View Full Version : Quality Assured
jibberjitz
11-03-2009, 08:28 PM
Hi,
I had a call from my local childminding co-ordinator today who is wanting to arrange a visit soon. What she really wanted to to know is if I wanted to be a 'quality assured' childminder. I did ask her what the differences/benefits etc if being QA but all she really said was that someone would visit me every 10-12 weeks.
How many of you are QA and do you think its worth doing?
vix84
11-03-2009, 08:41 PM
Hi,
I had a call from my local childminding co-ordinator today who is wanting to arrange a visit soon. What she really wanted to to know is if I wanted to be a 'quality assured' childminder. I did ask her what the differences/benefits etc if being QA but all she really said was that someone would visit me every 10-12 weeks.
How many of you are QA and do you think its worth doing?
Id also like to know any info. on this topic too please.
And is Quality Assured and Accredited the same?
I did belong to a quality assured network but TBH it never helped me much. It just meant that the co-ordinator came to visit once a month and did risk assessments and asked questions. When the funding ran out we were droped like a brick and have never heard anything about any replacement network. Never got any work from it and as now redundant Ofsted not impressed by being quality assured previously.
Jules12Wed
11-03-2009, 08:52 PM
The childminders that are quality assured round here seemed to take ages to go through the process also it sounded like a lot of work.
To be accredited has just been three visits so far and my network co-ordinator has filled in all the papers so far. Being accredited means you can offer the funded places but don't think you can do this by being quality assured.
jibberjitz
11-03-2009, 08:57 PM
Thanks for info ladies - just when I think I've got my head around it all someone calls and confuses me again!!!:laughing:
sarah707
11-03-2009, 08:58 PM
QA is a course by ncma or similar. It involves filling in a usually lengthy folder of evidence of how wonderful you are.
I did it a while ago and it's not benefitted me in the slightest and then the network goal posts changed and I didn't need it after all but I'm not bitter and twisted about it :D
jibberjitz
11-03-2009, 09:01 PM
QA is a course by ncma or similar. It involves filling in a usually lengthy folder of evidence of how wonderful you are.
I did it a while ago and it's not benefitted me in the slightest and then the network goal posts changed and I didn't need it after all but I'm not bitter and twisted about it :D
LOL - it sounds like a lot of hard work for nothing!
misst104
11-03-2009, 09:03 PM
The childminders that are quality assured round here seemed to take ages to go through the process also it sounded like a lot of work.
To be accredited has just been three visits so far and my network co-ordinator has filled in all the papers so far. Being accredited means you can offer the funded places but don't think you can do this by being quality assured.
I thought that you need to be quality assured before you can be accredited??
x
Minstrel
11-03-2009, 09:05 PM
I did it a while ago and it's not benefitted me in the slightest and then the network goal posts changed and I didn't need it after all but I'm not bitter and twisted about it :D
:laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:
Pipsqueak
11-03-2009, 09:11 PM
I have NCMA Quality First (level 3 no less) and I would love to say that its bought me in loads of work and enquiries - but it hasn't (parents don't give a flying monkeys about it), it has given me such benefits as...... ermmmm, oh yes and.......... yep thats it zilch
It was interesting to do - it makes you really reflect on your practice and that was really my first experience of doing reflection (upon reflection I shouldn't be on here I should flick the tab and go back to my coursework) and it helped me with that. Not sure I will be paying the £50 to renew it in a couple of years time.
vickie83
11-03-2009, 09:15 PM
That's interesting Pip as the local network woman rang me today (I'm assuming it's the same one as you) to see if I was interested. I said yes coz I thought it would bring extra work.........I'm a bit gutted that all it really means is extra paperwork:rolleyes:
rickysmiths
11-03-2009, 11:23 PM
I did my local Quality Assurance Scheme three years ago I am one of only two of us in our little town to have it and all of us fill our vacancies. It was interesting to do, it took about six months with a mentor visiting about every two weeks to help get paperwork up to scratch and the a verifier visited a bit like an Ofsted Inspector, but much nicer!
They have changed the scheme here now so I am going on a evenings briefing to see if I'm going to renew it this year.
The only thing is that here you need it to become accredited to receive the 3-5yrs nursery funding.
tinkerbelle
12-03-2009, 10:57 AM
I have NCMA Quality First (level 3 no less) and I would love to say that its bought me in loads of work and enquiries - but it hasn't (parents don't give a flying monkeys about it), it has given me such benefits as...... ermmmm, oh yes and.......... yep thats it zilch
It was interesting to do - it makes you really reflect on your practice and that was really my first experience of doing reflection (upon reflection I shouldn't be on here I should flick the tab and go back to my coursework) and it helped me with that. Not sure I will be paying the £50 to renew it in a couple of years time.
i have this as well at level 3 but to be honest my parents are more interested in experience and a nvq3 or equivelent so i wont be paying the renewal fee either
Pipsqueak
12-03-2009, 11:01 AM
I did my local Quality Assurance Scheme three years ago I am one of only two of us in our little town to have it and all of us fill our vacancies. It was interesting to do, it took about six months with a mentor visiting about every two weeks to help get paperwork up to scratch and the a verifier visited a bit like an Ofsted Inspector, but much nicer!
They have changed the scheme here now so I am going on a evenings briefing to see if I'm going to renew it this year.
The only thing is that here you need it to become accredited to receive the 3-5yrs nursery funding.
Like you Ricky, I did find it really interesting to do, I enjoyed it at the time. Now that I have moved on I can see with hindsight, so far it hasn't benefitted me in the slightest ie in helping to fill places. There is a bit of a push at the moment to try to get a CFC network going in our area but its all to do with funding (isn't it always).