NCMA V MM?????

[Blaze]

OK - I need to sort this out & I feel like I'm going round in circles with this!

Basically I've been with NCMA since I started minding - MM is chaeper & seems to give you more in terms of parents not paying, dicounts on pproducts (not paperwork - I mean places & resources) - but as far as I can tell the NCMA insurance is slightly better for after school age...is this about right...& who do you go for & why?!!!!!

Thank you in advance!:)

[Chatterbox Childcare]

I have tried both but I am now back to NCMA.

I have children over the age of 8 that want to play outside the front of my house in a cul de sac. MM do not cover me for this and NCMA does.

I also think that without support of childminders NCMA would not survive. They do a lot for childminders, such as lobbying to keep our fees down, and I feel that I should give something in return. It is not always about the cheapest but I do understand the credit crunch hits hard.

[ajs]

i'm with ncma because i always have been god knows why as when i neede them theywere rubbish and made an officail complaint against one of their staff

[Blaze]

Hi Mandy - I've missed you!:clapping: :)

...So would you switch?

[Blaze]

I did notice that difference Debbie - any other major ones that you've noticed?:)

[ajs]

Hi Mandy - I've missed you!:clapping: :)

...So would you switch?

i keep thinking i will then don't come renewal
i will watch this thread with interest

i would love to chat now but i really need my bed but i will be abck tomorrow night

[Blaze]

Sleep well. x

[angeldelight]

I was always with NCMA but changed last year to MM

They are cheaper you can use your own contracts with out it affecting your insurance

They are more helpful - I think so anyway

With regards to children playing outside over the age of 8 well it does not affect me anyway because the children are always in with me they do not go out to play
I can not watch and supervise children if they are out side so I just do not allow it

So all in all MM suits me better although I do agree that NCMA are a great support for minders most of the time

Angel xx

Angel xx

[littletreasures]

I've got this dilemma as well. Been with NCMA for 20 years though

Need to decide by the end of the month.

[tinynippers]

ive been told. that i have no choice but ncma. due to being in cyprus. xxx

[sarah707]

MM have always been helpful and answered my questions promptly.

If they don't know the answer they get back to me.

Their childminder package is growing all the time as well... they now have free training information, an online monthly magazine of childcare issues and an online link to Creative Steps (which is an expensive one and very good).

They also have a Childcare Club which saves you money on some things including Nursery World mag subscription.

Their information pack is good as well... the one with contracts, permissions etc... if you choose to buy the folder.

I'm like Angel, I don't let children play out anyway so that's not an issue for me.

Hth :D

[miffy]

I've always been with ncma. I think about changing but have never really looked into it - when the renewal comes I just tend to pay it - maybe this year I will look at it in more detail.

Miffy xx

[Daftbat]

I am with MM this year having always been with NCMA in the past. Over the last ten years i don't feel that i have received anything particularly good from NCMA. I changed primarily because of cost and value for money but since i changed i have been impressed with the "creative minds" magazine which i get access to online and their website provides good access to news and issues afftecting minding. In comparison the "Who Minds" magazine was not worth getting.

I understand the issues around NCMA being a voice for childminders but they need to move up a gear to keep up with the competition. I have never needed to get legal help from either company so can't comment on that side.

[Pudding Girl]

I've just swapped this year from SCMA to MM.

I went SCMA from the start as was advised to being new, but in all honesty I haven't had anything worth the membership from them apart from the forum which is so bad to navigate that I don't bother (plus here is far better!) and the free training they bang on about but have no had any access to any either.

You don't need to be a member of the SCMA to join a CM group so no reason there either.

The playing outside thing doesn't bother me as I wouldn't do that anyway as Angel says, I can't be doing things indoors and supervising kids outside (plus I only do under 5s anyway!)

[Chatterbox Childcare]

It is interesting that childminders, based on this thread so far, are moving companies not because of price but because of what they can also access.

[Twinkles]

Not much help really , I get mine free through ' My Family Care '.

I got a child through this company and as an incentive to minders they give free insurance which covers all of the children in your care whether or not you are minding the MFC child at the time.

