childcare is to be deregulated....more definite??

[moogster1a]

Childcare is to be deregulated | Mumsnet Discussion (http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/childminders_nannies_au_pairs_etc/1610491-Childcare-is-to-be-deregulated)

Anyone seen this??

[Mouse]

Well, I'm completely lost!

The last I read was that if anything was going to happen it would take years & years for any changes to be put in place, but that de-regulation wasn't going to happen.

Now that reads as if changes are coming through a lot quicker than that.

Who knows :panic:

[mum26]

Yes I have and it is very worrying - just don't know what to believe anymore.:panic:

[rickysmiths]

Nothing has been said about de regulation full on all that I can see has happened is that Elizabeth Truss has said there will be some changes to the Welfare and Safeguarding part of EYFS but there will be no changes to the Development part. I think at the moment people are reading too much into too very little.

She has also commented that government funding to help child care must go to the front line providers on production of an actual record of attendance rather than the money being paid to the parents and then not being used for childcare. If we provide the attendance record and are paid on the basis of that and contracted hours there should be no danger of being overpaid.

[tashaleee]

Nothing has been said about de regulation full on all that I can see has happened is that Elizabeth Truss has said there will be some changes to the Welfare and Safeguarding part of EYFS but there will be no changes to the Development part. I think at the moment people are reading too much into too very little.

She has also commented that government funding to help child care must go to the front line providers on production of an actual record of attendance rather than the money being paid to the parents and then not being used for childcare. If we provide the attendance record and are paid on the basis of that and contracted hours there should be no danger of being overpaid.

No chance possibly of being overpaid..... but with the government I wouldnt guarantee it.... but every possibility of being paid late and when thats your only income like it is for many of us :panic:

[Ripeberry]

The whole thing is a total mess at the moment :panic:

[rickysmiths]

I have never been a fan of being paid direct because of the potential mistakes. However if we are giving the information on which the payments are made I think that will be better. maybe they will have to up their game if they are paying direct or maybe we will have to adapt to being paid in arrears the same way the free funding is paid, not what we are used to but sometimes we have to adapt if the overall result is better and there is nothing to stop you taking a deposit from the parent when they sign the contract.

There was an interview on LBC this morning as I was driving back from the school run. A minister called Maria?? She was saying that 2 million has been set aside to help 6000 new child carers set up in business and the implication was strongly that this is £500 each for childminders so that is positive isn't it?

E. Truss made it quite clear yesterday that only some parts of the Welfare and Safeguarding part of EYFS will need to be changed to help reduce red tape and paperwork, no mention of full on deregulation she was talking of earlier in the year at all. I think she may have listened to all the people she has been talking to and I don't think it is helpful to speculate and say here comes deregulation until we know the facts.

There is no doubt there will be changes and not all of us will like them but that is life and we have to move on and encompass things. Childminding now doesn't bear any relation to what it was when I started 18 years ago and if I had objected to all change I would be out of work now. We all screamed when Ofsted took over but things settled and sorted out this is just another change along the way.

[tashaleee]

I have never been a fan of being paid direct because of the potential mistakes. However if we are giving the information on which the payments are made I think that will be better. maybe they will have to up their game if they are paying direct or maybe we will have to adapt to being paid in arrears the same way the free funding is paid, not what we are used to but sometimes we have to adapt if the overall result is better and there is nothing to stop you taking a deposit from the parent when they sign the contract.

There was an interview on LBC this morning as I was driving back from the school run. A minister called Maria?? She was saying that 2 million has been set aside to help 6000 new child carers set up in business and the implication was strongly that this is £500 each for childminders so that is positive isn't it?

E. Truss made it quite clear yesterday that only some parts of the Welfare and Safeguarding part of EYFS will need to be changed to help reduce red tape and paperwork, no mention of full on deregulation she was talking of earlier in the year at all. I think she may have listened to all the people she has been talking to and I don't think it is helpful to speculate and say here comes deregulation until we know the facts.

There is no doubt there will be changes and not all of us will like them but that is life and we have to move on and encompass things. Childminding now doesn't bear any relation to what it was when I started 18 years ago and if I had objected to all change I would be out of work now. We all screamed when Ofsted took over but things settled and sorted out this is just another change along the way.

I agree that things have changed a lot over the years and will continue to evolve - thats simply the nature of our business. I first started just as Ofsted took over and have also seen many changes - we were all worried about doing LJs and observations yet now we dont think twice of how we felt back then....

The only comment I have is that you mention free funding being paid in arrears? Maybe this is another LA thing? We put a claim in advance and get an advance payment around the beginning of each term and then have a cut off date - we are ALWAYS paid in full way before the end of term here. The only issue I have with funding is the amounts - seems to vary so much between LAs - if I lived in the next County (10 miles down the road) I would get £1.80 extra per hour for a funded place :rolleyes:

[christine e]

I have never been a fan of being paid direct because of the potential mistakes. However if we are giving the information on which the payments are made I think that will be better. maybe they will have to up their game if they are paying direct or maybe we will have to adapt to being paid in arrears the same way the free funding is paid, not what we are used to but sometimes we have to adapt if the overall result is better and there is nothing to stop you taking a deposit from the parent when they sign the contract.

