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Simona
27-06-2013, 06:16 PM
We have heard that some LAs will be piloting agencies..one has been named, Lancashire, and if 'true' many more will soon announce their intention

Why all of a sudden do they think that individual inspections do not matter anymore for cms?
Do they agree with the deregulation of cms? once we lose that Oftsed number and inspection that is deregulation!

Why are LAs selling themselves and all they have stood for? survival and making money out of cms? or is there another reason?
I am furious about this and find it hard not to think of it as a 'stab' in the back after we have spoken loud and clear that we want lAs to remain as our support

We do not have any further details but we know pacey are interested in cms telling them if their LA is to be an agency...they must have heard something to tweet the message this morning...what can they do at this stage?
what can we do but ask LAs WHY?

What is the point of paying an agency, undergoing all the visits, support and paperwork they will impose on cms and maybe never undergo an inspection? how can this improve quality when cms will never experience the reality of being inspected?

What will our standing be in the workforce if we are deregulated...how will the rest of the sector see us?

How do you feel ?

The Juggler
27-06-2013, 06:56 PM
no word from ours :panic:

Simona
27-06-2013, 07:15 PM
Please ask your LA...send an email...if you get no reply resend it
I did with mine and eventually got told they have 'enquired' and will be watching the results of the pilots

We must bring this issue in the open...FB is not the medium to fight this as it has to reach as many cms as possible

Please be proactive and contribute in any way you can.

Mouse
27-06-2013, 07:16 PM
I think a lot of it is about pure survival & an effort to keep their jobs.

Funding has been cut so much that many Early Years teams have all but disappeared. LAs are still going to have to offer support to childminders, but how are they going to do this if they have no money to do it? Perhaps becoming an agency is the only way they can see of doing this.

I don't necessarily see it as a stab in the back, nor do I see it as evidence that they back the idea of agencies. Perhaps they have little choice and are being manipulated as much as we are.

Simona
27-06-2013, 07:35 PM
They could continue to support us by charging for training and support...we know this is going to happen anyway

I feel for anybody who may be facing losing their job but not at the expense of what many cms have worked for years, their business and status.
I am not ready to surrender all that so my LA staff can keep their jobs
Are we in danger of feeling sorry for the LAs and giving away what we have fought so hard to achieve over the years?

I feel we have a choice to remain independent and we should avoid being 'manipulated' by Ofsted or the DfE and now the LAs.

Mouse
27-06-2013, 08:22 PM
They could continue to support us by charging for training and support...we know this is going to happen anyway

I feel for anybody who may be facing losing their job but not at the expense of what many cms have worked for years, their business and status.
I am not ready to surrender all that so my LA staff can keep their jobs
Are we in danger of feeling sorry for the LAs and giving away what we have fought so hard to achieve over the years?

I feel we have a choice to remain independent and we should avoid being 'manipulated' by Ofsted or the DfE and now the LAs.

But could they continue to support us by charging? Can they do that as a LA or do they have to be an agency to do that? There must be a long list of things they can & can't do. They're not private companies who can make their own rules. Very often their hands are tied and there is only so much they can do.

Like you, I feel sorry for anyone facing losing their job, but not sorry enough to throw away what I want (ie. independence).

What I am trying to say is that perhaps the LAs, in general, have little choice but to consider becoming agencies. We all know how much Truss wants them to be a success and we all know she's not going to get the support she wants from childminders. What if the pressure is going to be put on LAs instead? Maybe that's her way of forcing agencies into the market?

I really hope not. It's just a thought.

Simona
27-06-2013, 08:39 PM
As agencies they will have to adhere to the regulations set for agencies which will be enshrined in law, possibly in the revised Childcare Act 2006
The DfE have said they will rewrite it...they cannot set their own rules because they will be accountable to the DfE and Ofsted and that is why a framework for inspections is being developed

Of course they can survive by charging us for training/support and if that was inclusive of all cms they would survive..I'd rather pay them for that than some private providers who are already planning how to offer training for us
They could also use a valuable asset: peer support
That is what the consultation on their role states...they can continue to support if the request is there

Cms would be throwing away their independence, Ofsted registration and inspection if they joined an agency

I hope cms will realise that agencies will NOT become active until Sept 2014...lets not walk into them now, we must wait and see what the pilots reveal and resist the pressure

If few cms joined an agency they would fold and lose their own money...remember they are 'self-funded'

Chatterbox Childcare
27-06-2013, 08:50 PM
As agencies they will have to adhere to the regulations set for agencies which will be enshrined in law, possibly in the revised Childcare Act 2006
The DfE have said they will rewrite it...they cannot set their own rules because they will be accountable to the DfE and Ofsted and that is why a framework for inspections is being developed

Of course they can survive by charging us for training/support and if that was inclusive of all cms they would survive..I'd rather pay them for that than some private providers who are already planning how to offer training for us
They could also use a valuable asset: peer support
That is what the consultation on their role states...they can continue to support if the request is there

Cms would be throwing away their independence, Ofsted registration and inspection if they joined an agency

I hope cms will realise that agencies will NOT become active until Sept 2014...lets not walk into them now, we must wait and see what the pilots reveal and resist the pressure

If few cms joined an agency they would fold and lose their own money...remember they are 'self-funded'

Apparantly they have to pay the Government a fee to be an agency too

Simona
27-06-2013, 09:10 PM
yes it is in the Statement of Policy Intention published by the DfE in March 2013
it is the equivalent of cms paying a registration fee and agencies have to pay to be registered with Ofsted and be inspected but they will charge cms to cover their costs

Here is the information
http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/c/childminder%20agencies%20statement%20of%20policy%2 0intention%20clause%2073_001.pdf

rickysmiths
27-06-2013, 09:35 PM
Our LA has been charging for training for several years now. £100 for First Aid now and 9 years ago it was free.

jackie 7
28-06-2013, 07:15 AM
And the 2 hour training is £20. I don't mind paying for training. When I was in Brent training was free but it was shocking how many people didn't turn up.

Simona
30-06-2013, 07:35 AM
I believe that many LAs have introduced charges for training ...some a few years back when there were no cuts to their budget as those were introduced by the present govt in 2010

What were LAs doing with the central govt funding then? certainly not putting it in the Free Entitlement and as Truss said the funding was not reaching the frontline

If by charging for training/support the LAs can survive and support all cms equally why are some piloting agencies?

I spoke to an EY person yesterday in the south...they support ALL cms and yet they have applied to pilot their network model
What she also told me is that a network can be turned into an agency but it cannot be the Pacey CCF model...it has to be the LA's own model...this maybe the reason why so many LAs have withdrawn from the CCF and also opened the network to all cms?
My LA has done that recently...withdrawn from pacey CCF, set their own model to include all cms and now have applied for info on agencies although they say they are not rushing into any decisions

Has your LA done the same recently? If so please ask them what their future intentions are

I am happy to inform pacey of what my LA is doing and I have done so...but I think it is up to pacey to dig further on behalf of its members.