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mushpea
10-10-2009, 08:41 PM
i put an advert on there sometime ago about my childminding buisness, today i went on there to update the info and also paid £12.99 so i could email prospective parents. several hours later i recive an email this is what it said'
This email is to inform you that the recent changes made to your
profile have not been accepted, as they do not meet our editorial
guidelines.

If you are a Childminder it is a legal requirement that you are registered with either
Ofsted, CSSIW or the Care Commission. You must state which organisation you are
registered with in your profile. Advertising as an unregistered Childminder is
unlawful and could lead to prosecution, a fine and even imprisonment.'

at no point did it ask who I was registered with but i did put it in the qualifactions bit

i have been registered isnce 2007 and have done nothing wrong, all i wanted updated was that i passed my diploma with an A grade and that i was accredited , somthing that i was proud of, also i put a bit more in the personal detail bit just stating what i do each week ie visit toddler groups and the zoo etc.
I am really hacked off that they have refused my advert and that i have just paid £12.99 for them to do that, I am disgusted with the whole website and felt the need to shout and :angry: :angry: :angry: , sorry but thats how i feel at the mo'

TheBTeam
10-10-2009, 08:45 PM
I would contact them to explain, it sounds like a glitch in their system and some flag somewhere not having set correctly.

I certainly wouldn't pay £12.99 without getting to the bottom of this!

mushpea
10-10-2009, 08:47 PM
it ought to be a glitch, i am really not happy, have contated them and said they need to sort it out propmt as i am loosing potential customers, the laugh of it is i only paid cause i wanted to contact one of the parents who were adverstising for childcare and now i dont even know if they got my email as they have rejected my ad:angry:

gegele
10-10-2009, 09:01 PM
have a look as it did that to me once i think it was them anyway I done just the free bit but if you look carefully i think there is a select boxe for ofsted or wales or something like.

it's like on here you can't post with too many smily!!!:thumbsup:

give it a try;)

Cazz
10-10-2009, 09:07 PM
I thought you only had to mention in your advert that you're Ofsted (or similar) registered and that would be acceptable. Obviously you did that so I don't see any reason why they would refuse you.

I wanted to contact a parent advertising and also a couple that had viewed my profile so I started to go through the gold upgrade but didn't complete it when it seemed to me that another payment would be automatically taken from paypal or your credit card at the end of your subscription. I may have got that wrong but it was the impression I got. I'm very wary of doing this as I've had real trouble stopping one in the past.

Seems a bit pointless to put your advert on and then no-one can contact you!

I would definetly complain and ask for a refund.

miffy
10-10-2009, 09:14 PM
it ought to be a glitch, i am really not happy, have contated them and said they need to sort it out propmt as i am loosing potential customers, the laugh of it is i only paid cause i wanted to contact one of the parents who were adverstising for childcare and now i dont even know if they got my email as they have rejected my ad:angry:

I hope it gets sorted out quickly for you.

Miffy xx

mushpea
11-10-2009, 08:37 AM
well, went on there again late last night and saw that the bit were i had wrote i am ofsted registered had been deleted, re wrote it back in and thismorning my profile is back on line but i am still disgusted becasue they didnt check i was registered or ask for my EY number they just accepted it because i wrote it so basicly cant see what difference it makes if i write or not cause unscrupulus people would just write on anyway

youarewhatyoueat
11-10-2009, 08:42 AM
Sounds like they sorted it fairly quickly, perhaps next time give them the chance.

Richard
11-10-2009, 09:31 AM
I am sorry that you are disgusted with our service but I feel that your outburst is unjustified.

When you create your profile and select that you are Childminder, the following message is displayed:

IMPORTANT: Only registered childminders with Ofsted, CSSIW or the Care Commission can lawfully advertise as a childminder. It is illegal to look after children under 8 in your own home if you are not a registered childminder. You face prosecution, a fine and even imprisonment if you advertise as an unregistered childminder. If you are a registered childminder then you must state this somewhere in your profile, together with the name of the organisation you are registered with, otherwise your profile will be rejected.

When you first submitted your profile you did not state that you were Ofsted registered which is why your profile was rejected.

You then resubmitted your profile and this time stated that you were Ofsted registered which resulted in your profile being accepted.

We have no way of verifying Ofsted registration numbers and so don't ask for them. Previous discussion on this forum resulted in a general consensus that Childminders would not feel safe giving our their registration numbers in any event.

Naturally for the safety of our other members we cannot accept profiles from unregistered Childminders and unless you state that you are registered then we have no other way of knowing that you are registered.

If you take a look at all of our other Childminder profiles, you will see that they all mention that they are registered. Most of them do this within the My Qualifications section.

