Helping children and looking after them is one of the most rewarding jobs in the world, nothing can bring greater satisfaction than seeing a child improve or learn something new with your help. There are several ways in which you can offer your services and help to care for or to teach children without having to take certificates or get training. Listed below are just some of the ways you can make a difference:

Your local school

Schools will always welcome parents help with open arms, anyone working with children in any capacity in any authority run establishment now have to have screening, this check is made with the criminal records bureau and ensures that everyone who comes into contact with children does not have a criminal background.

The school will pay for the check and it takes about a month to complete in full before the school is given the report and you are given clearance. Areas that schools particularly need help in are:

• Reading – Schools are often in desperate need for help with reading, here you will be asked to take children on a one to one basis and listen to them read for about 15 minutes per child. Usually you will work with one class on a regular basis going in two or three times a week for an hour or two.
• Classroom assistance – Schools will often appreciate help within the classroom, this can be your child’s class or a different one if you feel uncomfortable working alongside your child. Assistance is given in a general form providing help with topics the children are working on in class; this can be help with spelling or answering questions children may have regarding the topic they are working on.
• Attending day outings – Schools will often ask parents to accompany them on outings for the day, parents would be expected to be in charge of a group of children on the outing and make sure they stayed safe during the outing.

Usually a group of children would consist of no more than four children per adult. As well as keeping the children safe you would be also expected to point out highlights of the outing and the teacher will have given you reference material to look through beforehand on things to show the children.

Say for example the class are doing a topic on history and you are visiting an historic site then there will be certain things on the outing that the children will have to be aware of and part of your job would be to help point these out to children. Help will also be required at dinner time for usually on day outings there isn’t a lot of time for the children to eat and use the bathroom.

Child care centers

Many child care centers particularly those run by local authorities and volunteers will often require assistance, care centers will often post volunteer positions on notice boards or websites. The type of assistance they will need includes:

• Working with pre school children – This usually entails reading and playing with children of pre school age, also helping them at meal times and possibly taking them to the bathroom.
• Assisting older children in various activities such as supervising them as they play in outdoor areas and making sure each child isn’t left out from an activity.
• Assisting children during dinner times, helping to feed young children and babies making sure they wash and helping with bathroom duties.
• Working in after school care clubs – Many after school care clubs rely on volunteers to help them entertain children this could be supervising older children in after school care, assisting with homework. Supervising the snack and refreshment bar or helping in sports related activities, after school clubs that offer a pick up service for children often need drivers also.

If you are leaving your child in the hands of a carer for several hours each day then it is essential that you have peace of mind and know your child is safe in your absence. The type of care that you choose for your child will affect the options available to you for finding information on your chosen care provider.

Is your child safe?

Essentially all people who work with or near children in main organizations such as child care day centers, schools and after school care clubs run by authorities or schools have to by law have a criminal records check made, this includes everyone, care providers, teachers, meal providers and parents who volunteer their services within these establishments.

The check is referenced using a computer which checks your background for any criminal offences that you have on record with the criminal records bureau.

However this only works for those in organisations and any person you employ through means of your own, for example hiring a carer through an advertisement, background checks will have to be made by yourself.

Parents who choose to hire a nanny, au-pair or child carer themselves cannot apply for a criminal records background check, however if the nanny, au-pair or child carer is supplied through an agency then the agency can ask for a criminal background check to be made.

Day care centers

Staff working in day care centers run by local authorities will have had the screening process automatically when they applied for the position, this will have included the criminal background check with the criminal records bureau.

After school clubs

If the after school club is organised by a school then full background checks will have been made on teachers and also any parent who volunteers to work in the school system, the background check will have included a criminal records check with the criminal records bureau. Day care centers will also have been screened thoroughly to ensure no person with a criminal background works with children.

Nannies

If you employ a nanny from an agency then they will have had background checks and screens with the criminal records bureau before being taken on by the agency.

