Childminder Curriculum & Pedagogy | Mixed-Age
Childminder pathway · Mixed-age care · Birth–5
Everyday care.
Meaningful learning.
Support children of different ages through warm relationships, purposeful play and the everyday experiences of home-based care.
Explore guidance and practical documents designed for childminders working across birth to five, with flexible planning, mixed-age provision and useful support for solo practice.
Choose what supports your practice now. There is no need to work through the whole suite or use every template.
A clear way into the suite
Where would you like to start?
01Understand the approachThree free documents to begin with. 02Focus on today’s priorityFind a useful starting point for your setting. 03Find a documentExplore the complete 9-section pathway.Included with All Access. One membership gives you access to the Curriculum & Pedagogy Suite and printable provision across Little Owls Resources. How access works →
Start here · Free guidance
Get to know the approach
Begin with these three documents. They introduce the childminding approach, show how to keep planning purposeful and help you choose a useful route through the pathway.
How to Use the Childminder Pathway
Find your way around the suite and choose where to begin.
Read free guidance →
Childminder Pedagogy Position Statement
Explore learning through relationships, care and play in a mixed-age setting.
Read free guidance →
Planning Without Paperwork Overload
Connect observation, assessment and responsive planning with everyday practice.
Read free guidance →Read first, then choose what helps. Explore the free guidance online and use the download options offered on each document page. The member documents below each have an information page to help you decide what you need.
Find a useful starting point
What would help your practice today?
Choose a priority to open the relevant part of the pathway. Return for another area whenever it becomes useful.
Keep planning manageable
Choose useful prompts and optional formats for everyday reflection.
Planning & reflection →Support each child’s development
Consider progression, adaptations and information to share at transitions.
Assessment & inclusion →Make the most of your provision
Explore purposeful resources, home spaces and community learning.
Provision & environment →Build inspection confidence
Find support for explaining your approach and professional decisions.
Inspection & practice →Work closely with families
Share everyday learning and build a common understanding of the EYFS.
Parent partnership →Find your setting policies
Review and adapt the policy pack for your childminding setting.
Childminder policies →The complete childminder pathway
Browse the documents
Open a section and follow a document title or its link to see the information page and access options. Free guidance and online references are labelled; member resources are included with All Access. Any availability note is shown beside the relevant entry.
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Pedagogy & Professional Position
Begin with the approach to mixed-age care, relationships and learning in a home-based setting.
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How To Use The Childminder Pathway
A free guide to finding your way through the childminder pathway and choosing useful starting points.
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Childminder Pedagogy Position Statement
Explore the approach to play, relationships and learning in home-based, mixed-age care.
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The EYFS Curriculum in Mixed-Age Care
Birth–5 curriculum guidance for supporting children of different ages within shared experiences.
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Continuous Provision in a Childminding Setting
Practical guidance for continuous provision in a home-based setting. Also listed in Provision & Environment.
Planning Without Paperwork Overload
Choose the prompts and planning formats that help you respond to children and keep reflection manageable.
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Planning Without Paperwork Overload (Childminder OAP Guidance)
Free guidance on observation, assessment and responsive planning in everyday childminding practice.
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In-the-Moment Planning Prompts
Light-touch prompts to help reflect on children’s play and decide what to offer next.
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Weekly Care & Learning Planning Templates
Optional weekly formats for bringing care routines, learning and reflection together.
Assessment, Progression & SEND
Notice each child’s development, adapt support and share useful information with families and other settings.
Guidance
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Assessment & Progression in Mixed-Age Care
Guidance for recognising development and progression across mixed ages.
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SEND & Early Identification in Childminding Settings
Support for noticing patterns, adapting practice and working with families and other professionals.
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Progress Summaries & Transition Records
Guidance for sharing meaningful progress information and supporting transitions.
Optional templates
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Optional Progress Summary Template
An optional format for summarising a child’s learning and development.
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Optional Transition Record Template
An optional format for sharing useful information when a child moves to another setting.
Continuous Provision & Environment
Make purposeful use of your home, outdoor spaces and local community for children of different ages.
