Childminder

It’s heartwarming to see children grow in their time with me, and I love that I’m my own boss! I look after other people’s children in my own home and plan daily activities to support their learning through play. I also do assessments on the children’s development, as required by Ofsted.

I did a BTEC course in Early Years and then an eight-week course to train as a childminder under my Local Authority (LA). As I’m profoundly deaf in both ears, my LA provided a BSL interpreter for all my course sessions.

I then registered with Ofsted, who provided me with an interpreter when they came to do their inspection and grading of my childminding service.

As well as childminding, I also run Little Hands – a deaf parent and children group, which I set up to help deaf parents access parenting topics in BSL.

At work, I use a Bellman Baby Monitor to alert me to any crying, and I make sure I can see what the children are doing at all times.

If you don’t know whether you’ll enjoy a job, volunteering is the best way to get experience. It helps narrow down the areas you enjoy working in.

Amy Mortimore