS checks in mind when applying for new roles.

How much do they cost?

The DBS check price depends on what DBS check the job you are applying for requires however you should be able to gain information on the price before going ahead with the check.

The Update service and what it provides

Working with the educational sector we get asked a lot of questions about the update service and how it works.

The DBS update service is a new service which provides applications and employees to view the DBS certificate. This service is required by a lot of employers now so that they can keep up to date with staffs DBS checks. It costs £13 a year and saves you applying for a new DBS check every 3 years. However, you do need to sign up for this service within 30 days of your certificate being issued to you.

We hope we have helped outline a DBS check and given you a little more information on the system. If you do have any further questions, please do not hesitate to get in contact with us at the Kiddykare office on 01628 675 828.

You can also visit https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/disclosure-and-barring-service for more information.

Time sheet top tips for a KiddyKare temporary worker

December 22, 2020

Here at KiddyKare we know how hard our team of temporary staff work, so we thought we would provide you with our timesheet top tips. These are the main tips we would get you to follow to ensure you are paid correctly and on time. After all, no one wants to have to worry about getting paid.

1. Please make sure you provide your full name; it is very hard to trace the time sheet back to you if you don’t. So please make sure you have written your name clearly, as we would love to pay you on time, just as much as I’m sure you would love to be paid.

2. Double check the hours you have worked, we have a lot of people send over time sheets with less or more hours than they have worked. So, making sure this is correct is best for both you and us.

3. Making sure the picture you send in is clear, close enough so we can see all details with nothing cropped off. Keeping your time sheet clean and flat, so it isn’t crumpled, and we are able to read it.

The ideal way for us to receive a time sheet is:

Non blurry
At an angle at which we can read everything
Nothing on top of the time sheet
Not crinkled or dirty
All details to be visible and easy to read

We hope these top tips help and make sending over your time sheets easy, we look forward to receiving them.

The KiddyKare team

Recruiting through the pandemic

December 9, 2020

As we are all aware the pandemic has made recruitment for new staff members difficult. With the rules changing daily and different areas having different levels of restrictions it can get confusing.

KiddyKare know how important it is to follow a correct, safe recruitment process. This to ensure all the relevant checks are completed, KiddyKare thought it would be helpful to outline the procedures we follow to ensure a safe recruitment process.

KiddyKare’s recruitment step by step:

Interviews

Interviewing candidates right now is challenging however there are different processes you can follow to make this COVID-19 safe.

Telephone interviews are a normal first stage for many companies but are becoming more common due to the pandemic. This helps you gain more information about the candidate to see if they are the right fit for the role before proceeding further.

A video chat works well as a next stage interview. You can use this to get to know the candidate in more depth and answer any questions they might have. A lot of educational settings are used to being able to see the candidates in action, however during the pandemic this may not be possible for all. Creating a task for the candidate to complete prior to the video call or ensuring you have more robust interview questions in place will help provide the information you would gain from seeing them in action.

Right to work

The right to work document checking process has been updated to allow remote document checking until we can check the original documents. Once original documents can be seen this must be done as soon as possible. We are still required to check the right to work documents, if you are unsure on the documents candidates need to provide please do use the link below where you can check these.

Please do refer to the below link to see the list of documents require for a right to work check:

Right to work checklist – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Please do refer to the link below for more information on the right to work changes:

Coronavirus (COVID-19): right to work checks – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

DBS check

The DBS process is mostly completed online by both parties; however, we would normally check the candidate’s documents face to face. Some changes have been made to allow companies in urgent cases to virtually check the candidates documents via video call.

Please do refer to the link below for more information on the DBS check changes:

COVID-19: Changes to DBS ID checking guidelines – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

References

Gaining the candidates references virtually is a normal recruitment process however due to the current situation people could be working part time or on furlough. This could make gaining candidates references a longer process, however most business will have a secondary contact in place if an employee is not currently working.

World Book Day

March 4, 2020

As world book day (5th March 2020) is fast approaching, it is a lovely way to celebrate reading and understanding all the benefits that come along with it. Here at KiddyKare we strongly believe that reading and sharing books together is such a great way for children to learn.

So, whether that’s looking at pictures, listening to an audio or beginning to read some of the words within the book; It all makes a big impact on the development of children, but also helps to create a great bond between children and their familiar adults. Whether its within their home life or during their nursery routine, it can also be used as a great comfort and a chance to form social bonds.

Books can be a great aid to help children learn an array of other things such as emotions, noises/sounds, expressions and much more!

Some great ideas to improve your story times could be:

Using Puppets alongside your chosen story – These can be used to recreate characters within the story, learn familiar words and phrases as well as to explore emotions of characters and how they may be feeling in situations.
Props – Such as a water spray for when you talk about water or visual aids to help tell the story. It is great for children with EAL or who like to explore sensory items to concentrate for a longer period.
Creating sensory trays – Bring a story to life, using props to create scenes that have been happening with the story. Then when you read the story alongside this, it can help the children to experience the story first-hand.
Creating themed areas within your house/nursery to mirror the story. You could then act out the story whilst you read it, or older children could try and remember the story themselves.