I also got a grant for safety equipment and craft materials :thumbsup:

[LittleMissSparkles]

I intend to change to MM after being with NCMA since registering and neededthem when i was taken to small claims court by aparent who's contracted i terminated, on the morning of the court case the solicitor they send didnt even have half of the paperwork i'd sent to NCMA and didnt even no i had made a counter clim against the parent all a little bit too late 10 minutes before due to go into court, I was not happy with their service at all and thats why i will be changing when its ready for renewal and see how MM are


HTH Blaze x

[Daftbat]

It is interesting that childminders, based on this thread so far, are moving companies not because of price but because of what they can also access.

I agree - i think that now that EYFS is making us all view our jobs ina more professional light we are looking more and more for resources that help with our planning ,and running our business.

I think NCMA need to stop relying upon their charitable status making us feel "guilty" if we don't support them. They are a charity but they are also a large company who should re-assess what they are offering their membership - cm's are becoming more demanding - quite rightly in my opinion.

[Pudding Girl]

It is interesting that childminders, based on this thread so far, are moving companies not because of price but because of what they can also access.

I thought that for the money there seems to be more "stuff" with MM than SCMA. I'm looking forward to finding out how I can access Creative Steps for one, I need some new creative juices!

[Mcgons]

I'm new to childminding and my council grant covered either NCMA or MM but chose NCMA. Read loads of posts on this forum and kept going round the houses about it. Finally decided on NCMA because of the membership and the things NCMA do for childminders. NCMA has helped with producing the new food safety pack for childminders from FSA, so it's things like this that as a new childminder are really helpful.

[Hebs]

I'm with NCMA at the moment as the first year was free, but come renewal i will be changing to MM

NCMA did NOTHING to help me claim back over £1500 in owed fees so i lost out big time :angry:

sorry but NCMA are a joke

MM seem to support childminders more in contractual disputes/none payment of fees/ termination/ unpaid fees which is the main reason we all have insurance in the first place :thumbsup:

[Monkey1]

Been with MM for two years.........no complaints.......much better than NCMA who i was with for 8 years before. No contest

[aly]

I'm with NCMA at the moment as the first year was free, but come renewal i will be changing to MM

NCMA did NOTHING to help me claim back over £1500 in owed fees so i lost out big time :angry:

sorry but NCMA are a joke

MM seem to support childminders more in contractual disputes/none payment of fees/ termination/ unpaid fees which is the main reason we all have insurance in the first place :thumbsup:

Me too.

I found my ncma contact not very helpful at the beginning when I wanted help on how to do the accounts..what did she do?? booked us all onto an inland revenue course..which was fine but still didnt help {STILL dont know what im doing]

I am almost certain I will be going to MM and glad this thread is here as I wanted to start one but didnt.

Do you get reminded when your renewal is due??? or is it left to us?? mine was feb anyway

[manjay]

Haven't really got time to go into loads of detail right now but I have just renewed with NCMA and that is where I will stay.

I think there are also two issues within this thread. One being NCMA's PLI and one is being a member of them as a professional body.

Will be back later x

[christine e]

As I have said on many many occasions NCMA is a charity and MM is a profit making company. NCMA takes up issues and concerns with government and LA's and gets results for us.

Christine

[Hebs]

As I have said on many many occasions NCMA is a charity and MM is a profit making company. NCMA takes up issues and concerns with government and LA's and gets results for us.

Christine

i appreciate what your saying but the lack of support when WE need it is offputting :thumbsup: i lost out on £1500+ cos of them :angry:

[nikim]

i have also had issues with ncma legal department regarding unpaid fees and ended up going throught the small claims court to retrieve my money as i found them slow and unhelpful, so changed to mm for this reason alone , and i must say i havent had to use their legal department so far , but find thier paperwork really easy to use ,especially their contract as it already has all the permissions on that you need and space to add any others , and as others have said you get good resources online and money off stuff aswell :clapping:
also cost and value for money is a deciding factor and ncma need to look at this if they want to continue providing a service for cm's

[Jo_Jo]

A couple of years ago I had difficulties with a parent paying and NCMA gave me loads of help and support. They provided legal help when I had to go to court. I think for childminders who are self -employed, this is big bonus of memebership. You don't know how awful it is to have to go through this until you have a problem, but knowing I had the backing of a recognised organisation really helped. I couldn't have afforded legal assistance otherwise.

