Mind That Childminder

Mind That Childminder

A professional but easy going Early Years podcast for Childminders.

  1. Jun 1

    EP 16: Music to a Childminder's ears!

    In this episode, your host and colleague Charlotte will be chatting with you about music in the early years and answering the question "Is singing with children enough?" This episode looks at music development as it's own set of developmental milestones and helps even the least musical of childminders realise you can deliver great musical education without being able to play and instrument or read a single note of music! References: Music: Cute Avalanche- YouTube Audio Library *Caregiver connection: https://www.bbc.co.uk/tiny-happy-people/articles/zdsyf82 *Language skills acquisition: https://wordsforlife.org.uk/activities/sing-with-me/ *EYFS: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6874e14383d39f474eb7d373/Early_years_foundation_stage_statutory_framework_for_childminders_.pdf *Making music is more beneficial https://www.unicef.org/parenting/child-development/baby-music-soundtrack-to-development *Music Matters framework: https://early-education.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Musical-Development-Matters-ONLINE.pdf *Sounds of intent framework: https://soundsofintent.org/en/other-frameworks/sounds-of-intent-in-the-early-years/index

  2. Apr 6

    Ep 15: Are you a school ready childminder?

    Your host and colleague Charlotte chats through 'school readiness' and shares a shocking discovery in the research! This episode will help you gain a realistic view around this hot topic in the media, and gives you some things to consider about what school readiness might even mean to people in different roles.Audio credit : Cute Avalanche YouTube audio libraryReferences:https://beststartinlife.gov.uk/childcare-early-years-education/why-childcare-matters/https://startingreception.co.uk/https://www.corampacey.org.uk/starting-school/https://www.eyalliance.org.uk/sites/default/files/children_first_-_pathways_to_school_readiness_1.pdf_2021_1.pdfhttps://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a817e64ed915d74e6232919/Are_you_ready_Good_practice_in_school_readiness.pdfhttps://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/ready-to-learn-increasing-the-number-of-five-year-olds-with-a-good-level-of-development/https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-profile-handbook/early-years-foundation-stage-profile-handbookhttps://bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/berj.3937https://www.bera.ac.uk/blog/identifying-tensions-between-school-readiness-policy-and-teacher-beliefs-knowledge-and-practice-in-early-childhood-educationKay 2022, https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718X211052791https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10105144/1/Transforming-Early-Education-in-England.pdf#page=20https://www.corampacey.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Resource-School-Ready-Report.pdfhttps://kindredsquared.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/School-Readiness-Survey-January-2026-Kindred-Squared.pdf

  3. Jan 25

    Ep 14: Crisis Happens! Now What?

    Listening to this episode will help you feel supported on how to process and get through a crisis, particularly as a Childminder where children are often entwined with our home and home life. Your host and colleague Charlotte is joined by fellow Childminder and the creator of Nurture Co. - Emma to support you through things that you might come across during a crisis. Find out more about Nurture Co: https://www.nurtureco.uk/Audio: Cute Avalanche- YouTube Audio LibraryResources:*Self referral form: https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/mental-health-services/find-nhs-talking-therapies-for-anxiety-and-depression/*Definition of crisis: https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/crisis_1*Ofsted data: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-inspections-statistical-commentaries-2022-to-2023/a-focus-on-childminders*Further reading**Student crisis support literature review: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Victor-Tyler-2/publication/388509842_Mental_Health_Interventions_for_College_Students_in_Crisis/links/679b8d158311ce680c44538d/Mental-Health-Interventions-for-College-Students-in-Crisis.pdf*quarter-midlife crisishttps://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.2147/PRBM.S438866?needAccess=true*Parenting burnout https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0891524524001883#sec0010*Teacher burnout: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10648-025-09986-2#Sec20*Working women burnout: https://imcra-az.org/uploads/public_files/2025-10/81183.pdf*Hope https://journals.aom.org/doi/full/10.5465/amle.2025.0145*functions of hope https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10463283.2024.2347815#d1e173

  4. Jan 4 ·  Bonus

    Ep 13: Blooper Special!