So, whatever you do for world book day, whether you are dressing up as your favourite character within your nursery/school setting or spending time with your children reading their favourite book. We do hope you have the best day and get to enjoy reading!

Returning to work after having your children

February 25, 2020

When it comes to returning to work after having children, I’m sure you have your questions about how it’s going to work, and that’s perfectly normal. We have parents calling us all the time, trying to juggle the work and childcare balance. So here at Kiddykare we decided to write this blog post to answer some of those questions, but to also let you know that you’re not alone.

When is the best time to return to work?

I think this question has a different answer for everyone. There will never be a time when it will be an easy transition with no hiccups, however, on this one, trust your instinct. Maybe you had a planned amount of time you were going to take off, but that doesn’t work for you anymore; or maybe you want to go back to work sooner than you thought, that’s ok too.

Here at KiddyKare we believe that if you’ve made the right decision for you, there is nothing to worry about.

So, now you’ve decided to return to work; what about childcare?

This is one of the key decisions you must make when returning to work. Should I use a Nursery, a childminder, a family member or a nanny? There are so many options that it can get a little overwhelming. After talking with lots of parents, the top three things you need to do appear to us to be;

1. Explore every option

Weigh up the pro’s and con’s of each option, and then pick the option you feel most happy and comfortable with.

2. Start to think about this sooner rather than later

Whatever you do, don’t leave it until the last minute. As most childcare options get booked up fast, we wouldn’t want you to miss out of your favourite one. This could also help to make it a far less stressful experience.

3. Be sure to have a back-up plan

Have a plan B just in case your chosen option one doesn’t work out for you. We really wouldn’t want you to be left with any option at all.

Next, let’s sort out your work life.

We want to keep the transition as smooth as possible, but also as exciting as possible. We know you’ll miss spending everyday with your child/children but just think how much fun they’ll be having, experiencing new things with their new friends every day.

To make this transition as smooth as possible, we suggest having trial days with your childcare option of choice before you start back to work. This makes it less stressful for you, as by the time you start work, you are happy that your child is settled and happy.

You will also need to think about the hours you’re able to work. You may even be you’re able to work shorter days, or work from home occasionally. Luckily for everyone, the UK is becoming more positive about providing flexible working patterns for people who sometimes need the flexibility in their working week. Also, don’t forget to check out funding options and childcare vouchers that you may be eligible for to help with monthly costs.

Once you’ve sorted out your work pattern and settled with your new childcare option, it’s time to start work. This is probably the scariest part, what if you’ve forgotten everything you ever knew? What if you don’t know anyone anymore? Don’t worry. All these things come with time. Give it a couple of weeks and you’ll be back into the swing of things. Alongside a couple of other new colleagues who were probably feeling the same as you.

Lastly, let’s make sure to keep a good work/life balance.

Remember the first couple of months may be hard while you try to create a schedule and there will be a bit of trial and error. However, once you’ve got into the rhythm of it, you’ll be back into the swing of family time on the weekends. Just remember that doesn’t always have to mean busy days out. Your children will appreciate time with you, whether that’s a day trip to the seaside or a walk around the local park.

Also, please remember that if you ever need any help finding your perfect role, just give us a call on 01628675828. We are always here to help with friendly advice or just a quick chat.

How to make a good impression as a Temporary Nursery Nurse or Assistant

February 25, 2020

A temporary role doesn’t have to remain temporary for ever. Starting as a temporary nursery assistant will allow you prove yourself to the nurseries and may well turn into a permanent role within your favourite setting.

That is why at KiddyKare, we encourage all of our temporary staff to use their daily nursery experience to learn as much as they can whilst working, because the best place to gain real experience and expertise is in a real-world environment.

We pride ourselves on the temporary team we have here at KiddyKare. They may work flexible days and hours but that does not stop them from being the flexible, reliable, helpful and strong members of staff that every nursery team needs.

Ultimately, whether you would like a permanent role or not, it’s still always nice to be remembered as a happy and helpful team member, and the positive impact you made. You never know, you may need that recommendation or reference soon.

So, here are Kiddykare’s top tips for becoming a great Nursery worker:

1. Prepare

The day before you start, make sure you know where the nursery is, how long it will take you to get there. and the route you’ll take. Even looking at things like parking spaces or the closest train station can help you out massively during the morning rush and its one less thing to worry about.

2. Be on-time

Try your hardest to be on time: we all know that sometimes the unlucky traffic jam can make it very hard however time keeping makes a very good impression- Especially in a very busy nursery setting.

