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View Full Version : NW article - Ask the Minister Elizabeth Truss - Early Education Funded Hours



AgentTink
09-10-2013, 12:53 PM
Exclusive: Ask the Minister | Nursery World (http://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/article/1215619/exclusive-ask-minister)

I asked the question to Liz Truss about LA's not allowing childminders to access the Early Education funding, and this was her response

You talked about making Funded Early Education accessible to all "good" and "outstanding" childcare settings, including childminders, and you even got published a statutory guidance document for the Local Authorities to follow from September 2013. Are you aware that there are still barriers being put up by a huge number of Local Authorities which have prevent thousands of childminders from being able to offer this Funded Early Education funding? My Local Authority is waiting for the law to change until they will even consider allowing childminders to access the funding. How do you propose to make sure Local Authorities remove these barriers.


Our guidance to local authorities is clear that all good and outstanding providers – including childminders – are automatically eligible for 2, 3 and 4-year-old funding. There is no requirement that childminders must be part of a network to receive funding. Local authorities must not depart from the guidance unless they have good reason to do so. Waiting until the law is changed is not an acceptable reason to refuse to allow good and outstanding childminders access to funding. If your local LA is putting up barriers then I would urge you to get in touch with me at ministers@education.gsi.gov.uk.


:thumbsup:If anybody is having difficulties accessing the funding please send a email to the address above.:thumbsup:Right now Truss is going around saying that only 4000 childminders used to offer funding but now that has been opened up to 35,000 childminders giving parents more choice. She needs to know that this is not the case across the country.

Simona
09-10-2013, 01:54 PM
Exclusive: Ask the Minister | Nursery World (http://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/article/1215619/exclusive-ask-minister)

I asked the question to Liz Truss about LA's not allowing childminders to access the Early Education funding, and this was her response

You talked about making Funded Early Education accessible to all "good" and "outstanding" childcare settings, including childminders, and you even got published a statutory guidance document for the Local Authorities to follow from September 2013. Are you aware that there are still barriers being put up by a huge number of Local Authorities which have prevent thousands of childminders from being able to offer this Funded Early Education funding? My Local Authority is waiting for the law to change until they will even consider allowing childminders to access the funding. How do you propose to make sure Local Authorities remove these barriers.


Our guidance to local authorities is clear that all good and outstanding providers – including childminders – are automatically eligible for 2, 3 and 4-year-old funding. There is no requirement that childminders must be part of a network to receive funding. Local authorities must not depart from the guidance unless they have good reason to do so. Waiting until the law is changed is not an acceptable reason to refuse to allow good and outstanding childminders access to funding. If your local LA is putting up barriers then I would urge you to get in touch with me at ministers@education.gsi.gov.uk.


:thumbsup:If anybody is having difficulties accessing the funding please send a email to the address above.:thumbsup:Right now Truss is going around saying that only 4000 childminders used to offer funding but now that has been opened up to 35,000 childminders giving parents more choice. She needs to know that this is not the case across the country.

Well done Agent Tink...it is important cms flag up their concerns if the funding is of interest to them...no one else will otherwise!

Simona
10-10-2013, 07:43 AM
Agent Tink...I have just realised that Truss gave you her email at the DfE...the same one cms sent many messages in the summer telling them we were facing barriers
The answer we all got was we needed to complain to our LA and raise it via their ombudsman if necessary

You are correct that Truss thinks all the LAs need to do is following the Guidance...however...many LAs are but when cms read the small print of the contract we need to sin with them there are additional 'conditions' in there...the very reason I am not signing mine therefore unable to do the funding

I doubt Truss is aware of that
As she has asked cms to get in touch I will send her an email and see if she is true to her words and acts on them and indeed responds properly this time.

Thanks for sharing

hectors house
10-10-2013, 08:08 AM
When I received my funding forms at beginning of Sept, it still said "must have a level 3 qualification" - although I do have a level 3, I e-mailed them and challenged them on behalf of other childminders and they replied that the law hadn't changed yet - I sent my forms off and have been accepted.

