Very disappointed with PACEY re: new LA statutory Guidance and funding

I am still struggling with Northamptonshire to ensure they are ready to implement the statutory guidance (in theory and in practice) from 1st Sept '13. I have repeatedly asked for help from PACEY (as a member.)At first they said:


"Thank you for raising your concerns. It is something which PACEY will represent members on and in the next week we will be working with Local Authorities to ensure that they are clear of the new statutory guidance. I will certainly include your point about what it may mean to your business sustainability if you can’t guarantee places to parents.

Once I have finalised a letter to go to all local authorities I will share this with members as I know this is an issues that many childminders are finding at the moment. "


I felt quite relieved they were being pro-active and standing up for childminders. However this hasn't happened. Have you seen anything about this new guidance from PACEY, have they told you about what this means to you as a childminder? Have they shared this letter or even sent one to the LAs? Not as far as I am aware.

Now they have changed their tune. "As I have said in a previous email, the new statutory guidance doesn’t come into effect until September 2013. If then Local authorities – who are aware of the new guidance are too slow in changing then we will be able to take further action. "


They may not be able to take any legal action until then but they can explain the guidance to their members, make sure all members know that they have new entitlements to funding under this guidance etc. It is not even in their news section. They can write very strongly to all LAs so that all childminders have the best chance of their funding being accessible from 1st September. They can assure LAs and their members that they will take action if this doesn't
happen.. I would be really happy to be corrected on the lack of action so far.

What a let down from PACEY!

We went to a meeting about 2 year funding Tues night. Our LA was using the new rules - and also told us that any newly registering childminder will be able to take funded children :( even before they have had their first grading :(

This makes me very cross when I think of all the hoops I have jumped through to get the funding and now anyone with an EY number will be as eligible as all those in the room who have done extra training, attended meetings, had monitoring visits, filled in LA documents, completed audits, got their good or outstanding grades and much, much more :(

You are not the only one to think this is all a bit of a farce :(

I am wary of any deregulation it is what makes us able to stand up for what we are worth the fact that they are going backwards is a worry :( I am always happy to do extra work and go to extra effort to enable me to understand my job better I just need to know what I am expected to do which isnt happening with alot of things childminding related at the moment x

I can really understand that anyone who has "jumped through all the hoops" to get the funding is annoyed that they have had to do so.

However the new guidance means that you won't need to. I am very much in favour of training, CPD and working to give all children the very best start in life. What I object to is the way that LAs assess this. Large files of additional evidence and duplicationg what you already do to provide the best service you can and demonstrate this to ofsted shouldn't be necessary. I think in the consultations childminders like me complained about the divisive nature of networks and their costly and bureaucratic nature in some LAs.i

I don't think this is about deregulation though, this is about removing the burdensome criteria - you still need to be good/outstanding in most cases. I might be shot for saying this but I would like to see more frequent Ofsted inspections which are more meaningful then. I certainly don't agree with deregulation I don't think multiple organisations having assessment powers is efficient or useful. LAs have a nasty tendency to take large some of money for providing these extra assessment services and it should be going to boost the free-entitlement levels which is partly what this guidance is about. Also there was no consistency between LAs and no consistencey between settings. Why should my local satisfactory pre-school have been automatically allowed funded places but me as an outstanding provider have to do all the extra pointless work. Childminders are being picked out a sless able providers who need extra assessment. Not good PR.

I think some of you must have had much better experiences with your LAs. At first I couldn't join a network - wrong area! So I was denied extra training/funding/resources and support which was given to network childminders as well as the free-entitlement. Then I was allowed to join. Great I thought. I saw the amount of pointless evidence I was expected to produce - non of which would make me a better childminder, it was just paperwork for the sake of it - and was told the rate would be much less than I charge anyway.

I also think it will help the status of childminding in general. If most childminders can now offer funded places, parents will see us as equal to nurseries etc. Not a place where you go until you can get the free-entitlement and move on to a "proper" provider.

