Reviews of books by Childminders (reviewed by NCMA)

Trackers 0-5: Tracking Children's Progress through the Early Years Foundation Stage

by Colin Gallow

Review by Mary Jefferson-Cobb

With the onset of the EYFS standards from September 2008, childminders, like myself, are having to re-assess the way in which we record observations and planning for our children. At the present time, I am using my own sheets designed on my computer but this new Tracker 0-5 is a very impressive addition to any childminder’s portfolio of observation, progress and planning sheets. Aimed at anyone involved in early years childcare, it is split up into the six areas of learning and within each area there are specific Early Learning Goals that each child is now expected to achieve before the end of the academic year in which they reach their fifth birthday.

Each section comprises ‘Tracker’ observation pages. These each contain between 14 and 30 statements of developmental stages, skills, understanding or competence. The statements have been very carefully worded and as a result the ‘Trackers’ are easily filled in. As you complete the stages Tracker 0-5 helps you follow and identify individual achievements, allowing you to plan ahead towards the child’s developmental needs using the planning form at the end of each section. I find the format easy to work with and cannot envisage anyone having difficulty in filling out the very carefully prepared ‘Tracker’ pages.

I am extremely impressed with this publication and think it will be an excellent addition to my observation portfolio. I am intending to purchase a quantity of these and will use them alongside my existing system.

I rate this 10 out of 10

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Review by Sarah Jane Harrington

The premise of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is a lofty ideal; that every child, without exception, has the right to the best possible support for their learning and development. As no two children are the same, common sense decrees that an effective strategy must involve a degree of observation and assessment in order to provide the correct support.

Trackers 0-5 aims to provide a framework for tracking an individual child’s progress through the period from birth to the end of the academic year in which a child reaches their 5th birthday. Aimed at childcare professionals generally, there is an inclusiveness towards childminders which isn’t always evident in childcare books and a nicely-struck balance between providing clear, succinct information about the EYFS and a demonstration of the practical application.

The six Areas of Learning are identified, as are the concomitant Early Learning Goals which are used to measure development and other milestones for the childcare provider to look out for. The format is simple and easy to follow, uncomplicated tables to complete which combine the structure of checklists with "Comments" boxes for freeforming; a chance perhaps for more qualitative, reflective information.

More of a workbook than a manual, this publication is likely to appeal to childcare providers who are relatively inexperienced in carrying out structured observations or who feel they lack the knowledge or time to record progress as thoroughly as they would like to. Moreover, the way the text is laid out, with the necessity for contemporaneous note-keeping, provides documented evidence that an ongoing personalised and child-specific strategy is in place. While not enough on its own, childcarers aspiring to excellence in their field will find this useful as part of their wider plan for the development of the child and a useful tool for discussions with parents/carers.

A strong 9 out of 10

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An A-Z of Tricky Behaviours in the Early Years by Dr Hannah Mortimer

Review by Pat Tomlinson

The book is aimed at all childcarers. Parents and carers would also find it useful.

It follows on from the Behaviour Management in the Early Years (see review below) and gives tried and tested strategies for different unwanted behaviours. To fully understand why and how to use the strategies I feel you need to read the Behaviour Management book first.

It’s a good book to just dip into, find the behaviour you are concerned about and read how childcare practitioners tackled it. There are fifteen tricky behaviours. Two are in a childminding setting and thirteen are in a nursery setting. Some of the strategies required several staff members to be involved, but I’m sure the principles can be adapted to a childminding setting. I liked the book because it described the unwanted behaviour, how the childminder/staff worked out what to do, what they did and then why it worked. I like to know why a strategy works (or not), so this book met this need.

It’s an easy to follow book. The pen picture of the behaviour is in a box and the explanations are on two pages of the book (don’t have to turn the page). At the end of the book there’s a list of useful books for further reading. After reading this book, you may want to read further about different aspects of behaviour and this list points you in the right direction.
 
Score 9/10

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Behaviour Management in the Early Years by Dr Hannah Mortimer

Review by Pat Tomlinson
 
The book is aimed at people who work with children and it's useful for parents and carers. I found it was more relevant to nursery settings and strategy examples assume there are several staff members. However, I feel you can adapt the suggested planning to a childminder setting.

It's a useful book in that it looks at why children behave in different ways and why certain strategies are needed or are effective. I think it's good to know why a strategy works, so it can be adapted in different circumstances.

There are good ideas on changing behaviour and rewards. It promotes positive behaviour, explaining how and why. I liked the chapter that talked about what is "normal" behaviour at different ages/stages of development and looking at the behaviour objectively. There is also a chapter on supporting parents and carers, which can be difficult at times. It's really down to earth and would be helpful if you needed to talk to a parent about their child's unwanted behaviour. Wish I'd had this book to help me in the past.