3. Keep a positive attitude

We all have bad days, and once people know you, they’ll be able to differentiate between those days. However, when you’re making a first impression with a new nursery team or trying to support a busy nursery team, it’s best to remain positive and helpful in all situations no matter how stressful they may be. The best thing they could receive is a friendly, smiley and positive temporary nursery assistant.

4. Always ask Questions and use your initiative

For us this is top priority, doing things before someone has to ask, is a godsend. Some days you just don’t have five minutes to ask someone to do something, so if you’re able to use initiative before being asked that’s great.

5. Two ears – one mouth: Listen, and take on any feedback you receive in a positive manner. Don’t be offended if someone asks you to do something differently next time; it just means that next time you’ll get it right. Improve on the first time and that will make you look great. So, take on board any feedback and put it straight into practice.

6. Above all, enjoy yourself. Doing something a job you enjoy is very rewarding, so in addition to all our other tips, make sure you enjoy yourself and make your working day a positive experience.

Beat the January blues

January 23, 2020

Yet again another year has flown by. So we thought it would be nice to look at how we can make the most out of a new one.

2020 is here and 2019 feels like it was light-years ago. I don’t know about you, but I always feel like that and once we get into a new year by the time you know it, it’s over. Just like that, in a flash it’s a new year, with new challenges and opportunities.

We all know January is not anyone’s favourite month. Normally for me it’s the month I begin by being very proactive and end with ‘I’ll try that again in February’. I don’t know if you feel the same but after the low of Christmas passing by, the long wait until your next payday and the new year diet, it just becomes the slowest month of the year.

However, this year in the Kiddykare office we are going to try and start the year as we mean to go on. Using our fresh start to take up new challenges, learn new things and try something we wouldn’t have done in 2019.

We would also like to help you, whether you’re new to childcare or someone with many years of experience. We would love to help you find your next challenge in life, to start your new year with a bang.

Kiddykare’s top new year tips

Start with small goals – Keep realistic and make goals you can achieve in certain timescale.
Make yourself a plan – Decide and outline your tasks and how you will overcome any challenge that may arise.
Make the leap – Take a chance, be confident in yourself, keep trying and don’t give up.

Lastly, we would like to give you our new year cv tips, to help you stand out from the crowd and secure your new year challenge.

Kiddykare’s CV tips

Spelling – Always use spell check before submitting anything, even the best, make mistakes sometimes.
Keep it simple e.g. no textboxes – Make sure your cv is clear, simple and professional.
Contact details are a must – This is so important to include so that people can contact you immediately, rather than having to hunt for your details or for you to miss out on the opportunity because you can’t be contacted.
Dates of employment ordered chronologically – This is very important; it helps set out your career history and makes sure your employment history is fully covered.
Small snappy personal statement – Make sure you sell yourself and include something about you personally to make you more memorable to recruiters or employers.

We hope to hear from you about your new year challenge,

The Kiddykare Team

A day in the life of a nursery worker

March 22, 2018

children in nursery copying actions of nursery nurse

I turn up to my shift at 7:30 knowing what time to start as my manager has put up the staff shifts for the week on the previous Friday and let us all know.

I go up to the Baby Room where I am in charge and I greet all my staff members with smiles asking them how they are, I go on to let them know their morning duties working with them we begin to set the room up, choosing different toys to stimulate the children including mathematical, physical and creative as well as imaginative.

The parents start bringing the babies in and we greet them asking how their children are, some babies come over with big smiles whilst others are slightly sensitive and need more comfort, luckily we have a key carer system and all babies have settling in sessions before starting full time so already have made a relationship with their carer.

I already have all the children’s information recorded so I am aware of their likes and dislikes which makes it easier to comfort them and I make sure for every child who comes in upset I get out something they enjoy doing and have comforters at the ready!!

As the day goes on we each do group activities with the children, teaching them through play and recording what they do on observation sheets, this is a simple paragraph on what the child did whilst exploring the toys and a photo taken on the nursery camera and I am responsible for my key children’s observations.

Each baby has a separate routine and I ensure I know my key child when they start knowing what time they go to sleep and how they have their food/bottle this makes it easier for me and when its bedtime I go off with them in to our sleep room, get their stuff out of their baskets and rock or pat them to sleep.

At 12:30 the children have their lunch and I start to send the staff on theirs, they go in to the staff room and all have a good chit chat about their day and weekend, all the staff get along and we are lucky enough to meet up outside of work so have lots to talk about!!

The afternoon is filled with lots of play and messy activities and a trip to the garden, time flies by as we are all having fun and before we know It it’s time for tea!!

The parents start to arrive from 5pm and I feed back to my key children’s parents telling them how their child has been and what they have been up to during the day.

6pm comes and it’s time to tidy up and go home and relax until tomorrow!!

Flexibility

Gaining Experience

Benefits

A foot in the door

Meeting a range of people within your work field

Freedom