Primary school becomes first childminder agency | Children & Young People Now
Our childcare Minister has wasted no time in praise of the agency...with a good pinch of rhetoric
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/c...o-first-agency
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Primary school becomes first childminder agency | Children & Young People Now
Our childcare Minister has wasted no time in praise of the agency...with a good pinch of rhetoric
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/c...o-first-agency
Saw this thanks and I've looked on their agency website again today. I still find it strange that the three childminders appear to have fictitious names and addresses.
I have not been able to find the website you mention Smiley.....would you be s kind as to share the link so cms who do not do FB keep updated...thanks
This is the school website and says nothing about agencies.
St. Bede Academy, Bolton
Sorry, this is the one I was referring to
Childcare Agency
Thank you Smiley
I have found some of the details rather disturbing and frankly very unprofessional especially the section showing 3 male cms...one apparently with the same name and address as Superman I believe??
It gives them an agency rating...how when the agency has not been inspected as yet?
Under the packages...the info is all the same and there is no mention of any costs to cms or parents
The details of self employment 'within your own home' is rather ambiguous
Hope this is enough to raise and report concerns
It all seems really worrying to me. A large 'academy' with 6 nurseries already looking to recruit childminders, It all sounds very business like.
Seems that I'm making the right decision to give up in Sept 16 if this is the way its going.
The website looks more like a dating agency rather than someone looking for a childminder. The mugshots don't look like any childminders I've seen .. lol (Apoloies Bunyip if you are similar looking to one of these chaps)
I am totally and utterly ignorant on the subject of setting up a website and characters as you can gather.... but ...if I were to try and sell mine to others I would ensure it did not go live with Mickey Mouse details...ooops....sorry don't take that wrong
Considering they are now registered at a very fast pace they should have had the time to prepare while 'teaming up with the DfE' and during their trials as it was obvious they were going to be the 'chosen' ones to lead the agency saga.
I like your thinking JCrakers!!!
I agree completely - if you want your business to be treated seriously you'd make sure the website was up & running properly before you published it (or whatever you do with a website).
I've looked on their FB page and there's very little info on there - certainly nothing that isn't on the website. There's no info about packages & costs, just a post saying the first 5 childminders to register will receive "great savings".
One childminder has already left a review saying thanks to the agency business has never been so good! This surely must be a 'trial' website , its certainly not the one I found when I googled. If its the actual website then they need to be reported for false information and false advertising!
I'm concerned that Barry Allen has space for 8 children under the age of 5 :eek:
Uh Uh...I was under the impression they had a queue of cms waiting to register?...remember their rhetoric during the trials?
Hope CMs are wise old beavers and not taken by huge savings based on non existing figures
I was thinking a spell on The Apprentice may do this agency good ...no costs...no idea of their USP...firing would not take that long :ohdear:
Rather laughable I think
They don't even know how to set up a website. Pages under construction should be hidden from the public. They have used fictional names to work out the layout. FAIL!
I couldn't believe it when I first saw the site a few weeks ago, seems a very strange way to promote a new business!
You Smiley fox...you kept it all to yourself!! :D
Mind you it took me ages to find the right St Bede's school in the 1st place as you know...there are sooo many and never found the link to their website that's why I asked if you could share
Mmmm....thinking about a few questions to put to Sam Gyimah next week at #eytalking...since St Bedes can do no wrong for him, maybe he should take a look at their website?....food for thought
I wouldn't say anything Simona. Let the wonderful St Bede's look stupid and maybe they will shoot themselves because i would hope any self repecting cm would walk a million miles in the opposite direction! Let them fail on their own, don't tell them what they are doing wrong!
Just popped on to website to see for myself what St Bedes is all about. If I was a childminder locally it doesn't give me confident vibes about the service they might provide for me!
You would think if the website designers are going to use fictional characters they would choose a childcare one, Mary Poppins, Euphegenia Doubtfire etc... though I have a LO who would love the action packed, shoot em up childcare that I would imagine you would get from Bruce - good role model for promoting characteristics of learning, solving problems, seeking challenges.
The idea of when you have low days being able to do supply in the nursery might be a positive for some - if you don't have your own children to care for though.
[QUOTE=Simona;1382492]You Smiley fox...you kept it all to yourself!! :D
Mind you it took me ages to find the right St Bede's school in the 1st place as you know...there are sooo many and never found the link to their website that's why I asked if you could share
I think I didn't initially share because I couldn't quite believe it! :laughing:
That idea is possibly very attractive to some cms...a bit of variety and working with others settings...I would like it myself as an opportunity to engage and discover how other settings operate
What I am worried is that the website says 'Cms will be self employed in their own setting'...or such like...did I read that correctly?
What employment status will they have if they opt to do supply cover???
