Torys on Childminders

[Schnakes]

Saw this article linked to from the Guardian website....sorry if its been posted elsewhere....what do you think of the main thrust of it? Quite an interesting debate, I think!

http://conservativehome.blogs.com/platform/2011/10/elizabeth-truss-mp-we-need-a-childcare-revolution.html

[Pipsqueak]

hmm thought provoking - will come back and re-read laters.

[Mrs Pootle]

Very interesting, thanks for the link :thumbsup:

[Donkey]

Nearly half of all parents already use nannies, childminders, and after-school groups which are not OFSTED-approved, along with care provided by friends and relatives.


worrying!!!!!!!!!!

[stephym]

hmmm that really is an interesting article. If you ignore the highly political stance of it, the bare fact is that child care in this country is extortionate and parents (particularly working mothers) are being discouraged from going back to work after having children and I think that's a real shame. I have to say this is exactly why I am not returning to my old job. I was on a good salary but could not have afforded to lose £1200 per month (which is how much it would cost for the hours I worked). If a mother has a choice not to return to work then that's great for them, however most of us are in a position where we need to have a second income and it sometimes feels as though working mothers are being penalised for trying to return to work.

This quote is very interesting:
"The average family spends a third of their income on childcare, the highest of any leading country, despite the UK devoting nearly twice as much of our GDP to early years spending as most other OECD countries"

I've been chatting online to a working mum from Australia and she was so shocked to hear of our childcare costs. Her first comment was "how on earth can you afford to go back to work...."

However from a purely selfish viewpoint, as somebody who is just starting out as a childminder I'm hoping childcare costs don't go down just yet ;)

[Penny1959]

Thanks for the link - a interesting debate following the article

I am not sure I know the answer to this complex issue - 'one size fits all' is always difficult and there will always be those who benefit and those that don't.

However I can't help thinking that a direct system that pays childcare providers direct with out all the forms and the costs of admin for dealing with all the forms would be cheaper and therefore could be benefit more children.

So one system and one claim - I suppose a bit like the milk scheme

So I fill in a form saying who is in my care and the hours they attend - and I get x amount direct to my bank account. That way I am accountable for putting in a correct claim, all children benefit (so universal) and I set my 'top up' fee that parents pay based on amount recieve and the costs to provide my service.

In an ideal world I would not need to charge parents any top up fee as the government would pay the full cost -but don't think that is a possibilty in the current ecconmic climate.

But - I am sure there will be those with different ideas!

So as I say a difficult one to know what the answer is

Penny :)

[Rubybubbles]

will take a look later thanks


Hello again stranger:D

[The Juggler]

interesting article. I had always assumed the reason childcare was expensive for parents here was due to less government subsidies than other european countries were providing.

Most european countries offer really good quality childcare, how do they do this at such cheap prices if the gov't subsidies are less than they are here? I don't necessarily agree it is today with supply and demand. I certainly could not afford to run my business if I charged much less than I do now. I haven't put my prices up becuase parents cannot find alternatives :panic: :angry: I've only ever put them up in line with inflation and rising costs.

the way our government is subsidising must be v. wide of the mark then and not directed where it needs to be. How does sweden for example provide and train to high levels their early years staff and how do they do it for prices lower than they are here.

I really resent the fact that this article seems to suggest that more childcare providers would ease the high prices for parents - well it might for a short time but at the same time it would force us to start lowering prices to ridiculous levels and so we would end up out of business or our families suffering becuase we're not making a profit at all! How can you provide quality care and resources when you are not making a profit. Then the number of providers decreases again and so the cycle goes on:rolleyes: :panic:

[Pipsqueak]

I had always assumed the reason childcare was expensive for parents here was due to less government subsidies than other european countries were providing.

Most european countries offer really good quality childcare, how do they do this at such cheap prices if the gov't subsidies are less than they are here? the way our government is subsidising must be v. wide of the mark then and not directed where it needs to be. How does sweden for example provide and train to high levels their early years staff and how do they do it for prices lower than they are here.

:


The thing is other countries have invested heavily for years in early years and many have come to a point where things 'tick along nicely' - Sweden for example. However Swedish taxes are much bigger than ours and so much gets pumped back into childcare... not just the provision but the actual providers.

Formal education also starts later in all European countries so I wonder if this makes a difference.
Also I think raising a child is more community based, relaxed and informal in many other countries....

I wonder what it is that we are doing so 'off' in this country. Personally I think we have the wrong 'idea' about early years totally and ergo 'education'.