    Your host and colleague Charlotte is giving you a behind the scenes peek into the life of podcasting. Keeping it real that mistakes happen even if they are edited out for full episodes! Expect some smiles, earworms and good old human error in this mini episode! Music credit : Cute Avalanche- YouTube Audio Library

  5. 12/14/2025

    Ep 12: Childminders deserve joy!

    In this episode, your host and colleague Charlotte is taking a reflective stance on how joy could be found in your Childminding setting and beyond. After this episode you should gain lots of ideas about how to find joy whilst staying authentic to who you are, and how this could trickle into your Childminding setting. Charlotte also considers the qualities/attributes of children's entertainment that you could foster into your practice in order to promote more joy all around. Music: Cute Avalanche- YouTube Audio LibraryReferencesLittle, C., & Karaolis, O. (2023). The lost art of joy in early childhood education. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 49(1), 81-90. https://doi.org/10.1177/18369391231219819 (Originalwork published 2024)Bethlyn Vergo Houlihan,Cara Coleman, Dennis Z. Kuo, ; Benjamin Plant, Meg Comeau, 2024https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2023-063424Fhttps://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/wellbeing/bulletins/measuringprogresswellbeingandbeyondgdpintheuk/may2025#measuring-personal-well-being-in-the-uk https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/mental-health-services/

  6. 10/05/2025

    Ep 11: Taking Action on Climate Action Plans: Making it make sense for Childminding settings

    In this episode, your colleague and host Charlotte is joined by sustainability industry professional Amy Nicholass to make your role as a sustainability lead make sense. You will come away with an understanding of what to put in a climate action plan that makes sense for your setting and feel inspired about how little actions make a huge difference to the climate as well as the habits you will be teaching young children in your care. To find out more about Amy's work: Instagram @amynicholass_greenparty+Department for Education sustainability guidance: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/sustainability-leadership-and-climate-action-plans-in-education+NHS guidance on hot weather: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/seasonal-health/heatwave-how-to-cope-in-hot-weather/+Save the children climate survery results: https://www.savethechildren.org.uk/news/media-centre/press-releases/2022/survey-reveals-scale-of-climate-anxiety-among-british-children-on-eve-of-cop27Ministry of Eco Education: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcKqYf19Q5UMusic: Cute Avalanche- YouTube Audio Library

  7. 08/22/2025

    Ep 10: Mission Nutrition!

    Join your host and colleague Charlotte as she welcomes her first ever guest to discuss all things nutrition! Make the nutrition guidance 2025 more achievable for yourself by joining this conversation with registered dietician Dalia Weinreb as topics such as the importance of good nutrition, menu planning and tips for picky eaters are all covered in less than an hour! For more of Dalia's work: https://www.dalianutrition.com/ EYFS Nutrition guidance 2025: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-nutrition EYFS changes 2025: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework--2 Music: Cute Avalanche, YouTube Audio Library

  8. 03/09/2025

    Ep:09 Childminding and Outdoorsy Stuff

    In this episode we are going to have a little look into outdoor requirements for Childminders, as well as thinking about some research that impacts our every day lives. We are going to shout about how Childminders have a really unique opportunity to be outdoors with children but also how to become just a little bit more outdoorsy ourselves. This episode will also have you wondering with your host Charlotte about where all the babies are when thinking about outdoorsy stuff and generally help you to feel validated in your experiences with multi age ranges and our home lives. Music: Cute avalanche YouTube Audio Library References: https://arquitecologia.org/Baker_1.pdf  https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1434936  Kemp, N., & Josephidou, J. (2021). Babies and toddlers outdoors: a narrative review of the literature on provision for under twos in ECEC settings. Early Years, 43(1), 137–150. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2021.1915962 https://www.froebel.org.uk/training/films/where-are-the-babies https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/physical-activity-guidelines-children-under-five-years/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11432191/ https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09575146.2021.1915962#d1e597

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About

A professional but easy going Early Years podcast for Childminders.

Information

  • Creator
    Mind That Childminder
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    16
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Mind That Childminder
  • Show Website
    Mind That Childminder