Independent CMs - DfE reassurance

[sarah707]

I have no idea why this has taken so long to arrive… but it’s only just got here! It is a brilliant letter and one I urge you all to read – it is the best and most comprehensive response we have ever had to some of our concerns about staying independent in the future including –

- Fees – DfE say they are ‘committed’ to ensuring fees remain affordable for independent childminders.

- Support – DfE says it will continue to be available to independent childminders via LAs and even agencies.

- Qualifications – confirmation that they have NO intention to raise qualification levels or require us to do extra training.

- Funding – independent childminders will NOT be refused funding if we are ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’. So, if this happens we must challenge it. DfE say they want more childminders to offer the places, not less.

- Reassurance for the future – parents will be able to continue using independent childminders AND getting vouchers, tax credits, funded places etc. these things will NOT be taken away from us!

I am delighted with this response from Ms Truss – it’s the first one I have seen which really answers the questions we asked here –
http://www.childmindinghelp.co.uk/forum/independent-childminding-chat/127169-independent-childminders-need-answers.html.

We can use it to show LAs if they put up barriers to funding – and to answer questions if our colleagues are unsure about staying independent in the future :D

8346

[loocyloo]

Wow! Thank you!
My head is spinning with all the good news ( but a little bit of me asks what is the catch? !)

[Kiddleywinks]

My LA is still saying you must be a part of the network to be able to offer funding.
I argued that the government had withdrawn that condition in sept and they argued that they still have to justify how and where they spend their funding so the network is their way of evidencing this.
But the government (your boss!) has said and repeatedly says that the network is no longer a requirement...
'but we (the LA) is able to set its own rules in line with our obligations to show the government where our funding goes....'

Head

Wall

Banging

Has anyone taken on their LA and won the argument? If so, HOW? Because I can't get past my DO, and I know she's not in charge of the funding as I contacted the funding officer, who forwarded my email back to the DO!!

[natlou82]

Fab news Sarah, thanks for sharing x

[sing-low]

I'm sure I read somewhere that Liz Truss said to get in touch with her if LAs were still putting extra conditions on cms. Maybe with a copy to your MP?

[sarah707]

My LA is still saying you must be a part of the network to be able to offer funding.
I argued that the government had withdrawn that condition in sept and they argued that they still have to justify how and where they spend their funding so the network is their way of evidencing this.
But the government (your boss!) has said and repeatedly says that the network is no longer a requirement...
'but we (the LA) is able to set its own rules in line with our obligations to show the government where our funding goes....'

Head

Wall

Banging

Has anyone taken on their LA and won the argument? If so, HOW? Because I can't get past my DO, and I know she's not in charge of the funding as I contacted the funding officer, who forwarded my email back to the DO!!

I'd go straight to Ms Truss - she says in her letter we won't have barriers in our way - hold her to it ask her to sort out the LAs! :D

[Simona]

My LA is still saying you must be a part of the network to be able to offer funding.
I argued that the government had withdrawn that condition in sept and they argued that they still have to justify how and where they spend their funding so the network is their way of evidencing this.
But the government (your boss!) has said and repeatedly says that the network is no longer a requirement...
'but we (the LA) is able to set its own rules in line with our obligations to show the government where our funding goes....'

Head

Wall

Banging

Has anyone taken on their LA and won the argument? If so, HOW? Because I can't get past my DO, and I know she's not in charge of the funding as I contacted the funding officer, who forwarded my email back to the DO!!

I would go back to your LA and ask them this: are they aware that from Sept 2014 LAs will be paid 'by result'? (this is DfE policy which you will find on the gov.uk website))
This means that they will no longer be funded for the number of children they need to place BUT on the 'actual' number of children placed in settings...which means they could lose a lot of funding from the govt...many LAs are truly panicking about this where they have a shortage of places

See what response you get.

[Kiddleywinks]

I was referred to the stat guidance wording of 'should' not being a 'must' with regard to requirements, and should gives them leeway to make their own rules

Simona, which document states this as I can't find it and the LA are doing the sufficiency statement data collection at the moment, so now is the time to make noises as we have a forum meeting coming up

[Simona]

I was referred to the stat guidance wording of 'should' not being a 'must' with regard to requirements, and should gives them leeway to make their own rules

Simona, which document states this as I can't find it and the LA are doing the sufficiency statement data collection at the moment, so now is the time to make noises as we have a forum meeting coming up

Your LA...like all the others...will be aware of the DfE 'payment by result' policy...I will try to locate it for you from the Gov.uk website where it was published a while back

My LA flagged it up to us a long time ago and I recently attended an 'Achieving 2 year olds' workshop when cms were told this is coming in Sept 2014.... cms are desperately needed for the 2 year old funding

I strongly suggest Truss gets out of her DfE ivory tower office and goes to see for herself what is happening at ground level to cms in terms of La support and all the rest she is promising and giving reassurance about

[Kiddleywinks]

Your LA...like all the others...will be aware of the DfE 'payment by result' policy...