But in the end, whatever PACEY's views on this they should be supporting me, as a paying member, to get what is due under the new guidance and the LA should be providing it on time.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sarah707

We went to a meeting about 2 year funding Tues night. Our LA was using the new rules - and also told us that any newly registering childminder will be able to take funded children :( even before they have had their first grading :(

This makes me very cross when I think of all the hoops I have jumped through to get the funding and now anyone with an EY number will be as eligible as all those in the room who have done extra training, attended meetings, had monitoring visits, filled in LA documents, completed audits, got their good or outstanding grades and much, much more :(

You are not the only one to think this is all a bit of a farce :(

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I can completely relate this to 2 childminders here.

One is an ex-nursery nurse. She is fabulous with the children, has a good knowledge of the EYFS, plans some great activities etc etc. I'd happily recommend her to any parent. She has recently had her first inspection and has been graded satisfactory, so can't offer the funding. She did make a couple of mistakes by not having the correct paperwork in place, so accepted her grading, but the rest of the comment on the report were really good.

The other cm is a lovely lady, but pretty clueless. She has no idea about child development & isn't interested in it. She just wants to earn a bit of money by "babysitting a couple of kids while I'm at home"...her words. I've no doubt they'll be safe & well cared for, but she won't do any more than the bare minimum she has to.

The first cm will not be able to offer the funding, but the second one will. Surely that's wrong?

4365...I have something to share with you but first I am going to grab a large glass of wine and will soon return!!
Mouse....that is very very wrong and allowed to happen for far too long!

Hi Simona - I'm intrigued now. I have a glass in my hand already!

Anni

After two glasses I hope I am going to make some sense now!

many issues here 4365...but you are not alone....I have been on Pacey's case since 2008 on this and then on more issues since
I have 27 days left to decide on my m'ship with them...I know what my gut feeling is telling me!!

You are fighting for equality for cms to access the funding and remove the anomaly that good/o's cms cannot do funding while satisfactory preschools can...
pacey have been aware of this for years and nothing done about it because they have promoted networks all along which, in some areas, were proving 'exclusive' to the few privileged and forgot the rest!

Many cms are not part of this fight for equality because it does not involve them ...so on this issue we are not united but cms like you will make a difference and we need more...I am with you 100%.
Check me out on Pacey Local and see what a pain I can be....

So to those who continue telling me 'we are not together in this' 'not speaking in unison' I say you are right...your priorities are different from ours and you cannot speak for us!

Having said that we are asking to join a scheme that will threaten our sustainability as the funding is pitiful but you are right...parents will see us as equal
We will have to fight that afterwards...work in progress there!

Has Truss address this problem? (which I pointed out to her last August in my meeting with her)...yes but very badly as she has not made LAs accountable but left them to continue to dictate the local rules and honestly ignoring Statutory Guidance...easy for them to break the law but you try as a cm!
In a way they are right on insisting on some quality assurance but it is too late ..they should have thought about that before and included all cms.

I recently wrote to pacey on agencies and funding...having appealed on pacey local and got no reply

I received the same wishy washy reply you got...they want me to feed the info to them...should I ?

They want to know from cms:
which LA is interested in agencies,
who are the 30 interested parties (pacey seem unaware there are 95 now)
will approach LAs in September if they are not complying to the guidance for funding...too late by then in my view!
Have tried to contact 4Children who are tasked with 'facilitating' agencies but to no avail

I have contacted 4Children CEO this weeks and got a reply straight away...2 in fact
yes they are facilitating agencies with the view to monitor them and will report as the trials start (watch their website as they will name those interested)

Pacey local is infuriating as no one knows the number who actually access their forum and it seems at times I am talking to myself when I post!
We have a link in this forum but it is not used effectively.

Pacey ask us to do the research and they will act afterwards...slightly worrying as I pay them to represent me.

I have had regular correspondence with the DfE on funding for months and take on board what is posted here and have the name of the person to address any further concerns at the DfE...I won't stop until we are heard.

