PACEY or Morton Michel?

[stargazer1]

My PACEY membership and insurance is due for renewal next month. I've been with PACEY since I registered but have to be honest and say I'm not really sure what I gain from being with them. I did read somewhere that PACEY Cymru isn't as beneficial as PACEY is in England - please don't hold me to that, it's just an opinion I have read, not my own. Morton Michel quotation is almost half of PACEY's. Do any of you fellow Welsh minders use Morton Michel? Would be grateful for your opinions

[tulip0803]

I am with Morton Michel because I heard from other members on the forum that they were more help with non-paying customers -
* They are just an insurance company and do not campaign on behalf of childminders/childcare as Pacey do.
* They do have a childcare club with discounts and you get on-line copies of home childcarer and creative minds magazines.
* They are very biased towards EYFS as there are more English minders.
* Their free training is all about EYFS.
* They have started to do bilingual contracts but they are more expensive than English ones.
* MM allow you to use any contracts as long as they are legally worded, so you can write your own and still fully access their legal help should a parent not pay.

I am also a Pacey member (without insurance) -
* They campaign on behalf of childcare.
* If you apply for the grant in Carmarthenshire there is a section on the form that asks if you are a member of Pacey as FIS see this as a professional organisation (MM is just an insurance company).
* Pacey free on-line training is relevant to Foundation Phase.
* I had my inspection last week and the CSSIW inspector asked if I was a member of Pacey.
* Pacey Cymru understand Welsh Standards, Foundation Phase etc
* Pacey offer support for filling in the SASS forms (new SAF before inspections)
* Pacey offers a lot of free on-line resources
* Pacey offers webinars on different subjects.
* I have attended courses/seminars by Pacey that were really good

It costs me more money but I feel I have the better cover of MM and am still a member of a professional organisation so is worth paying more for. To me it isn't an exercise in saving money, I want to be fully protected and still a member of a professional organisation.

[k1rstie]

This is a great comparison tulip.


I noticed that MM will cover you in the future, if a child sues you as an adult. Their policy states that other insurers only cover childminders while they have a policy with them, while MM will cover the children you have now, in the future if they decide to sue as adults (page 9 of the insurance summery)



Tulip, I am not wanting to high jack your thread, but I have just received my direct debit renewal notification. I phoned the to ask what the break down was, as I am really thinking hard this year who to go with.

The bill was for £92.89. This was made up of £45 membership, £26.29 insurance and £21.60 group fees. I queried the group fees, and was left a message on the next working day to say that it had been an error, and should have been £5.40, so a total of £76.69

I asked around at my group and a childminder also had a bill of £92. She called, and is waiting for a refund into her account.

I ALWAYS pay bills, I NEVER question them. I only called because I was thinking of changing!

My advanced notice letter did not have a breakdown of costs on it, plus I could not actually find details of costs on the PACEY website. At least MM are transparent, and show their cost on their website

Is it only me who has been over charges? Plus my friend?
Have I been over charged before?
Is everyone in PACEY being over charged?
Is everyone at my group being billed for what amounts to 4 lots of group fees?
Had I not queried it would the overpayment still have been there next year?

Has anyone else been over charged?

[tulip0803]

This is a great comparison tulip.


I noticed that MM will cover you in the future, if a child sues you as an adult. Their policy states that other insurers only cover childminders while they have a policy with them, while MM will cover the children you have now, in the future if they decide to sue as adults (page 9 of the insurance summery)

I hadn't seen this but this is the reason that we keep accident forms for 21 years in case a child decides to sue when they are an adult. I assumed that Pacey/MM would cover as if you stopped childminding before the 21 years were up who would you turn to when the child sued??? Never occurred that they would not cover. I would check with Pacey too though to see if this is the case, they may just mean other PLI providers outside the childcare sector otherwise everyone would be a bit stuffed.

My renewal for membership from Pacey came through with insurance included and I had to ring them to make sure I could still be just a member.

[manjay]

I don't have much more to add to Tulips post as her reply is fab

What I will say though is that members in England and Wales have the same member benefits so not sure how it can be perceived to be more beneficial in England. I think often the confusion comes when members believe what they are offered locally comes from their membership fees. Some local authorities in Wales engage with Pacey to provide local services and some don't so if you are in a LA that doesn't you often find that members don't think they get much value for money.

I have been a member of Pacey since I started and to me it is an integral part of my business. I have tried MM insurance in the past but personally it didn't offer me anything different so there was little point paying more for the two.

It may seem that with all the changes happening in England that all the focus has shifted from us here in Wales but that couldn't be further from the truth. Pacey work really hard in Wales to ensure the viewpoints of childminders are taken into consideration. They are involved in meetings and consultations with WG about new proposals. Pacey Cymru was instrumental in getting our point across with regard to the new food standards agency legislation and as a result childminders here are now exempt from getting 'a score on the door' and having to display it at the entrance of the setting. They are also heavily involved in the current stakeholder consultations with regard to the review of registration, regulation and inspection of child care and early years.

Ok so maybe I did have more than a little to add to Tulip's post but as I am sure you are aware it is a subject I am passionate about. That is probably reflected in the amount of my personal time I give up to ensure the views of Welsh childminders are heard.

It is personal choice at the end of the day but that's my two penneth for what it's worth

K1rstie I will PM you x

[stargazer1]

Thank you lovelies!! Tulip and Manjay I can always rely on you - that was exactly what I wanted: good honest opinions. Thanks ladies xxx Hope you get it sorted K1rstie. Just checked my renewal and mine has membership fee blah; insurance fee blah; employers insurance blah. Xxx