I agree it was a useful tangent/diversion.
The point about ratios/excptions is a good one. But there really is a lack of clarity from the powers-that-be. Your final point is well made: if 4Children are frustrated by mixed messages from DfE-Ofsted, then there's every reason for CMs to be confusticated.
Perhaps we've overlooked the point that the OP might not actually
want to go over ratio and have a 4th child to look out for. I can't speak for her, but it does bring a lot of extra considerations into the CMing day.
I worry that the more children we have, the less we can meet individual needs. I was talking with the mum of an autistic DS recently. She was really frustrated and quite angry about the lack of childcare options. She'd been to a lot of CMs who had no problem with taking on an autistic boy
per se, and some had specific training and/or experience that would help her son. But CMs were basically refusing her a place because the additional work and attention needed would mean they wouldn't be happy taking on their full ratio of children in total, which would in turn limit their earning potential. One had even asked her to pay double because he'd effectively "be taking up 2 places". Tbh I was very shocked and felt they were riding roughshod over the Equality Act, though part of me could see the CM's side of it if it really does mean extra work and taking on fewer paying customers to meet the boy's needs properly.
And finally, what is a "sticky thread"? Sounds like doing cross-stitch with candy floss.
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