What i dont get

[jackie 7]

Ok so ET wants to reduce the cost of child care. She had picked on or bullied childminders and wants to get us to join an agency but what I don't understand is why not all early years to be a part of an agency. Then she can encourage all of us to charge the same. Why is she not wanting equality in the workforce. Would a nursery group join an agency? I think not! Is anyone asking why we are not being seen as equals of a nursery. Except they might realise we offer a more real life setting.

[Simona]

Ok so ET wants to reduce the cost of child care. She had picked on or bullied childminders and wants to get us to join an agency but what I don't understand is why not all early years to be a part of an agency. Then she can encourage all of us to charge the same. Why is she not wanting equality in the workforce. Would a nursery group join an agency? I think not! Is anyone asking why we are not being seen as equals of a nursery. Except they might realise we offer a more real life setting.

Whether agencies will reduce the cost of childcare will have to be seen to be believed...it may take a few years for those figures to come out and by then I hope Truss will have gone somewhere else.

Hopefully she will keep to her promise that agencies are not compulsory...she has repeated that in a recent interview... and if cms 'avoid' joining them there may be few customers to make money out of!!
I have just posted the latest @Home Childcarer magazine in another thread ...even @Home Childcare who is trialling the agency has very few cms on their books

Sssshhh...don't say anything about the whole of EY being part of an agency ....just in case you give someone the idea!:panic:

[sarah707]

She's following what Ofsted want though - if we remember right back last year when agencies were first mentioned it was on the back of Wilshaw telling everyone that childminders are too expensive to inspect!

Ofsted don't want us - so the Govt come up with this brilliant idea to put us all in agencies - we complain - so they say ok and go away and think a bit and say we don't have to join them if we don't want...

But they take away our support networks and LAs and training opportunities and (in many cases) grades... and they judge us more harshly and turn up to inspect us at silly o'clock and introduce more unannounced inspections and everything else that is happening...

And the agencies feed off our fear ... and childminders wind each other up with horror stories... and on it goes :(

[Simona]

She's following what Ofsted want though - if we remember right back last year when agencies were first mentioned it was on the back of Wilshaw telling everyone that childminders are too expensive to inspect!

Ofsted don't want us - so the Govt come up with this brilliant idea to put us all in agencies - we complain - so they say ok and go away and think a bit and say we don't have to join them if we don't want...

But they take away our support networks and LAs and training opportunities and (in many cases) grades... and they judge us more harshly and turn up to inspect us at silly o'clock and introduce more unannounced inspections and everything else that is happening...

And the agencies feed off our fear ... and childminders wind each other up with horror stories... and on it goes :(

Sarah...that is something I remind everyone all the time...where it all started and who started it...Sir Wilshaw Wilshaw!

Based on this I feel I am right when I say that campaigning against agencies is to continue, well yes we can voice our opposition although no political party is listening as things are progressing and the C&F Bill has agencies installed ....update in another thread!!

The most important thing in the campaign is to prioritise cms who wish to remain independent because we are the majority and we should have 'equal' treatment' and we should complain about this loud and clear

What I mean by that is that while the govt paves the way for agencies to be set up in Sept 2014 it should not lose sight of those who wish to remain independent and CMs need to start demanding equal treatment.

Please read my answer in LinkedIn in the Nursery World group and I hope you will agree that we need to start pushing a bit more
We know that we have no LA support...well some cms still do but there are opportunities to seek alternative support

We also know 10 LAs are trialling and many more are waiting for the trials to pounce and become an agency too

There should be 'no fear' if we keep the message in mind that agencies are not compulsory...so the best way to go about it is stay OFF them
Even @Home Childcare have few customer and say they have NO idea of costs

When you read @Home Childcarer the message from Denise Burke is even starker...STAY OFF AGENCIES

I have not heard of any panic from CMs ..what I hear about is frustration at not knowing anything...that is where we need to change our campaign, lets start reporting this and ask the representing associations to act by demanding equal opportunity for independent CMs.

With regards to inspections another CM has had confirmed what I was told 2 weeks ago...

1. unannounced inspections can only be the complaint driven ones
2. cycle inspections should get a call beforehand
3. cms can be inspected within their opening hours which inspectors check in the SEF

That is the Guidance...so cms must try to be confident enough to challenge that if the rules are broken...we should not expect inspectors to deviate from their code of practice!!