There was an interview on LBC this morning as I was driving back from the school run. A minister called Maria?? She was saying that 2 million has been set aside to help 6000 new child carers set up in business and the implication was strongly that this is £500 each for childminders so that is positive isn't it?

E. Truss made it quite clear yesterday that only some parts of the Welfare and Safeguarding part of EYFS will need to be changed to help reduce red tape and paperwork, no mention of full on deregulation she was talking of earlier in the year at all. I think she may have listened to all the people she has been talking to and I don't think it is helpful to speculate and say here comes deregulation until we know the facts.

There is no doubt there will be changes and not all of us will like them but that is life and we have to move on and encompass things. Childminding now doesn't bear any relation to what it was when I started 18 years ago and if I had objected to all change I would be out of work now. We all screamed when Ofsted took over but things settled and sorted out this is just another change along the way.


Just seen this on ncma local

Maria Miller, Minister for Children and Equalities, will today announce more funding to support people into the childminding profession.
The minister said: "There are more women in work than ever before and they are playing a vital role in our economic recovery, but good quality, affordable and reliable childcare is the key to even more women being able to work."
Commenting on the announcement today that childminders will receive grants of £250 in 2013/14, Stuart Turner, Director of Professional Standards at NCMA said, "NCMA really welcomes the announcement of grant funding for childminders in England. As the professional association for childminders we are keen to ensure that the grants are utilised in the most effective way possible that helps drive up quality."
Turner also said, "We particularly want to ensure that this extra money is targeted in areas where childcare demand outstrips supply or where we know the Free Entitlement early education offer requires more places."

[rickysmiths]

I agree that things have changed a lot over the years and will continue to evolve - thats simply the nature of our business. I first started just as Ofsted took over and have also seen many changes - we were all worried about doing LJs and observations yet now we dont think twice of how we felt back then....

The only comment I have is that you mention free funding being paid in arrears? Maybe this is another LA thing? We put a claim in advance and get an advance payment around the beginning of each term and then have a cut off date - we are ALWAYS paid in full way before the end of term here. The only issue I have with funding is the amounts - seems to vary so much between LAs - if I lived in the next County (10 miles down the road) I would get £1.80 extra per hour for a funded place :rolleyes:



I was only surmising if it was, not that it was I have not got direct experience of it. I agree to some extent to the amount paid but surely it is fair as long as it truly reflects local fees? After all I would not expect to be paid £7ph because the local rate here is £5ph but if I was in certain parts of the country that do command the higher hourly fee I would be miffed if I was only offered £5ph by the LA and would seriously consider if I would be prepared to offer the free funding.

[mum24]

Nothing has been said about de regulation full on all that I can see has happened is that Elizabeth Truss has said there will be some changes to the Welfare and Safeguarding part of EYFS but there will be no changes to the Development part. I think at the moment people are reading too much into too very little.

She has also commented that government funding to help child care must go to the front line providers on production of an actual record of attendance rather than the money being paid to the parents and then not being used for childcare. If we provide the attendance record and are paid on the basis of that and contracted hours there should be no danger of being overpaid.


Danger of being overpaid....I wish:laughing:

Has this ever happened ..... all my experience of danger has been getting money from parents....:laughing:

[mum24]

I was only surmising if it was, not that it was I have not got direct experience of it. I agree to some extent to the amount paid but surely it is fair as long as it truly reflects local fees? After all I would not expect to be paid £7ph because the local rate here is £5ph but if I was in certain parts of the country that do command the higher hourly fee I would be miffed if I was only offered £5ph by the LA and would seriously consider if I would be prepared to offer the free funding.

This happens in a town not far from me, and several childminders have stopped offering ffe because of this, they were losing just over £1.00ph. Here the la rate is marginally higher, I don't know how they work it all out.

[tashaleee]

I was only surmising if it was, not that it was I have not got direct experience of it. I agree to some extent to the amount paid but surely it is fair as long as it truly reflects local fees? After all I would not expect to be paid £7ph because the local rate here is £5ph but if I was in certain parts of the country that do command the higher hourly fee I would be miffed if I was only offered £5ph by the LA and would seriously consider if I would be prepared to offer the free funding.

For me to offer a funded place (which I do) I automatically loose between 78p-£1.28 per hour on our normal rates around here and is lower than literally any childminder charges :(

I do agree that if the rate was £5 an hour to get the £7 an hour would be nice though :laughing:

[Tatjana]

At the childminding group at my local childrens centre last Friday we had members of the cabinet come to ask us about what would encourage us to offer the free funding for 2 year olds, they didn't seem to know very much about how childminders work.:(