Oh I don't doubt that at all.... Would explain why they've been trying to ram joining the network at every turn!
At one point I asked if they were planning on making the network an agency?! (They said no, but I'm afraid I'm getting paranoid in my old age hahaha)

[Simona]

This is the letter Truss sent to all LAs on 18 Dec 2013
Section 18-19 states:

Future funding allocations
18.The government will reward local authorities who achieve high levels of take-up by moving to participation funding from 2015.
This means funding for 2015-16 will be solely based on actual participation based on the count from January 2015 School and Early Years censuses. We do not expect to allocate any trajectory funding in 2015-16 as the entitlement will be fully implemented by then.

19.As we move towards a system whereby local authorities will be funded on the number of children taking up the two year old entitlement rather than the number of children eligible, local authorities need to ensure that they maximise the opportunity to increase the capacity of businesses in their area, encourage schools nurseries to open for longer hours, and stimulate the local market to encourage new providers

Most LAs have put their network on hold ...as they call it...agencies will be run very much like a network but the main difference is that cms will have to pay for everything they offer....
if you had a good network be aware of what your LA wants to do...mine has announced last Monday they are considering becoming an agency based on the network model which ...you guessed it...they have put on hold!

Becoming an agency means anyone who joins will have to join the 2 year old scheme as part of the conditions...I am sure Truss knows that very well!

No paranoia...Trio Childcare run a seminar last weekend and stated 'agencies will be run like a network'...there is the answer.

[Kiddleywinks]

19.As we move towards a system whereby local authorities will be funded on the number of children taking up the two year old entitlement rather than the number of children eligible, local authorities need to ensure that they maximise the opportunity to increase the capacity of businesses in their area, encourage schools nurseries to for longer hours, and stimulate the local market to encourage new providers

The DO's argument is that they are encouraging all minders to join the network thus maximising the opportunity....
And she's right, they are doing everything possible to get network members.
There were 3 at the last count, in an area of over 120 childminders... It's been going for over 2 years

To be fair, I don't object in principle to joining a network, I think it's an ideal way of getting support, physical and moral, of sharing good practise, raising the industry profile and perception, and raising standards, which is not a bad thing in any area.
What I object to is the 'favouritism' shown at the expense of the 117 other minders that also work hard.
Sharing good practice should be available to ALL, raising the bar and standards should be available to ALL, attending x number of training sessions a year should be compulsory to ALL, unnecessary paperwork because ' you're in the network ' only means you're spending less time concentrating on the children and more time ticking boxes to prove you're doing the job you're actually not doing because you're ticking ruddy boxes!

At the last forum meeting, there were 2 of the 3 network members in a room of nearly 30 childminders. The 27 are the same faces at every forum, they're there because they want to be kept informed, they want to be kept in the loop, they care about the children they care for and want the best for them.
There were some suggestions put forward for specific training opportunities instead of the same old same old.
I swear the 2 networkers looked at the DO in a state of panic saying, but that's what we want for network members, we've done that on the network it shouldn't be made openly available, and were quite indignant it seemed to me that non network minders dared to 'step on their toes'
Their attitude got a few feathers ruffled.
Some minders have been there for years, and I mean 15/20 years, they're not on the network. They've seen minders come and go, fads come and go, and I got the feeling joining the network would have the same effect as joining an agency lol

I'm happier getting my support and information here, which I get far more readily and a damn sight quicker than I do from the LA
I'm happier getting my best practice from here, or from the Facebook page, or from local friendly minders
I look around, if I see something I like, I take it on board, if I don't, I leave it.

I was pleased with my ofsted grading because I earnt it, yes with some input via LA run courses, but with a darn sight more input from Sarah's e books, ideas from here, meet ups, conversations, pm's and phone calls with forum members.

I also now don't want to join the network out of principle. The government says I don't need to join a network to offer funding, my DO is still insisting I do.
If she's wrong on that score alone, what else does she have wrong?



Most LAs have put their network on hold ...as they call it...agencies will be run very much like a network but the main difference is that cms will have to pay for everything they offer.... if you had a good network be aware of what your LA wants to do...mine has announced last Monday they are considering becoming an agency based on the network model which ...you guessed it...they have put on hold!