Au-pairs

If you hire an au-pair through advertising yourself then it will be down to you to make a background check on the person and ask for references, as most au-pairs have come from other countries this can be difficult.

Childminders

All child minders have to registered by law and have adequate training and as such will also be screened for any criminal activities.

What you can do to check the background of a prospective child carer

If you decide to hire a child carer yourself then you cannot check their past with the criminal records bureau you will have to try and find out for yourself if the person is suitable to be working with children. It is always a good idea to ask for references from other positions the candidate has been employed in.

The carer should have references from families they have previously worked for and should offer these to you during the interview. Always follow up on the references which should include telephone numbers, call the numbers and ask about the child carer, questions such as:

• Was the carer trustworthy?
• Why did the carer leave the position?
• What was the level of care provided by the child carer?
• Was the child carer punctual?
• Were the parents happy with the level of care provided?
• Would they recommend the child carer?

Background checks can be made by companies specialising in tracking people and several web sites also offer the opportunity of conducting background checks on people.

The level of information you can find out about a person having a background check performed on them varies from simple checks such as history of addresses, age, if they have children or not to more expensive and through checks including any criminal convictions.

It is always wise to tell the person you are going to conduct a background search on them before doing so and if they have nothing to hide then this won’t cause a problem.

Word of mouth can also be used and friends can often recommend baby sitters or child minders they have used in the past who are trustworthy. Whichever method you choose to take always remain vigilant and on the lookout for signs that something could be amiss.

Choosing which type of day care for your child is a hard task for any parent but more so for those with very young children and babies. It is essential that you are totally satisfied your baby will receive the proper care and attention a young child needs in early development.

Most day care centers will take babies from around 3 months old and will have a special nursery area away from older children in which to care for your child.

Depending on the size of the day care center they will provide two or three special carers called nursery nurses, they are able to provide care for babies constantly on a personal level and the room will have equipment and have to meet standards needed for caring for younger children and babies.

Are you worried about losing the bonding element?

The first few weeks of your baby’s life are when bonding takes place and as very few centers will take a baby under the age of 3 months and you are entitled to leave from work deciding to put your child in child care usually won’t cause a problem with mother and child bonding.

Finding a safe secure nursery for your child

Babies will be looked after in a nursery which will usually be away from the older children, this ensures that older children cannot accidentally step on a younger child or cause them unintentional harm.

It also will provide a very young baby with a secure place to sleep without too much disturbance, there are several things you should look for in the nursery part of a day care center, such as:

• Check for hazards – These could be things such as electrical cords dangling, wall sockets that aren’t protected , broken toys or small toys, toys with small parts that may become unattached.
• Toys that are safe for a baby or young child to chew on for example make sure they are made of nontoxic material.
• Very young babies are kept safely from older children especially if your baby is old enough to just start crawling.
• The area where your baby will crawl or toddle is well protected with no furniture which have sharp edges.
• There is clear access to the cots provided by the nursery for staff to attend your child.
• There are no toys, pillows or quilts in cots with very young babies.
• The nursery staff know how to put a very young baby down to sleep in a cot.
• The changing area is clean and safe and that staff never leave a child unattended while changing.
• Emergency plans are well laid out and the staff know how to contact you or another member of your family should an emergency occur.

What the nursery will need to know

• How to contact you in the case of an emergency.
• Who will pick your baby up from nursery if it is not you.
• Any medication your baby is taking or has taken within the last few weeks.
• Any illnesses they have had.
• The nursery will need to know if your baby’s immunizations are up to date.
• If you are bottle feeding or breast feeding your baby, if breast feeding then you can express the milk and store it at the nursery for feeding times.
• If you prefer your baby to have a pacifier or not.

All nursery nurses provided by day care centers are fully qualified child carers and will have passed checks made by the criminal records bureau, they are often older carers and many of them will have brought up children themselves.

The nursery nurse will keep in close contact with you at all times ensuring you don’t miss out on any aspect of your baby’s development.