I was told on Monday that now the level 3 requirement has been removed from their forms and that it is down to me for challenging them! :clapping: :clapping:

AgentTink
28-10-2013, 06:34 PM
After lots of letters to the DfE I finally got the response i was looking for:


Thank you for your email of 9October 2013 to the Minister, Elizabeth Truss MP, regarding an article in Nursery World title ‘Exclusive: Ask the Minister’.
I note that you have written to the Department on a number of occasions seeking clarification about funding for childminders rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ to deliver early education places.
You mentioned that your local authority, Sefton, had restricted childminders’ access to the delivery of funded early education places and you had questioned whether this was in line with the Department’s statutory guidance.
I can confirm that we have been in contact with Sefton regarding your query and have been able to clarify our guidance with them that childminders rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted should be able to deliver funded places to eligible children without additional local authority quality assessment . I am pleased to be able to tell you that Sefton have assured me that they will be in contact with you, and any other childminders who have found themselves in a similar position, to communicate the changes.

shortstuff
29-10-2013, 06:29 AM
Good for you x just hope they follow it through now x

smythsam
15-01-2014, 12:24 PM
Exclusive: Ask the Minister | Nursery World (http://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/article/1215619/exclusive-ask-minister)

I asked the question to Liz Truss about LA's not allowing childminders to access the Early Education funding, and this was her response

You talked about making Funded Early Education accessible to all "good" and "outstanding" childcare settings, including childminders, and you even got published a statutory guidance document for the Local Authorities to follow from September 2013. Are you aware that there are still barriers being put up by a huge number of Local Authorities which have prevent thousands of childminders from being able to offer this Funded Early Education funding? My Local Authority is waiting for the law to change until they will even consider allowing childminders to access the funding. How do you propose to make sure Local Authorities remove these barriers.


Our guidance to local authorities is clear that all good and outstanding providers – including childminders – are automatically eligible for 2, 3 and 4-year-old funding. There is no requirement that childminders must be part of a network to receive funding. Local authorities must not depart from the guidance unless they have good reason to do so. Waiting until the law is changed is not an acceptable reason to refuse to allow good and outstanding childminders access to funding. If your local LA is putting up barriers then I would urge you to get in touch with me at ministers@education.gsi.gov.uk.


:thumbsup:If anybody is having difficulties accessing the funding please send a email to the address above.:thumbsup:Right now Truss is going around saying that only 4000 childminders used to offer funding but now that has been opened up to 35,000 childminders giving parents more choice. She needs to know that this is not the case across the country.

We are halfway through our childminding course and were looking forward to offer funding for our children when we opened but have now been told we need to do extra courses that of course our local authority run...
our local authority have said they can set expectations and knowledge for us before they give funding

Simona
15-01-2014, 09:04 PM
It's good to see this thread revived as I know many LAs are still not following the guidance and imposing conditions

Kiddleywinks
26-03-2014, 07:31 PM
I have asked my funding officer about offering 2, 3, & 4 yr old funding Response is good or outstanding, min level 3, and member of the childminding network :-( What's my next step? I've got the first two covered, and I did look at joining the network when I first started but I prefer to use my own paperwork, and have no intention of jumping through their unnecessary hoops and paperwork, when I've managed perfectly well on my own without their help so far. I've found our new DO to be secretive, unapproachable, dismissive, and yes, there's definitely a personality clash because of it. Ms. Truss and her were from the same mould I think :-(

rickysmiths
26-03-2014, 07:48 PM
Hertfordshire got rid of Networks years ago. Until 2 years ago a Level Three plus Herts Quality Assurance was required by Childminders but no other providers :rolleyes:

While I was completing my Level 3 they removed the Quality Standard requirement and as I finished my Level 3 the Level 3 as a requirement was removed as well!

You can now register for 3-4 year funding with just a Satisfactory, Good or Outstanding grading and Good or Outstanding are required for 2 year funding.