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View Full Version : What would you want/expect....



Rasharoon
08-07-2010, 03:57 PM
..... as a Childminder from your local Children's Centre?

My reason for asking is that I have recently started at my local Children's Centre and one of my groups is 'childminders'. Sadly, the fortnightly group has never taken off and only ever 4 of us attended. Not a lot went on and nobody bothers anymore.

Can you be honest and let me know what you would want/expect from your local centre. And any ideas on how to build it up?

Really appreciate your help and the more of you that reply.... the better picture I can build of a Childminder's needs in a Children's and Family Centre.

Polly2
08-07-2010, 04:09 PM
I would be interested too as I am trying to start up a network.

Watching with interest :)

rickysmiths
08-07-2010, 04:14 PM
Don't start me on Children's Centres. Personally I think they should all be closed and the money put into greatly improving the Midwife and Heath Visitor Services. By doing this all new parents would benefit rather than the few that are targeted by the Chidrens Centres.

Our local childrens Centre Manager does the min for cms to tick her boxes for Ofsted. She actively supports the local Private Nurseries and does vertually nothing for the cms. She never visits our orginal group despite being invited.

We started a cm group when the centre opened and it was made so difficult, no stroeage for toys, sharp cornered low coffee tables were the only table available for doing activities, no outside space was made available though there was some we could have used, no over fives were allowed so if an inset day was on a cm group day and we had school age children we could not go, we were not allowed to advertise our vacancies but all the nurseries were :rolleyes: ..............:angry:

Rasharoon
08-07-2010, 04:26 PM
Rickysmiths
That's a real shame about how your local centre do not support you. Where I work, we have a toy library with extended borrowing for childminders, an outside play area and a designated room for the date the CM's come along. They are also welcome to come to other groups like Rhyme Time and Mucky Pups. My Centre Manager was a childminder herself so understands.

It would appear that we are lacking an incentive to bring the childminders in and having spoken to some of my friends who are CM's, they currently feel let down in that nothing is going on for them (ie: glueing, painting, drawing can easily be done at the CM's setting so why come to a group?)
The other problem I have is that some CM's keep themselves to themselves and don't want to join in and I'm stuck as to how to include them.

As I live in a village, I always felt it would be great for all the childminders to get together as there are only about 10 of them - not including rural areas - but it seems to be a lot trickier than I thought.

Think I've got bit of a job on my hands.

Toothfairy
08-07-2010, 04:39 PM
Hi, hope the job is going well. :thumbsup:

I attend the childminging group at my local Surestart centre once a week. So far I have not been too impressed, sorry.

I have 2 main reasons;

1) They bent over backwards to have us when they first opened but over the last year, as they have got bussier, they have started to be difficult. They are forever reducing the storage space given to the group, leaving the room dirty and untidy, double booking the room even though we have had it every wednesday for the last year etc etc......

2) There is no shade in the outside area, the nappy bins are always over flowing and stink, they leave things like open bottles of washing up liquid on the childrens sink etc etc......

It just seems that the novelty has worn off for the staff and they are becoming very lazy.

I have spoken to the manager in person and written them a letter. They say they have taken my comments on board but nothing changes.

rickysmiths
08-07-2010, 04:59 PM
Rickysmiths
That's a real shame about how your local centre do not support you. Where I work, we have a toy library with extended borrowing for childminders, an outside play area and a designated room for the date the CM's come along. They are also welcome to come to other groups like Rhyme Time and Mucky Pups. My Centre Manager was a childminder herself so understands.

It would appear that we are lacking an incentive to bring the childminders in and having spoken to some of my friends who are CM's, they currently feel let down in that nothing is going on for them (ie: glueing, painting, drawing can easily be done at the CM's setting so why come to a group?)
The other problem I have is that some CM's keep themselves to themselves and don't want to join in and I'm stuck as to how to include them.

As I live in a village, I always felt it would be great for all the childminders to get together as there are only about 10 of them - not including rural areas - but it seems to be a lot trickier than I thought.

Think I've got bit of a job on my hands.