The book is well set out in easy to read, relevant chapters. Each chapter is in small chunks. The introduction suggests you read it right through rather than dipping in. This is good advice and doesn't take long to read. I then went back to re-read bits that I found particularly interesting/relevant. There are no illustrations, but I don't feel the book needs it.
 
Score 9/10

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Listening to Children in their Early Years by Dr Hannah Mortimer with SureStart Stockton-on-Tees

Review by Caroline Marshall, Home-Based Childcare Practitioner (Childminder) and Childcare Tutor.

The book is written from a Sure Start centre perspective and aimed at all early year’s professionals. It is set out in a format that is clear and welcoming. The book can easily be read quickly and it has a clear aim of helping practitioners to see the world from a child’s view so that they can really develop a listening culture in their own setting. This process involves tuning in to a child and receiving, interpreting and responding to children’s communication.

The book is presented in an accessible format with clear illustrations and explains to the novice why we need to listen to children and explains what theory and legislation underpins this understanding. This is logically followed by many strategies, activities and techniques we can use to extend our listening and communication expertise.

The book shares lots of ideas for consulting with children and offering them choices, lots of information to reinforce our practice and reminders to help us focus on what we already do. The book gives examples of observations and methods demonstrating how one setting built up their listening culture.

The final 2 chapters show us some examples of good practice in this area which can serve as good reference points when assessing our own practice.

I think this book can be valuable to a childminder, offering up to date ideas and information to inspire good practice. Much of what is suggested can be applied easily in a very small setting. It may help home-based child carers to see the potential for excellence in a very small setting.

8 out of 10

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Trackers 0-3; Trackers 3-5; Playladders by Dr Hannah Mortimer

Review by Christine Greaves

These handy sized books are aimed at helping practitioners note observations made and recording skills achieved by the children. The text is in easy to follow language, clearly laid out and the books are extremely practical.

The books are suitable for all staff working with children in a variety of settings; including childminder, nurseries, crèches and parents. They are suitable for new or experienced staff to use.

One book is for each child. There are tick boxes to record and date milestones reached. Additional boxes are provided to extend the observation and note relevant comments.

Each area of the play setting has separate pages. Boxes start with basic play activities and move onto more complicated actions. There are sections on meeting aspects of Birth to Three Matters, also tying into Foundation Stage Practice.

The books make it easier to share information with parents. If a child is not progressing, these books will help identify SEN, ensuring good practice.

Given the amount of paperwork now required, these little books are a godsend. Really useful, keep them close by at all times.

I would score these books 8 out of 10.

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Making ‘Birth to Three Matters’ work for you by Helen Rowlands

Review by Sarah Ray

The book is written with heavy involvement of a nursery and there are a lot of references to nursery settings, but that said I haven’t really found anything in the book that doesn’t work for childminders.

The book is set out in four chapters - one for each stage during the ‘Birth to Three Matters’ i.e. Heads up, lookers and communicators.

In every chapter all 16 headings under the 4 components are individually listed with an activity to fulfil its title. Example, in ‘A Strong Child’ under Developing Self-Assurance, for 0-8 months they suggest ‘Shredded paper play’, 8-18 months, ‘What can we find?’, for 18-24 months, ‘I am the music man’ and for 24-36 months, ‘Can I help you?’

Some of the activities are as easy as ‘Making choices at snack time’ to demonstrate that you do not always have to do something ‘special’ to cover an area.

Each activity is covered on a clear to read double page spread. Each double page includes the notes from the cards such as ‘look listen note’ and ‘effective practice’ etc. Also there are suggested questions to ask the children during the activity, ideas on laying the activity out, health and safety considerations, resources and key worker’s role.

This is a good basic book with activities which are easily achievable and usually with resources that are easily to hand. This book would be especially beneficial for people just beginning to use the ‘Birth to Three Matters’ pack. The book is spiral bound which makes it easy to handle, uses good quality paper, with clear text with no diagrams or pictures.

I would give this book 7 out of 10.

 

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Managing your 4-8 year old by Stockton-on-Tees Educational Psychology Service

Review by Sarah Palmer

This book aims to show you how to maintain a positive relationship with your child.

Throughout the book there are examples of how to handle given situations. This book is written in sections describing several areas you may be finding difficult e.g. tantrums and bedtimes. Each section has some examples of the behaviours you may be seeing, and then suggests reasons why your child may be behaving in such a way. This is then followed by advice on ways to improve the situation.

You could read this book from cover to cover, or just pick it up using the relevant section. It is very easy to follow, and although it is aimed primarily at parents, all childcarers can also use it.

For ease of use and being easy to follow I give this book 9 out of 10.

 

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Positive Parenting by Frank Merrett

Review by Sarah Palmer

This short book shows how different parenting styles affect children’s behaviour. It is very easy to read, using cartoon illustrations to highlight and enhance the text. The book is written in a friendly, chatty way. It conveys its message without patronising or condemning parents. It explains how adults can role model to gain desired behaviours from the children in their care.