You first contacted us about this matter at 9:34pm yesterday evening and 7 minutes later decided to post of your "disgust" on this forum. Our Customer Support Team responded to your enquiry a little after 9am today.

Very best wishes

Richard
childcare.co.uk

FizzysFriends
11-10-2009, 09:58 AM
I think them having the extra bits about if you are registered or now was a result of the forum, it was to stop people calling themselves childminders when they weren't registered.

Sounds like it was sorted quickly though esp as its Sunday.

Blackhorse
11-10-2009, 10:02 AM
I have to admit I also found your post a bit harsh...

I can fully see why they would make sure that nobody that isnt registered cant advertise on their page. All too many people dont care about registration so I find it is important that they do!
It seems to have been a minor issue that quickly can be resolved...
I didnt quite understand the disgusted bit of your message to be honest.

mushpea
11-10-2009, 02:27 PM
I was disgusted because i had just paid them £12.99 to have the privilage of emailing somone then they take my profile off, my original post has been on there some time and did state ofsted registered as it did when i reaplied but it had some how go deleted, i added the reg bit on again and now its ok, yes it got sorted but i am not happy that they accept at my word that i am registered, fail to see how this method stops unregistered people advertising on there because they are already breaking the law anyway so they certainly wont care about stating that their registered when their not. There needs to be a better way of them checking we are registered, not by putting our details on the website as that would be daft but they could ask for our number then check with ofsted to make sure only registered people get on there.
my post was not meant to upset people so applogies if i did but it was to make people aware that unregistered people can still advertise on there as no checks are made.

Pauline
11-10-2009, 03:50 PM
i am not happy that they accept at my word that i am registered, fail to see how this method stops unregistered people advertising on there because they are already breaking the law anyway so they certainly wont care about stating that their registered when their not. There needs to be a better way of them checking we are registered, not by putting our details on the website as that would be daft but they could ask for our number then check with ofsted to make sure only registered people get on there.
my post was not meant to upset people so applogies if i did but it was to make people aware that unregistered people can still advertise on there as no checks are made.

I don't think there is any foolproof way of checking this. At the end of the day it has to be down to the parents to check and then report back if someone is not truly registered.

There are thousands of childminders, I doubt Childcare.co.uk or Ofsted would have the time to carry out such a check.

Even if they could I doubt Ofsted would be allowed due to confidentiality rules, they would need permission first from the childminder to share the information.

The logistics of it would be impossible. :(

Richard
11-10-2009, 05:46 PM
Thanks Pauline.

It is impossible for us to check 100% that a Childminder is registered and so it is up to the parents to make their own checks and verify that the Childminder is registered by meeting them in person and viewing their original registration documentation.

Many childminders join our site for free and don't pay us a penny. Pauline is correct in that the costs and logistics involved in what you propose are just impossible.

If a someone were to give us an Ofsted registration number and it was possible for us to check the number with Ofsted, this would not ensure that the number actually belonged to the person who provided it to us.

The best we can do is to make the Childminder actually write in their profile that they are "Ofsted Registered". By doing this, they are warranting that this information is correct and their declartion forms part of their legal contact with us as part of our terms and conditions.

You had no reason to be "disgusted" with us. Such a claim in completely unjustified, false and potentially damaging to our goodwill and reputation

Next time you have a "problem", please contact our Customer Service Team and allow us a reasonable time to respond to you directly before you decide to make public outbursts that are not warranted.

Many thanks

Richard
childcare.co.uk


I was disgusted because i had just paid them £12.99 to have the privilage of emailing somone then they take my profile off, my original post has been on there some time and did state ofsted registered as it did when i reaplied but it had some how go deleted, i added the reg bit on again and now its ok, yes it got sorted but i am not happy that they accept at my word that i am registered, fail to see how this method stops unregistered people advertising on there because they are already breaking the law anyway so they certainly wont care about stating that their registered when their not. There needs to be a better way of them checking we are registered, not by putting our details on the website as that would be daft but they could ask for our number then check with ofsted to make sure only registered people get on there.
my post was not meant to upset people so applogies if i did but it was to make people aware that unregistered people can still advertise on there as no checks are made.

aly
11-10-2009, 05:59 PM
are you sure it was taken off and not in 'moderation queue?

When I update my profile it takes it offline until they update their end...you then get an email to say all updated.

There was a post before about adding your reg number as it would be public and others could claim etc.

Pauline
11-10-2009, 06:11 PM
If a someone were to give us an Ofsted registration number and it was possible for us to check the number with Ofsted, this would not ensure that the number actually belonged to the person who provided it to us.