I think you will. We have about 50 childminders in the small town i live in and about 10-12 come to the childminding group. It saddens me that in the last 2 years only one new childminder has come and they are all invited through the buddy scheme ( though Hertfordshire closed it down this March). I would have given my eye teeth to have had a group like ours to go to when I first started out.

I was so isolated in childminding terms. I went to the toddler groups that I took my children to but there were no other cms. We didn't live where we do now. We all find the support offered is fab and our children get to know the other minders so when we need emergency care if one of us is ill or on holiday, the parents have the peace of mind that their child already knows the childminder they may go to.

As to how you attract people, I don't know. Could you get your local NCMA support worker to invite the cms to a meeting to introduce them to the place the group is held and to those of you who already attend?

rickysmiths
08-07-2010, 05:05 PM
Hi, hope the job is going well. :thumbsup:

I attend the childminging group at my local Surestart centre once a week. So far I have not been too impressed, sorry.

I have 2 main reasons;

1) They bent over backwards to have us when they first opened but over the last year, as they have got bussier, they have started to be difficult. They are forever reducing the storage space given to the group, leaving the room dirty and untidy, double booking the room even though we have had it every wednesday for the last year etc etc......

2) There is no shade in the outside area, the nappy bins are always over flowing and stink, they leave things like open bottles of washing up liquid on the childrens sink etc etc......

It just seems that the novelty has worn off for the staff and they are becoming very lazy.

I have spoken to the manager in person and written them a letter. They say they have taken my comments on board but nothing changes.

Thank goodness we were not the only ones. As I said in my earlier post. Lets close them all down and use the money more wisely to benefit more.

Pipsqueak
08-07-2010, 05:09 PM
Well, the problems I have had with my local CC - they tried to get my drop in closed down several times and then they forcibly moved the session (so that they could put on a 6 week session for parents) - resulting in a huge drop in attendance. I had to FIGHT to get my session reinstated on a different day.

They then withdrew the 'hub' - a room for minders with lots of books, internet access, comfy chairs etc. After 3 months we have just recovered the books.

The CC manager is a two faced, arrogant so and so.

That said - the majority of staff I get on well with - the EYP's are lovely (except for 1) and T saw me in the entrance today and dragged me into her parent session and showed me her newest idea. It was brilliant (will share it elsewhere). She is more than happy to come to my drop ins and share good practice, we swop ideas and experiences. My CDO is based at the CC as well, so thats quite convienent.

What do i want as a minder from the CC - somewhere accessible and welcoming. Somewhere where I am respected as a fellow professional. Access to resources and training. to be included in whats happening locally and how we can ALL work together for the benefit of the community.

Chatterbox Childcare
08-07-2010, 05:09 PM
I am the Area Rep for my childminding group and we aim to support new childminders, arrange training and I keep an up to date vacancy list and everyone refers parents to me for help

It was set up before the Childrens Centre so we are self sufficient but the centre does give us space, materials and a regular meeting place at no cost.

sarah707
08-07-2010, 05:32 PM
Our CC at the moment is welcoming and supportive of childminders.

We have a weekly session there and we use inside and the garden area.

Changes are afoot though as we are losing our DO and getting another so I don't know what will happen next.

I want children to be able to do things at the CC they don't get every day here like using different resources, lots of messy play etc.

I would also like them to build up a lending library and toy library so I can borrow things.

I would love it if I was welcome for other sessions like the messy art and the book sessions but they are parents only.

Good luck! :D

PRINCESSDAISYFLOWER
08-07-2010, 06:50 PM
I have a list as long as my arm with grieviences (sp) i have with my local centre.

There are a number of groups that go on when we have our session, they get priority on all the resources so we get whats left.

We have to hire out the room where-as parents can use the the sessions for free.

childminders have to pay higher rates to use toys from the toy library.

We are kept at the back of the centre in a small airless toyless room.

They provide no refreshments, cups etc for the children so we have to bring our own, where-as the groups for parents have juice, milk, fruit, buscuits etc.

The staff treat us like second class citizens and see us a nuisence (we have heard this from a senior members own mouth). They actually resent (sp) us using their facilities and would rather they layed empty and unused than be used by us.

