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Policies for childminders: draft, then check against EYFS

Draft updates to policies and the parent handbook from your own notes, then check them against the EYFS. Free, or up to about $27£20€24A$38C$38 a month.

At a glance

  • What it costsFree–$27Free–£20Free–€24Free–A$38Free–C$38 a month

  • Worth, in extra profit or time saved in the worked example$8£6€7A$12C$11 a month

  • Pays for itselfNot within a month

  • Sign up and configure; no technical skills neededEasy to set up

Figures come from the worked example below, using its stated assumptions. Tool prices checked . How we check prices

The problem

Childminders keep a set of written policies and update them when the EYFS changes, as it did in September 2026. Reviewing 12 policies at 45 minutes each is 9 hours a year, usually done in evenings.

What the AI does

The childminder notes what has changed in their practice and in the EYFS framework for childminders, with no children's or families' details. They paste a policy and the notes into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini and ask for a clear, plain update. They then check every line against the EYFS framework, their local safeguarding partnership's procedures and how they actually work. As the person responsible for safeguarding in their setting, the childminder signs off every policy.

A worked example

A childminder in Carlisle reviews 12 policies after the September 2026 EYFS update, including safeguarding, mobile phones and cameras, and medicines.

Before

12 policies at 45 minutes: 9 hours a year

After

12 policies at 20 minutes to check and edit drafts: 4 hours a year

What it's worth

About $8£6€7A$12C$11 a month of the childminder's time saved: 5 hours a year at an assumed $20£15€18A$29C$28 an hour is $100£75€89A$144C$141 about $8£6€7A$12C$11 a month. The free plans of ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini are enough for this.

How to set it up

  1. List what has changed: the new EYFS framework, your local safeguarding contacts and anything you now do differently.
  2. Paste one policy and your notes into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini, with no names or details of children or families.
  3. Ask for an updated version in plain English that a parent could follow.
  4. Check every line against the EYFS framework for childminders and your local safeguarding partnership's procedures.
  5. Sign and date each policy and share the updated handbook with parents.

What goes wrong

  • A draft can sound right and be wrong, such as an out-of-date contact or a requirement that doesn't apply to childminders. You are responsible for every line.
  • Safeguarding referral routes are local. Take them from your local safeguarding partnership, not from the AI.
  • Don't paste anything about a real child or family, even to ask how to handle a concern.
  • A policy that doesn't match what you do is worse than none at an Ofsted inspection.

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Last updated October 17, 2026.