NCMA also lobby the government and make sure childminder's voices are heard - the Ofsted fee would have gone up a lot more if NCMA hadn't campaigned against this. I think childminders need a voice in government to represent their views regarding legislation and any issues about childcare.

[little miss chatterbox]

My insurance/membership needs renewing next week and I'm having the same dilemma. I have not had to use any legal help yet (touch wood) or claimed any insurance and have always used NCMA in my 3 yrs of minding.

However.....now I am thinking about using MM mainly because I like the sound of their package and eyfs training guides. On the other hand I know of a lot of people who have used NCMA's legal help etc and it has been invaluable to them.

So.... I was tempted to renew the ncma membership and get the MM insurance - that way I have access to both. This will cost me £89 though

or I could go with MM and will cost me £41

or I could continue with NCMA and it's cost me £71

I should point out that I use NCMA contracts, would they still be valid if i purely go with MM and does the £41 MM package come with legal help etc?

Thanks loads your experience and advice would be invaluable

[MrsT333]

My insurance/membership needs renewing next week and I'm having the same dilemma. I have not had to use any legal help yet (touch wood) or claimed any insurance and have always used NCMA in my 3 yrs of minding.

However.....now I am thinking about using MM mainly because I like the sound of their package and eyfs training guides. On the other hand I know of a lot of people who have used NCMA's legal help etc and it has been invaluable to them.

So.... I was tempted to renew the ncma membership and get the MM insurance - that way I have access to both. This will cost me £89 though

or I could go with MM and will cost me £41

or I could continue with NCMA and it's cost me £71

I should point out that I use NCMA contracts, would they still be valid if i purely go with MM and does the £41 MM package come with legal help etc?

Thanks loads your experience and advice would be invaluable

i want to know exactly the same thing as you.....my insurance is up 14 jan, and i thought about doing ncma & mm, just to get the free stuff this year, but it seems a lot of money...i dont know what to do :panic:

[suez]

im sure someone has said before on here that if your with mm you can use any contracts you want but if your with ncma you have to use their 1s
im with mm purely coz of the money side i looked into ncma but im sure i read you have to pay membership to be able to then use their insurance too much money i found im with mm you get to buy contracts etc.. at a discout price because im using their insurance and iv found them very useful when iv rung them .

[Chatterbox Childcare]

I did notice that difference Debbie - any other major ones that you've noticed?:)

Sorry didn't see this until today.

The additional insurance cover was my main priority but the all over membership allows a professional body to work on our behalf. What did MM do when the government wanted to put our fees up?

[Chatterbox Childcare]

i appreciate what your saying but the lack of support when WE need it is offputting :thumbsup: i lost out on £1500+ cos of them :angry:

Just seen this - why haven't you taken it to a solicitor other than NCMA? Surely if you have a case you will get all your fees back?

[Mollymop]

I havent' read replies, sorry

I have voted NCMA but I can]t say who is better as I have never used MM - I use NCMA as when I registered as part of my grant was NCMA membership, toolbox and insurance x

[Mollymop]

oh! and plus I like using NCMA contracts, child record forms, accounts book, register,.. I would be lost without these documents. If I weren't a member I would have to pay double the price when it comes to purchasing these goods

[The Juggler]

It is interesting that childminders, based on this thread so far, are moving companies not because of price but because of what they can also access.

it is. worth feeding back at the regional forums. I'm going to the jan one.

[beccas]

I am debating whether to have insurance with mm but membership with ncma... up for renewal inmarch

[berkschick]

Just re-newed my insurance this morning and I have switched to MM.

The main reason being the cost! I understand what you are saying about NCMA being a proffesional body etc but I needed to save the money. Also have a friend who is owed £800 by a parent and the NCMA have been next to useless in helping her so far.