They have a private nursury on site so wont let us advertise or promote cming in general

To top it all off. In this area we dont get any grants etc as all the money allocated to cm's was given to this centre

The Juggler
08-07-2010, 08:37 PM
I think you need a cc manager supportive of childminders and their importance as local childcare provider, a supportive head (if attached to a school) and an active development officer.

I think good workshops, good resources to borrow and activity ideas to share and a manager who chats to the minders. We are lucky, ours does and I'm on the management committee but I know of loads who are more like Pip's and others' experience.:(

loocyloo
09-07-2010, 07:34 AM
we don't have one!

well - we have an office that the childrens centre staff work out of 2 days a week. they are based in another office elsewhere the other 3 days a week.

when it was being set up, they came along to our CM group and were keen for OUR help/advice etc, and said they would pop along to our group, be at toddlers etc .... can't say i've ever seen them since! :rolleyes: they ran a competition to name the 'centre' through the local schools, now, i think i know what its called, but we've never had an official 'thank you for all your entries, the winning name is XYZ'

apparently they are going to run all sorts of sessions in all sorts of halls etc - going to be interesting to see what resources thay have, as they will have to take them everywhere with them, or borrow resources from all the groups that currently use the respective halls!

DIPPY DOUGHNUT
09-07-2010, 08:58 AM
i have to say ours is great. :D they have different things going on everyday of the week and in the school holidays they arrange loads of different activites and they are all free :D .

~Chelle~
09-07-2010, 09:17 AM
Our childminding group is at the local Childrens Centre, which is attached to my sons school.

I refuse to go the the actual group as the minders there were more interested in sitting in the corner parent bashing, slating off Ofsted and moaning about the little ones that they look after.

It was basically left for me and another minder to keep an eye on the children that these other minders were being paid to mind. I actually steered a child towards their minder as they had snot (sorry if tmi) dripping down to their mouth and the minder said "oh for crying out loud, all you do is snot everywhere":eek:

You HAVE to be a member of the childminding group in order to advertise your services at the childrens centre too so makes it hard when I cant stand half the minders there.

I do attend the other sessions there like messy play and play for under 3's and these are much better and a few minders do attend them and do actually play with the children that they mind.

Oh and also I am fed up with courses that I apply to go to being cancelled though lack of interest. It seems some minders round here don't see the need to do these courses and can't be bothered to go as it is in "their" time. We all need to learn and have no choice but to do this is in our own time, at the end of the day a couple of hours here and there is nothing compared to keeping yourself up to date with courses which will help you learn more and is, therefore, more beneficial to the children you look after grrrrrr

Sorry for the mini rant there lol xx

Carol M
09-07-2010, 09:20 AM
[QUOTE=rickysmiths;741698]Don't start me on Children's Centres. Personally I think they should all be closed and the money put into greatly improving the Midwife and Heath Visitor Services. By doing this all new parents would benefit rather than the few that are targeted by the Chidrens Centres.

Our local childrens Centre Manager does the min for cms to tick her boxes for Ofsted. She actively supports the local Private Nurseries and does vertually nothing for the cms.


You took the words right out of my mouth!
The families who most need support DO NOT access the centre. It is aimed at so called middle class families , Baby yoga classes etc . The communities stick together for the help and support they are comfortable with and thats as far as it goes. The money would be so much better used extending the HV service so as no child gets missed out!
As to my experience with CC the less said the better. My gripes reflect what others have said and some minders in my area were told they could not access the open groups as they were intimidating the parents, more like showing good practice in my view. This was the opinion of the CC manager.
Carol xx

heatherw
09-07-2010, 11:43 AM
Im glad im not the only one with a gripe against cc's. I complained to my DO about it because it wouldn't allow me advertise vacancies there and i wasn't allowed to join the toddler group and tell parents i was a childminder! I have received the latest list of groups that are happening there til september and there are none i can attend! I think there are a complete waste of money and resources.

Rasharoon
09-07-2010, 11:53 AM
Thank you to all who have replied. I'm stunned as to how bad a service many of you seem to encounter. It would appear that I'm the other way in that I work at a very pro-active centre for Childminders but sadly, it's the CM's who don't wish to attend!

Anyhow, thanks again for your input.
x