This book is aimed at parents but is easily used by child carers.

I give this book 9 out of 10.

 

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Making Connections by Dr Hannah Mortimer

Review by Sarah Palmer

This book is aimed at child and families health professionals working within family centres.

It begins by explaining what a ‘Making Connections’ group is and what the aims of the groups are. The book outlines ideas on how to run such a group, with ideas on how to start the discussions to help the parent to overcome their problems. This is followed by giving ways of introducing play sessions with the children and parents together.

Although this book is not aimed at childminders it does offer a lot of insight into why families may behave as they do, which would enable us how to understand these behaviours so that some of the ideas could be adapted for use within a home setting, in order to support the children and families you work with.

This short book is written in a friendly way, you do need to read it from front to back in order to fully understand the information within.

 

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Baby and Me by Dr Hannah Mortimer

 

Review by Pat Tomlinson

This book is aimed at people who are planning to set up support groups for new parents and their babies. These groups happen in lots of Sure Start Centres and in my experience, are usually set up by family support workers and health visitors. I tried to see if this book would be relevant to childminders, but decided it would only be useful to inform new mums about what could be available. This book is definitely for Sure Start staff and the first chapter makes this clear, but does state it wants to involve parents and carers.

The book is well laid out and each chapter is a step by step guide to setting up a group. It's also easy to follow, with examples of advertising material, planning and evaluation documents. Ideal if you were setting up a group.

There was one small section on organising musical activities and thought that possibly, if there were several local childminders caring for very young children/babies, they could use some of the action rhymes and songs. I have successfully used the hello and goodbye song in group settings (toddler group, childminder group). It would be more beneficial to attend a Sure Start "make and play" or "play and stay" session to learn the songs, while interacting with local parents, children and other childcare professionals

I strongly feel that the chapter on baby massage is for properly trained professionals to teach parents and not childminders

The book is easy to read and you can dip into it, but it’s not a book I would buy as I can't really see much benefit in a childminder setting.
 
Score 4/10

 

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Music Makers – music circle times to include everyone by Dr Hannah Mortimer

Review by Susan Williams

This book is aimed at Childminders and other early years educators, including those running toddler groups, or working in reception classes.

There are over 40 musical activities, none of them requiring special skills or musical talent. It takes you through activities such as “Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”, breaking it down simply, explaining how to extend the activity and follow-up ideas. This means you can use an activity on its own or even better; tie it in with a theme. Because the activities start with very simple ones, it’s a great resource for building up experience of curriculum planning, and could be used by early years students or inexperienced staff.

There are lots of activities to choose from, some of which may appeal to the more experienced childcarer. Some of the activities only need voices, some use a tambourine or a drum so there is no need for a vast array of instruments.

There are some simple black and white illustrations. Each activity is on one page of the book and it’s easy to read through and pick out something you would like to do. A straightforward introduction explains how to use the book and it’s very user friendly.

The best thing about this book is the way it gives you links to the Early Learning Goals, and the Birth to Three framework, but as a new book consideration has been given to transferring these points into the upcoming Early Years Foundation Stage. This way, you can easily use any of the activities for any age group and best of all, a mixed age group. How fabulous for childminders!

I would recommend this excellent book and I give it a score of 10/10.

 

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FIREWORKS Managing anger in young children by Dr Hannah Mortimer

This 44 page work book is recommended for parents, carers, support assistants, childminders and mentors to use to help them provide emotional support to 5 to 11 year-old children whose emotional and social development are getting in the way of their happiness and wellbeing.

It is written in a practical and accessible style. Brief explanations of emotions and anger management are followed by a description of the firework model that is used throughout (whereby losing ones temper is likened to the various stages of letting off a firework). The next and major part of the book contains information on how to plan and implement a total of 12 one-to-one adult and child sessions of between 45 minutes to an hour each. These are as follows and, apart from the first three, can be followed in any order:

  1. Making a work box (using items purchased in advance from a shopping list)
  2. All about me
  3. My fireworks
  4. All about fuses
  5. Spotting a trigger
  6. Acting it out
  7. Relax!
  8. Relax!
  9. Speaking out
  10. Thinking positively
  11. Making a plan
  12. How did I do?

Activity sheets and questionnaires to be copied or adapted for completion by children are comprised within some sessions. In addition helpful comments are included by adults who have used or adapted parts of the book.

The sessions are carried out using a talk through approach ... and for those childminders sufficiently committed and able to work through such a programme as this with their minded (or their own) children who might be experiencing anger management difficulties I believe there are potential benefits and progress to be made. I would therefore recommend this book to them. I would also suggest that the book be purchased by childminding network libraries. In my opinion it contains information that is a step up from that taught in many of the positive behaviour training courses that are available to childminders through their local councils, colleges and networks.

Due to its clear presentation and practicality of use, I award this book a score of 10 out of 10.

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