This is so true. I've had many people who ask why I don't insist that people register here on the Forum with their Ofsted number so that I know for sure that they are a real childminder, but the truth is anyone can get a number from the internet, they can get details of where the childminder is based from their report, but that doesn't mean they are that childminder and there is no way of checking.:panic:



You had no reason to be "disgusted" with us. Such a claim in completely unjustified, false and potentially damaging to our goodwill and reputation


I have to agree with Richard, the wording especially in the title was unfair, I appreciate that you perhaps posted in haste and were stressed but in fairness to childcare.co.uk I have edited out the 'disgusted' part.

Bazza
11-10-2009, 06:28 PM
With relation to what Richard from childcare.co.uk has said, i agree, it is very difficult to prove people are who and what they say they are. With the side of our business where we supply Nannies, we personally meet each and everyone we place. We can then check all their details (which we are legally required to do). However we are only able to cover the Surrey area.

With a service that we provide in relation to childminders, it is not practical to meet everyone so we have to take it on faith that they are registered with the appropriate body. We do check and vet each ad that is submitted and request confirmation of no mention of registration is made. The only way to be sure is to make parents aware that their responsibility is to check the details themselves. As a parent myself i would do this anyway regardless of how someone was found.

The worst thing that could happen is that sites like childminderfinder.com and childcare.co.uk were legaly required to check registrations. From my point of view it would mean shutting down the service so more effort could be put into our core business which generates the revenue. Unfortunately my view of the way that the goverment seems intent on regulating childcare to death, i expect it to happen soon (or we will be forced to pay a license of some kind).

Maybe what we need is a coalition of childcare directories...

Edit: To add to what Pauline has said relating to registration numbers, i have read about potential fraudulent use so wouldnt blame minders for not wanting to give them out.

mushpea
12-10-2009, 10:05 AM
I appriciate that it would be dificult to check everybodys regsitration
BUT you are all missing my point, my post was taken off the site because I didnt put i was reistered, well so what, anybody could put that they are registered when they are not, I dont expect them to check everyones registration but i found it wrong that that they would take of my post because i didnt put that i was regsitered as cant see the point in it when anyone can write it,
obviously i am not allowed an oppinon on this nor am i free to express my views on the matter.
cant be bothrered to waste more time on this as nobody seems to understand the point i am making anyway

aly
12-10-2009, 10:29 AM
I appriciate that it would be dificult to check everybodys regsitration
BUT you are all missing my point, my post was taken off the site because I didnt put i was reistered, well so what, anybody could put that they are registered when they are not, I dont expect them to check everyones registration but i found it wrong that that they would take of my post because i didnt put that i was regsitered as cant see the point in it when anyone can write it,
obviously i am not allowed an oppinon on this nor am i free to express my views on the matter.
cant be bothrered to waste more time on this as nobody seems to understand the point i am making anyway
Are you sure it was taken off??/ Whenever i amend/edit any details it takes it offline in a moderation queue....it is not visible to anyone searching [not even yourself - i think] until it has been approved.

Hebs
12-10-2009, 10:38 AM
This is so true. I've had many people who ask why I don't insist that people register here on the Forum with their Ofsted number so that I know for sure that they are a real childminder, .

i wouldn't have joined :blush: i guard my ofsted number with my life :laughing:
theres a childminders group on freecycle and before i joined i was asked for my ofsted number so i told them i wasnt happy giving it out to people i dont know :blush:

Pipsqueak
12-10-2009, 10:40 AM
i wouldn't have joined :blush: i guard my ofsted number with my life :laughing:
theres a childminders group on freecycle and before i joined i was asked for my ofsted number so i told them i wasnt happy giving it out to people i dont know :blush:

The thing is the new childcare database (the fiasco that is DCSF) - FIS will be giving out our Ofsted numbers so people can check the reports for themselves!

Hebs
12-10-2009, 10:57 AM
The thing is the new childcare database (the fiasco that is DCSF) - FIS will be giving out our Ofsted numbers so people can check the reports for themselves!

well thats going to open the flood gates for false claims :rolleyes:

daisyboo1980
12-10-2009, 11:02 AM
over in northern ireland we are registered but our local trust early years and social services team and dont actual get any registeration number even though we are fully registered and all above board.

Pauline
12-10-2009, 12:55 PM
obviously i am not allowed an oppinon on this nor am i free to express my views on the matter.
cant be bothrered to waste more time on this as nobody seems to understand the point i am making anyway

Of course you are allowed your opinion and are free to express your views, if you weren't your post would have been removed, it is the way you have put it across that hasn't been very fair on the company.