RS...I will reflect on that...if not the Minister I know where else to refer this
Does anyone not remember when the 20 Agencies Triallist were named one of them allowed their website to go live while still under construction?
it caused a few laughs and worries then ...it went a bit viral with people joking about it and sending links to one another to take a look...I did not think it was funny .
History repeats itself and CMs deserve better...
In addition to St Bede's Academy ...has anyone been able to access the websites of the 3 Ofsted registered agencies and found anything useful?
The other school now registered is Northumberland Church of England Academy (NCEA)...is it a coincidence that this one like St Bede's is an Academy?
I believe Trio Childcare is now registered as well but I am missing the 4th one despite searching the Ofsted website...has anyone found any more?
PS: I think it is @Home Childcare...so 3 agencies in the North and one in the south.
@homechildcare still say their service will be unveiled in the coming months! @homechildcare.co.uk
It will be interesting if it is @homechildcare as that is local to myself and funnily enough we are about to lose our local pacey team and I'm at a loss at to what our LA support looks like. I'm also starting my level 3 training with them so I'll be keeping my eyes peeled and ears open x
None of the 4 websites give any info on anything
St Bede's has a section with question on charges which they do not respond to
NCEA has nothing on being registered but they were advertised in NWorld with 4 Children's support...that ad is enough to make you yell....Google it and read it
Trio talk about scaremongering but no further info
@Home Childcare say they will announce further plans in future
Why the secrecy if they are registered?..all we want to know is how many CMs have switched over to them and how many they are currently registering...simple!
Not even Sue Robb would answer that last week but our LA told us what they would charge...ha ha ...I am still laughing :laughing:
In addition CMs agencies can now access a DfE grant to set up...£1,000 which is U turn on being self funded...smell a rat?
The @homechildcare site looks VERY interesting. On the page for parents, it's says the cost of care is £4.17 per hour, and you only pay for what you use. At £4.17, I wonder what the childminders gets paid?
This is why I would not go near an Agency. I bet the Childminder gets minimum wage, and has no choice but to take whichever 3 EY children she is given, regardless of how they 'gel' together. And I further bet that at the first accident/incident, it will be put down to poor standards on the childminder's part; then it will be 'bye-bye' (unsupported) childminder. The Agency will be blameless, and will write it off as having made a poor recruitment choice.
Shudder!
:censored:
FAQs
But this price and all the info is all about 'HOME childcarers'= athomechildcare-employed nannies, not childminders.
No mention of children going for child care at a child minders house at all on this website, that I can find...?? Only that more info about how they will support childminders will come out in future months.
St Bedes says first childminder being signed up very soon and their Facebook page says many more in the pipeline!
Good spot, Moggy. I will be watching that with interest. Can't see the Agency being anything other than a profit centre, though, with a team of 'employed' home childminders on their books, all earning minimum wage, and all being disposable. (Like a Temp Agency.)
Here's hoping I'm wrong, for the children's sake. :panic:
L
Do not trust anything just because it is not 'in print'.
Lots is going on behind the scenes despite the fact agencies are hardly in the news
Keep your eyes and ears open and keep asking questions.
Kiddleywinks Who is finishing their training? ...........the Cms joining or the agency itself?
K1rstie.....@Home Childcare are an 'AGENCY' already for nannies although they also offer CMinding services and have branched off in Home Childcare
It says in one of their various website pages 'we employ you'....so I assume those cms who have given up end up being employed by the agency...not sure as I do not want to speculate.
As we already know Cms agencies can employ cms or allow them to remain self employed...the consequences are not to be taken lightly by any cm wishing to join or the agency itself if things go wrong.
One thing no one has spotted is that £4.17...if that is true is what they pay hourly...is well below the minimum wage
I understand that not paying the MW is illegal....can anyone confirm that?
I might be wrong but I think in a private 'domestic' situation you don't have to pay minimum wage, however, I can't see that an agency can call itself a private domestic anything!
If an agency employs anyone in any shape or form or situation or role ...they are an employer and would use PAYE...correct me if wrong
@Home Childcare will not be a private domestic anything...they will be registered.
Maybe you are thinking of a private arrangement between ...say...a cleaner and whoever requires the cleaning? that is a private arrangement and usually people receive cash in hand....usually around £10 in my area.
For an agency that goes on and on about giving CMs a 'choice' this is a very poor one ...if those wages turn out to be true....that is why I am asking cms to keep their eyes and ears open and ...ask questions.
I spotted that £4.17 cost-to-parents above and it was for employed-nannies and signaled as a 'prices from...' or such-like. How they achieve that rate is not explained but could be with nanny-share or who-knows-what other costs on top. No relation to agency-childminder rates which no one is publishing yet, it seems.