OFSTED/NCMA letter

[Pipsqueak]

Have you all sent this letter to NCMA. It concerns and will affect all of us.

copy of the letter below (just copy and paste on your word processor and add in your own details)




<<Your address details>>

Consultation Unit
Department for Children Schools and Families
Area 1A
Castle View House
East Lane
Runcorn
Cheshire
WA7 2GJ

<<Date>>


Childcare Act 2006: Future Approach to Fees and Subsidies consultation

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am concerned about the proposal from the Department for Children, Schools and Families to introduce much higher registration and annual fees for childminders from 2008.

The proposal is to raise the fee for registering on the Ofsted Childcare Register (OCR), compulsory for childminders looking after children aged 5-7, from £15 to £103 from September 2008.

It also proposes to introduce staged increases in registration fees for the Early Years Register (EYR), compulsory for childminders looking after children from birth to 5. This increase will be from £20 in 2007 to £100 in 2010.

There are several reasons that I am concerned by this proposed increase:

1. I run a small business as a childminder and such a huge, and sudden, increase in registration fees will have a significant impact on my business. There are already significant costs to setting up a childcare business and this additional financial burden may put off new childminders, as well as causing existing childminders to consider whether they wish to continue childminding.

2. A large increase like this will force many childminders out of business. With fewer childminders working, the duty on local authorities to provide a range of childcare places for parents will be more difficult to fulfil.

3. Linked to the above is the danger of an increase in unregistered providers, thereby endangering the safety of children and dramatically undermining the increasing quality of registered childminders.

For these reasons I urge you to reconsider your proposals and retain the current level of subsidies for all providers.

Yours faithfully,



<< your name>>

[angeldelight]

Yes Thank you Vicky I did it a while ago

Thansk for the reminder

Angel xx

[Schnakes]

Yup - sent it last week, as it happens!! I hope they do change their minds - that increase in rdiculous!!! They could have at least send out a letter or something saying "this is what we will be doing, so we will need so much more money".

Sx

[miffy]

Thank you Vik have sent mine

Good to have a reminder though

Miffy xx

[ajs]

thanks vik
i am just doing it now

[crazybones]

In evelope with stamp on ready for posting on way to school. TY

Annie x

[ajs]

done it

took all this time to work out where my new printer wanted me to put the envelope so i could print the address rather than write it

[Shirlwith3]

I sent mine awhile ago by email and here is the respoinse I got:-

Childcare Act 2006: Future Approach to Fees and Subsidies


Thank you for responding to the fees consultation. I note that you have chosen to do so by using a letter prepared by the NCMA.

The letter you have used states that the duty on local authorities to provide a range of childcare places for parents will be more difficult to fulfil as a result of the increase in fees and asks us to retain the current level of subsidies for all providers.

We are not reducing the amount of subsidy funding. We are transferring the additional fee income to local authorities as part of their childcare sufficiency funding to help them in their new duty under the Childcare Act 2006 to secure sufficient childcare to meet the needs of parents and children in their area.

We are simply using the proposed new fee structure to move from a blanket national subsidy, paid irrespective of need, to one where decisions would be made locally about how best to use the money in order to support local need. It will be for local authorities to decide how to use their increased funding to support childcare providers but it is tied in to their new sufficiency duty to secure sufficient suitable childcare for parents in their area to work. We will be working with local authorities to determine how local mechanisms will work to ensure a fair distribution of the subsidy but it is parents’ needs which will determine the support given.
Although the percentage increases look very high, the baseline was low with only two small increases in fees since 2001. In actual money terms the increase for the Ofsted Childcare Register in 2008 is £83, which even if the full increase is totally passed on to parents would be an increase in the charge of 53 pence per week per parent, assuming 3 parents used the childminder.

The letter expresses the view that should these proposals come to fruition some childminders would continue to provide care for children aged 7 and under but be unregistered. This would of course be illegal and if found such provision may be subject to Ofsted enforcement action. However, we don't believe that our proposals will encourage childminders to operate outside the law. Assuming that all registered childminders are meeting the demands of parents locally our proposals will ensure that local authorities, as part of their sufficiency duty, will be able to provide a su bsidy to meet the continuing costs of registration where it is needed.

We are grateful to you for taking the time to let us know your views.

The closing date for comments is 20 February 2008. We are expecting to receive a wide range of views and I can assure you that everyone's comments will be taken into account.

The results of the consultation should be available on the Department for Children, Schools and Families e-consultation website (www.dcsf.gov.uk/consultations) in March/April 2008.

If you would like any further information, please contact the Department's enquiry line on 0870 000 2288 or email
Fees.CONSULTATION@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk


Yours sincerely

Paul Oates

[Pipsqueak]

Thanks for sharing that with us Shirl!


Although the percentage increases look very high, the baseline was low with only two small increases in fees since 2001. In actual money terms the increase for the Ofsted Childcare Register in 2008 is £83, which even if the full increase is totally passed on to parents would be an increase in the charge of 53 pence per week per parent, assuming 3 parents used the childminder.

Great, thats assuming as they say that each childminder has 3 children, what about those who don't /can't fill their spaces and those minders who only do before/after school. Its going to cause loads of grief for many.

The letter expresses the view that should these proposals come to fruition some childminders would continue to provide care for children aged 7 and under but be unregistered.

Yep I think their will be an increase in un-reg'd minders This would of course be illegal of course it will be illegal but you are perhaps forcing people into a situation where they cannot sustain their businessand if found such provision may be subject to Ofsted enforcement actionuh huh. However, we don't believe that our proposals will encourage childminders to operate outside the law. Assuming that all registered childminders are meeting the demands of parents locally our proposals will ensure that local authorities, as part of their sufficiency duty, will be able to provide a su bsidy to meet the continuing costs of registration where it is needed.

We are grateful to you for taking the time to let us know your views.

The closing date for comments is 20 February 2008. We are expecting to receive a wide range of views and I can assure you that everyone's comments will be taken into account.

The results of the consultation should be available on the Department for Children, Schools and Families e-consultation website (www.dcsf.gov.uk/consultations) in March/April 2008.

If you would like any further information, please contact the Department's enquiry line on 0870 000 2288 or email
Fees.CONSULTATION@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk


Yours sincerely

Paul Oates


Bless them eh!!!

[Banana]

I will do this also, I am not happy about the proposed increase although if it happens it happens and me moaning about it wont change that.

But you have to look at it this way

£100 over 12 months, its basically £8 a month. Its not going to kill me. I know thats probably a really controversial thing to say (believe me I am against the increase) but im not going to stress myself out about it cos lets face it we never get listened to really.

I guess I have just accepted the fact I'll be putting my £8 a month away somewhere safe for my annual fee (ever the optimist me :rolleyes: )

xx

[Tiisku]

I have to say my earnings are so low that whenever money comes in it also goes out.. £100 is a big lump sum to pay when you can't manage to save up every month. :( Especially when there are other expenses to pay too such as NCMA membership and insurances, supplies etc.. I was just calculating that is't fair enough to fill in the accounts book for taxing but it doesn't matter to me what I claim in it as my earnings fall below the taxing limit anyway ! So for us with a little cash it's a big blow really. Fingers crossed they will listen and change their mind.

[sarah707]

I always put a percentage of my earnings a month away for my tax bill, just in case I get one... I will, I suppose, just add £8 a month extra to this and be ready when I need to pay the bill...

I really hope they change their minds, but tbh I cannot see it happening. We are railroaded into so many things, I wonder why they bother asking us first! :rolleyes: