grading (double whammie)

[spowage]

hi found out at my local child minding group last week that the old childrens services will be coming round yearly to grade us as well as ofsted!!!she said when parents ask for a list of local childminders we will have a grade beside our names and it may be completely different to ofsteds grading !!!!!! she also said most childminders are being downgraded (great). she is to visit me within a couple of weeks to check on my paperwork policies ect (shes there to help ) much rather her tell me if im wrong than ofsted. have any of you heard about this???karen

[Bendy]

Not heard anything in my area, not sure if that is a good idea or not. Surely parents will take an Ofsted grading over one provided by them so who is going to benefit. Also I assume this is a service that is attached to your local authority so there must be a cost involved and I thought that services were subject to cutbacks. Obviously any extra help and guidance is always appreciated.

Sorry I've got my negative head on today.

[spowage]

ofsted come once every 3 yrs or there abouts and the others will come yearly which is not such a bad idea.maybe its just east sussex???

[Bendy]

ofsted come once every 3 yrs or there abouts and the others will come yearly which is not such a bad idea.maybe its just east sussex???

That is very true and I can see the advantage in that. You will have to give us an update after your visit. Good luck

[keeks]

ofsted come once every 3 yrs or there abouts and the others will come yearly which is not such a bad idea.maybe its just east sussex???

Where in East Sussex are you? I'm in Brighton and haven't heard anything yet, but just started minding so not really in the loop yet I suppose.

xx

[Ripeberry]

Sounds like the kind of thing they do for Network minders or Accredited minders? Nothing like that in the West country.

[mrs_scottydog]

We have something similar with our Council. I'm in Essex and they give you RAG inspection. You are graded red, amber or green, hence the name RAG. I've not had either inspection yet, only registered in August, I'm also not sure how often our RAG inspections are. Hx

[Jules12Wed]

Those of us that have the Quality Mark which mean we can claim the Early Education Entitlement funding are RAG rated but it is for funding purposes i.e. if you are Green you are given more funding but no rating goes out to prospective parents.

[gegele]

I'm in essex where all childminders are to be ragged, RAG like mentioned before, not just the one providing funded sessions.

our co ordinator came for a visit, had a look through paperwork, asked question... there is like a sef with it but she filled it up as she went as i wasn't keen

i was rated green and then when i received paper i notice that an area had a amber on it : apparently i'm not really good at sending back paper to LA with availabilities etc....

oh well

[Rubybubbles]

I'm in essex where all childminders are to be ragged, RAG like mentioned before, not just the one providing funded sessions.

our co ordinator came for a visit, had a look through paperwork, asked question... there is like a sef with it but she filled it up as she went as i wasn't keen

i was rated green and then when i received paper i notice that an area had a amber on it : apparently i'm not really good at sending back paper to LA with availabilities etc.... oh well

good grief! I never send anything back about my vacanices! As I have none and this hasn't changed!

to me this is pointless! yes having someone out to see and help is great, but lets be honest in my area (south Bucks) child care spaces in general are like gold dust and parents don't even care about Ofsted reports

[mamasheshe]

seems a bit pointless and a waste of their time surely an ofsead inspection should cover it ?

[Allie]

I'm on a Network so have co ordiator checks but no grades, my Early Years funding rate from local council is paid at different rates depending on your availability and level of training so as I have a level 3 and 4 in childcare and the highest level of availability I receive the top rate. You also have to have an Ofsted good or outstanding to be able to draw funding


Allie

[ninagee]

Just had a meeting with our childminding network co-ordinator today. All early years settings including childminders (800+) in Birmingham will be graded under EYQISP - Early Years Quality Improvement Support Programme (who on earth chose this title???). Just had a look at the document and its 75 pages long!!! We will all get a RAG grade which means:

Red grade - supported once a month
Amber grade - supported every 2/3 months
Green grade - supported once a year

She spent one hour today filling in paperwork and coming back later on in the week for another one hour session for more paperwork. After this there will be a type of conference with other early years professionals to decide on our individual grading and any support required. She gave an example such as: if my paediatric first aid certificate runs out in March 2011, I will be put on the next available course even if it means jumping the queue!!

Wait there's more...

Also today I had the local childcare development worker doing her annual audit which took one and half hours. She will also return next week to go through ALL my paperwork as part of this EYQISP.

The poor trees are going to suffer with all this paperwork....plant a tree for life before its too late!

Nina

[miffy]

Just had a meeting with our childminding network co-ordinator today. All early years settings including childminders (800+) in Birmingham will be graded under EYQISP - Early Years Quality Improvement Support Programme (who on earth chose this title???). Just had a look at the document and its 75 pages long!!! We will all get a RAG grade which means:

Red grade - supported once a month
Amber grade - supported every 2/3 months
Green grade - supported once a year

She spent one hour today filling in paperwork and coming back later on in the week for another one hour session for more paperwork. After this there will be a type of conference with other early years professionals to decide on our individual grading and any support required. She gave an example such as: if my paediatric first aid certificate runs out in March 2011, I will be put on the next available course even if it means jumping the queue!!

Wait there's more...

Also today I had the local childcare development worker doing her annual audit which took one and half hours. She will also return next week to go through ALL my paperwork as part of this EYQISP.

The poor trees are going to suffer with all this paperwork....plant a tree for life before its too late!

Nina

Barmy! Sounds like they are trying to hang on to their jobs to me!

Just hope it doesn't happen round here!

Miffy xx

[Minstrel]

Do you have to agree to this? Surely the only people we have to answer to is OFSTED?