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Continuous Provision in a Childminding Setting
Guidance for organising purposeful provision at home, also listed in Pedagogy & Professional Position.
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Provision Rotation & Resource Selection Toolkit
A toolkit to help choose, review and rotate resources around children’s interests and needs.
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Outdoor & Community Learning Guidance
Explore learning opportunities in outdoor spaces and your local community.
Inspection Confidence & Leadership Support
Build confidence in explaining the professional decisions behind everyday childminding practice.
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Inspection Confidence for Childminders
Support for explaining your curriculum, planning and assessment through examples from everyday practice.
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EYFS Language for Inspection Conversations
Language and prompts to help articulate the thinking behind your childminding practice.
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Safeguarding & Welfare Overview
An overview of safeguarding and welfare responsibilities. Use alongside current statutory guidance and local procedures.
Illustrated Practice
See how the ideas can come together through a relatable example of everyday practice.
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A Week in the Life of a Childminder
An illustrated example of how care, play, routines and responsive learning can connect across a childminding week.
Parent Partnership & Communication
Build shared understanding with families through clear, useful communication.
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Parent Communication Templates
Templates to support daily updates, transitions and shared information with families.
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Explaining EYFS to Families (Childminder Version)
Help families understand how children learn through everyday care, relationships and play.
Using the Wider Suite & All Access
Connect this pathway with age-specific guidance and resources across your All Access membership.
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Using All Access as a Childminder
Find a useful route through childminder documents, age-specific guidance and printable provision.
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Birth–5 Coherence Overview
See how mixed-age childminding connects with the baby, toddler, preschool and Reception pathways.
Childminder Setting Policies
Find policy documents to review and adapt for your childminding setting.
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Childminder Setting Policies Pack
25 childminder policy documents, sign-off information and a folder contents list. Adapt the documents to your setting and current requirements.
Start with the children in your care. Use shared experiences flexibly, with resources, support and expectations adapted to each child. Choose documentation because it helps you understand a child or communicate something useful.
The wider picture
Connect your childminding practice with birth–5
Explore the wider curriculum approach and shared setting guidance. The first two documents and the online glossary are free to explore. All Access includes the wider suite.
Curriculum & Pedagogy
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Little Owls Resources’ Curriculum Intent Statement
A free introduction to the intentions behind the Little Owls birth–5 curriculum.
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EYFS from Birth to 5: Curriculum Coherence & Pedagogical Throughline
A free overview of how the approach connects across the early years.
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Whole-Setting Curriculum Map (Birth-5): Curriculum Intent & Progression
Explore curriculum intent and progression across the setting.
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Pedagogy Guidance Document
Shared pedagogy guidance for birth–5 practice.
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Speech & Language Development - Setting Statement
A setting statement for speech and language development.
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EYFS Inspection-Facing Summaries
Summaries to help articulate your curriculum and pedagogy.
Early Years Schemas
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Early Years Schemas - Practitioner Toolkit | EYFS Birth-5
Schema cards with definitions, behaviours and age-related examples, plus an observation and responsive provision planning template.
EYFS Setting Policies
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EYFS Group Setting Policies Pack
25 policy documents with sign-off information and a folder contents list.
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Childminder Setting Policies Pack
25 policy documents, assistant or volunteer sign-off information and a folder contents list.
EYFS Glossary
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EYFS Glossary
Practitioner-friendly explanations of curriculum and pedagogy terms.
One membership · All Access
Guidance and resources, together.
All Access brings together the EYFS Curriculum & Pedagogy Suite and printable provision across Little Owls Resources, including the other age-group pathways.
Explore a document’s information page, then use its access link to sign in or join and open the available resources.
Explore All Access membership →Already a member?
Go straight to the document you need. Its information page includes the link to access it; sign in there if prompted.
Find a document ↑Just getting to know us?
Read the free starting documents to explore the approach before you join.
Explore the free guidance ↑Age-specific guidance for children in your care
Use the pathways for the ages you work with to deepen your understanding of development and appropriate support. Choose what helps each child; All Access includes the whole suite.
Looking for resources for your provision? Explore printable provision → · Return to the Curriculum & Pedagogy hub →