Accrediation, it is worth doing

Hi I'm thinking about being accrediated.

It is worth it, what are the good things and bad things I must consider first?

Please reply back.

Thanks
Jenny

I became accredited in sept. my LA asked for quite a high criteria and If I had to do it again, I wouldn't. I still have to go on a course next weds, travelling 40mins, taking an hour off work to go on a course which tells me how to do paperwork that I've been doing for 5yrs...pointless but that's what they wanted me to do so they could tick a box.

Having said that though, I have 1 child who would have had to go somewhere else to claim their hours and I have another receiving it after Xmas and another from Easter. So it's helped my keep these three children. :thumbsup:

It really depends on what your LA need of you, some posters on here have had an awful time.

It hasn't been so bad in Essex although there is still paperwork for paperworks sake. There was a lot of form filling at the beginning. I have Mondays off and sit mainly doing bits that the LA need me to do. I have just sat here this morning filling in yet another form. I also have to attend meetings which waste my time. I travelled 40 minutes in the fog last week to sit and listen at how I can improve my setting. I'm all for training, but its something that could have been sent via the internet to save fuel and time.

It has helped me keep 2 children which would have otherwise gone to a pre-school, and I think it gives parents a feeling that I offer a "bit extra" even though I don't do anything really different than I did before I was accredited.

Check how much you will get paid, as all LA's are different, I receive a bit more than my hourly rate so don't loose out, but many do, and you can't "top up".

I am loosing one of the funded children due to parents moving and one will go to school next year, so I don't think its worth the extra work at the moment, although now I have become accredited I will probably keep it up for future children as I don't think I could face going through all the initial paperwork again.

I became accredited last September too. I had a LO full-time who would have left me so I kept him. My DD gets her funding in January so that's a bonus too! The criteria in my area wasn't as bad as some. I have a good network here and we get first refusal on all the new training and some that is only offered to accredited CM's. The hourly rate is less than mine though which is a pain.

once you have jumped through the initial hoops then everything else is the same as normal here apart from filling in forms to claim your money, the rate is higher here than the average hourly charge too. i would definetly do it again if i was a new minder, i am very popular because of it.