Guessing a few of us have had this - but for those who haven't here it is
Dear Penny,
Here is our fundamental re-drafting of the proposed NW letter. I'd really welcome your feedback, and whether you think there's anything in it that could damage your campaign, and childminders more generally, as we're determined to avoid that at all costs.
Many thanks for helping us get this right!
All the best
Richard
Dear Letters Editor,
We wish to comment on the response to MP Elizabeth Truss’s recent intervention into the child-minding field (Nursery World, 14–27 May; see also Letters, 28 May–10 June, and the associated petition challenging the deregulation of child-minding). Eva Lloyd and ***** are absolutely right in their letters to NW to subject Ms Truss’s proposals to searching examination, not least for their possible unintended side-effects on childminders. The status of childminders has undoubtedly risen in the sector since 2008, which is something to be universally welcomed and not put at risk in any way.
Yet those of us who have consistently challenged aspects of the EYFS and the role of the Ofsted inspectorate are placed in a very difficult position; for whilst we might agree in principle with any government decision to look again at the current early childhood regulatory regime, we are also clear that this must not be done in such a way that either the remuneration levels or status of childminders is in any way threatened. We are all agreed that the work childminders do is enormously important for the future wellbeing of society, and we believe that there needs to be a major cultural and political shift such that those doing this important work are remunerated at a level that is fully commensurate with its importance.
So what is the solution for those of us who are supportive of the government looking again at the EYFS and Ofsted dimension of the regulatory system? The obvious answer is that Elizabeth Truss perhaps needs to widen her vision, to question the regulatory regime for the whole sector, not just for childminders; and that rather than having a ‘one-size-fits-all’ EYFS and Ofsted regime imposed on the whole sector, willy-nilly, we need regulation which is both appropriate to the kind of work and care done with provided for young children, especially with regard to their welfare and, more crucially still, flexible and responsive to the rich diversity that exists across the sector. Surely it is parents’ prerogative to decide on the kind of learning and developmental care they expect from childminders, rather than the government making this decision for them, such as with the EYFS learning goals.
There are now reports that outstanding and good early years settings in the independent sector may well be able to achieve blanket exemptions from the EYFS; and if the DfE is prepared to consider such flexibility for the independent sector, there is no reason why such flexibility shouldn’t apply across the whole sector – and most crucially of all, without putting at risk in any way the hard-won professionalism and status that childminders have at last begun to achieve.
Thoughts please not replied yet - one thing is a bonus - I am learning how things work on this phone
Penny
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