At the moment the LAs seem to have the upper hand...what they tell us is that they are looking at the guidance and then come back to us but keep nudging them

Hope this makes sense...DM me for any further info...incidentally which LA are you in?...I am in Richmond upon Thames

My LA i.e. Staffordshire, is still insisting CMs belong to their 'partnership and be graded silver or above by them'. As I resigned from them a few months ago, after 10 years of being a network member and co-founder of it, due to being mentally abused by someone who works for them and did an unannounced visit on me because of my dogs basically, I can no longer access funding for the little ones I care for.
So can someone explain to me why this is so when Ms Truss herself told me I can offer funding? I have tried talking to them and got no where and this morning I had an email saying if I wanted to be considered for funding for 2 year olds then I had to inform FIS as soon as possible as deadline is 31st August, I ask you what is all that about, typical LA one department doesn't know what the other one is doing, oh just remembered I shouldn't call them Staffordshire now they are ENTRUST or something like that.
I despair.:(:(:(:(:(
Teacake2

I have posted this article in another thread and have just spoken to Nursery World

Baby boom will see a 'massive shortage' of free childcare places | Nursery World

This article is misguided as spaces are available if only the LAs stopped putting barriers up for cms and will give Truss reason to say 'told you so we need agencies to recruit more cms'

Not necessary if current good/o's cms are included in the funding and LAs stopped trying to get away from what is a statutory guidance!

So I am off to write to Nursery World and put in writing what I discussed on the phone.

Simona, I am in Northamptonshire. I have passed on all the info I have from the Northants childminding Association (who do seem to understand what the guidance says - but they are dependent on the council) and Northants County Council who in my correspondence with them are firstly in disagreement with the guidance and secondly don't seem to understand what it means or that it has to be implemented by the 1sy Sept.

They have until the 6th Aug to respond to my complaint (and they will almost certainly wait until then - if they reply at all if the process so far is anything to go by) and then I can go straight to the local government ombudsman who will hopefully enforce it. I hope that once the LGO has done this with Northants it will be easier for others to make their case and I will certainly add to the LGO evidence that other LAs are disregarding it.

I have looked on Pacey local but I can't see your posts. Is this because I am not in your area? I don't find it very user friendly. There are hardly any posts in my area.

The more I think about it the more Pacey's lack of support disgusts me.Not only have they made no effort to help me so far but they seem to be keeping it as secret as possible from their members. Not a single mention from them anywhere in their news etc.

I definitely won't be paying the extra to join them again. I will insure with another organisation and look at the PLA who seem to be listening to the sector much better at the moment.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 4365

Simona, I am in Northamptonshire. I have passed on all the info I have from the Northants childminding Association (who do seem to understand what the guidance says - but they are dependent on the council) and Northants County Council who in my correspondence with them are firstly in disagreement with the guidance and secondly don't seem to understand what it means or that it has to be implemented by the 1sy Sept.

They have until the 6th Aug to respond to my complaint (and they will almost certainly wait until then - if they reply at all if the process so far is anything to go by) and then I can go straight to the local government ombudsman who will hopefully enforce it. I hope that once the LGO has done this with Northants it will be easier for others to make their case and I will certainly add to the LGO evidence that other LAs are disregarding it.

I have looked on Pacey local but I can't see your posts. Is this because I am not in your area? I don't find it very user friendly. There are hardly any posts in my area.

The more I think about it the more Pacey's lack of support disgusts me.Not only have they made no effort to help me so far but they seem to be keeping it as secret as possible from their members. Not a single mention from them anywhere in their news etc.

I definitely won't be paying the extra to join them again. I will insure with another organisation and look at the PLA who seem to be listening to the sector much better at the moment.

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Hello you in Northamptonshire
My posts on Local are all in Childcare in politics...you are right there is little in local areas and many have no facilitators so little info sharing there.

You have gone much further than any of us but it is good to get feedback from you and get inspiration.

As you saw from the NW article there is concern at lack of places but honestly lots of people do not understand what cms have had to go through for years to get to the funding and what awaits us in future

We need to keep banging on at this...thank you for being an excellent example of taking no rubbish from your LA
Keep us posted