Pacey , yes or no ?

[Mynewventure]

Hello , I've had my renewal for Pacey come up plus j need PL cover they want £100 for this membership do you all have it & use it much ? Is it my cost effective to just source PL elsewhere & can I buy childminding stationery elsewhere ( ie contracts ) Etc , I have to admit I dont find their staff overfly helpful or friendly maybe it's just me but I'm finding it all so expensive & haven't got any minders yet ?? Advice appreciated please thanks x

[sarah707]

This thread lists the various options

Membership & insurance options

[Mynewventure]

thanks sarah thats great help x

[joannetalbot]

I switched to MM 2 years ago and I haven't regretted it in the least! I did think long and hard about it as I'd always been very local to PACEY but at the end of the day I simply couldn't afford the membership cost and my insurance too. I don't feel that i've missed out on any info or support at all as this forum and the independent FB group more than keep me up to speed with what's happening in the big bad world

jo xxx

[Rubybubbles]

I change to MM about 3 years ago after I realised I had stacks of unopened pacey magazines as when they changed brand I felt the "childminder home from home" element was lost

[mumofone]

I am newly registered but couldn't really see what benefit they offered over MM considering how much they charge so haven't joined them x

[Simona]

Worth looking at PLA too...their benefits are good and comparable and the CMs' package is being reviewed all the time..
UKCMA has now ceased to be
ICM is a Social Enterprise. I have attended a couple of training courses with them... rather good.

MM is a tad expensive...both car and household insurance with them would be very costly compared to others.

[rickysmiths]

I have been a member of Pacey for 20 years and it has been worth every penny.

They got the proposed Ofsted registration Fee of £93 per year when Ofsted took over in 2002 reduced to £25 a year and now it is only £35pa when the original idea was it would go up to around £300pa by 2006. Pacey did that and all cm benefit not just members.

Pacey negotiated with HMRC for the 10% Wear and Tear and other % we can use for our Tax that other Self Employed people can't and again all cm not just members benefit.

What have MM done for all cm along those lines? Nothing because they are just an Insurance Broker wanting to sell insurance with no real long term interest in childminders.

MM PLI is over double the cost of Pacey's PLI for members.

I look at it that over 20 years my Membership fee has cost less than the huge proposed Ofsted Registration Fees and then add the money saved on Tax and I am Quids in. The membership Fee goes down in my Expenses as well. They still represent CM and I never know when I may need specialist support from an organisation that knows how I work?