4365
26-07-2013, 05:38 PM
As I expected Northamptonshire are going down the "how difficult can we be" route.
"The County Council will of course do all that it needs to in order to comply with statutory requirements. However the new guidance was only published last week and it takes time to go through all the relevant decision making processes and consultations required to establish new policies and procedures. We are still in the early stages of this. When and if appropriate there will be an opportunity to feed in your views through Northamptonshire Childminding Association as your representatives on the Cross Sector Provider Group.
Currently we require childminders who wish to deliver funded early learning to meet a set of requirements which include having a Level 3 child care and early education qualification, being a member of an affiliated network and attending the network meetings, and completing a quality plan to demonstrate they can offer the full Early Years Foundation Stage learning and development requirements. We believe this gives some consistency with the requirements for settings. The recent publication of the DfE guidance suggesting that we can no longer apply such requirements has caused some confusion because the apparent inclusion of childminders who are not accredited, is actually in conflict with other recently published Government guidance on qualifications for early years providers. We are currently waiting for confirmation from the Department from Education on this issue to inform a decision regarding our strategic position on this matter.
In answer to your particular queries –
1) What date will the process for the claiming of funding for all good and outstanding providers be published? The Customer Service Standards say you should have provided me with a date for an answer to my query.
Changes to our policies and procedures will need to going through a decision-making and approval process. If we are not in a position to implement any changes efficiently and effectively for the September funding block then we will introduce them in January. We will ensure that all providers are fully informed of new processes and their responsibilities through the web pages, the Early Years bulletin and briefing sessions as appropriate. The existing procedures and responsibilities are available for your information at http://www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/en/councilservices/EducationandLearning/childrenandfamilies/Documents/PDF%20Documents/Early%20Years%20Provider%20Guide%20September%20201 2.pdf but may be subject to change.
2) What should childminders who are good and outstanding tell parents who want funding for Sept '13? Obviously they need to know now.
Parents of eligible children have a choice of over 300 settings and a number of accredited childminders where they can receive their free entitlement; their details are accessible through the Family Information Service.
3) If childminders lose business to other providers because the LA has not published the procedure early enough how do they claim compensation for lost revenue?
The process for childminders to become eligible for funding has been in place for many years. All eligible providers sign up to a legal contract in order to receive the funding. The ultimate choice of which provider to use is for the parent. Compensation for lost revenue is not appropriate.
We are pleased that you are keen to take up the opportunity of delivering the free entitlement. By following all the correct decision making processes we will support this by ensuring that children will receive a good quality experience and providers will be fully aware of the conditions of grant and the responsibilities that accompany the use of public money."
Words are beyond me. We are losing business because they won't publish the criteria in time, how is backdating going to work? We and parents can't take a chance that they might receive funding through their childminder so they go elsewhere. It doesn't look like they want to give up their hold on this and get rid of the onerous criteria they list does it?
So if you have the time, email the NCA, your local councillor and the council in protest. This guidance is Statutory NOT a suggestion as they state and it must be followed from 1st Sept.
I have forwarded to Pacey. I think now is the time they need to step up and legally challenge LAs who don't follow the guidance and help us claim for loss of earnings. Similarly any other professional associations.
To all you Northamptonshire childminders, please share the above so everyone knows what they are up against and try and contact anyone who can help ensure this council follows this guidance properly.
Thanks in advance
Anni
"The County Council will of course do all that it needs to in order to comply with statutory requirements. However the new guidance was only published last week and it takes time to go through all the relevant decision making processes and consultations required to establish new policies and procedures. We are still in the early stages of this. When and if appropriate there will be an opportunity to feed in your views through Northamptonshire Childminding Association as your representatives on the Cross Sector Provider Group.
Currently we require childminders who wish to deliver funded early learning to meet a set of requirements which include having a Level 3 child care and early education qualification, being a member of an affiliated network and attending the network meetings, and completing a quality plan to demonstrate they can offer the full Early Years Foundation Stage learning and development requirements. We believe this gives some consistency with the requirements for settings. The recent publication of the DfE guidance suggesting that we can no longer apply such requirements has caused some confusion because the apparent inclusion of childminders who are not accredited, is actually in conflict with other recently published Government guidance on qualifications for early years providers. We are currently waiting for confirmation from the Department from Education on this issue to inform a decision regarding our strategic position on this matter.
In answer to your particular queries –
1) What date will the process for the claiming of funding for all good and outstanding providers be published? The Customer Service Standards say you should have provided me with a date for an answer to my query.
Changes to our policies and procedures will need to going through a decision-making and approval process. If we are not in a position to implement any changes efficiently and effectively for the September funding block then we will introduce them in January. We will ensure that all providers are fully informed of new processes and their responsibilities through the web pages, the Early Years bulletin and briefing sessions as appropriate. The existing procedures and responsibilities are available for your information at http://www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/en/councilservices/EducationandLearning/childrenandfamilies/Documents/PDF%20Documents/Early%20Years%20Provider%20Guide%20September%20201 2.pdf but may be subject to change.
2) What should childminders who are good and outstanding tell parents who want funding for Sept '13? Obviously they need to know now.
Parents of eligible children have a choice of over 300 settings and a number of accredited childminders where they can receive their free entitlement; their details are accessible through the Family Information Service.
3) If childminders lose business to other providers because the LA has not published the procedure early enough how do they claim compensation for lost revenue?
The process for childminders to become eligible for funding has been in place for many years. All eligible providers sign up to a legal contract in order to receive the funding. The ultimate choice of which provider to use is for the parent. Compensation for lost revenue is not appropriate.
We are pleased that you are keen to take up the opportunity of delivering the free entitlement. By following all the correct decision making processes we will support this by ensuring that children will receive a good quality experience and providers will be fully aware of the conditions of grant and the responsibilities that accompany the use of public money."
Words are beyond me. We are losing business because they won't publish the criteria in time, how is backdating going to work? We and parents can't take a chance that they might receive funding through their childminder so they go elsewhere. It doesn't look like they want to give up their hold on this and get rid of the onerous criteria they list does it?
So if you have the time, email the NCA, your local councillor and the council in protest. This guidance is Statutory NOT a suggestion as they state and it must be followed from 1st Sept.
I have forwarded to Pacey. I think now is the time they need to step up and legally challenge LAs who don't follow the guidance and help us claim for loss of earnings. Similarly any other professional associations.
To all you Northamptonshire childminders, please share the above so everyone knows what they are up against and try and contact anyone who can help ensure this council follows this guidance properly.
Thanks in advance
Anni