Maybe my paranoia wasn't so paranoid then eh lol




Wow! Rant over ;-)

[Simona]

The DO's argument is that they are encouraging all minders to join the network thus maximising the opportunity....
And she's right, they are doing everything possible to get network members.
There were 3 at the last count, in an area of over 120 childminders... It's been going for over 2 years

To be fair, I don't object in principle to joining a network, I think it's an ideal way of getting support, physical and moral, of sharing good practise, raising the industry profile and perception, and raising standards, which is not a bad thing in any area.
What I object to is the 'favouritism' shown at the expense of the 117 other minders that also work hard.
Sharing good practice should be available to ALL, raising the bar and standards should be available to ALL, attending x number of training sessions a year should be compulsory to ALL, unnecessary paperwork because ' you're in the network ' only means you're spending less time concentrating on the children and more time ticking boxes to prove you're doing the job you're actually not doing because you're ticking ruddy boxes!

At the last forum meeting, there were 2 of the 3 network members in a room of nearly 30 childminders. The 27 are the same faces at every forum, they're there because they want to be kept informed, they want to be kept in the loop, they care about the children they care for and want the best for them.
There were some suggestions put forward for specific training opportunities instead of the same old same old.
I swear the 2 networkers looked at the DO in a state of panic saying, but that's what we want for network members, we've done that on the network it shouldn't be made openly available, and were quite indignant it seemed to me that non network minders dared to 'step on their toes'
Their attitude got a few feathers ruffled.
Some minders have been there for years, and I mean 15/20 years, they're not on the network. They've seen minders come and go, fads come and go, and I got the feeling joining the network would have the same effect as joining an agency lol

I'm happier getting my support and information here, which I get far more readily and a damn sight quicker than I do from the LA
I'm happier getting my best practice from here, or from the Facebook page, or from local friendly minders
I look around, if I see something I like, I take it on board, if I don't, I leave it.

I was pleased with my ofsted grading because I earnt it, yes with some input via LA run courses, but with a darn sight more input from Sarah's e books, ideas from here, meet ups, conversations, pm's and phone calls with forum members.

I also now don't want to join the network out of principle. The government says I don't need to join a network to offer funding, my DO is still insisting I do.
If she's wrong on that score alone, what else does she have wrong?



Maybe my paranoia wasn't so paranoid then eh lol




Wow! Rant over ;-)

Thank you for your reply kiddelywinks...
I don't want to deviate from the thread and be told off so I will be brief...or try to be...although this is well within contents, promises and reassuarances in Truss' letter...for those who do not feel happy about them.

My personal opinion on networks is well documented and archived by both Nursery World and EYE for whom I have written plenty of articles from 2008 until recently.... flagging up the unfair '2 tier system' of cms...and therefore LAs....created over the years.

while some Cms were very happy being well supported, pampered and drowning in paperwork by networks, others were left on their own devices ....so nothing new there....it will happen again if networks turn into agencies

As a non network cm I have had no support for nearly 8 years and while well qualified and skilled excluded from the funding...now I choose not to draw it because of the pitiful amount my LA ....and others...give us
It is a matter of principle....the losers are the children and LAs....and we need to stand up to both LAs and govt although it is the LAs who decide the funding...see Truss' letter...so no point in appealing to Truss, she has told LAs what to do ...they ignore her.


What is happening now is that some LAs...or at least the ones who had to put the network in mothballs and storage... will jump at the opportunity to resurrect them and turn them into agencies...
I hope cms are aware of this and start waking up to the fact this will happen and, if not your LA, someone else will open an agency in your locality

Recently many LAs suddenly opened the Network to all cms where previously they were open just for the 'chosen' few who could draw funding....that should have rang alarm bells for cms...it did for some who acted on it.

I have said this before and will repeat it...in August 2012 when myself and a colleague met E Truss we had to tell her that, unless in a network cms were excluded from drawing the funding...she was appalled

I will say that Truss acted on that but, in my view, did not go far enough
LAs are still dictating their rules, they are still deviating from DfE guidance, they are still imposing conditions and cms are doing little but following them

We must not sit still but be alert...agencies are the law now...after much campaigning for over 2 years let's not mothball the issue...it is alive and spreading and LAs will not be the only ones with an interest in agencies
Our forum last Monday with 4Children told cms very much so

As for support and evidence of how cms can stay independent...forums and other means will be a contributory factor...there are plenty of places CMs can get 'online' help but not enough
support has to be visible and tangible and we need to evidence it
This forum offers info sharing and advice...like many others I assume do.... but cannot replace what will be required by cms in future

As a final thought.....Cms must resist any attempt to join an agency...we must boycott them so they fail...we must do so untied and not just waiting for others to act, write, meet or speak for us

Sorry for the lengthy reply...hope it helps and I hope you will challenge your LA...like I am challenging mine

good luck and let us know how you get on

[Kiddleywinks]

Yes you're right Simona, I shouldn't have gone off track, apologies Sarah x

[Simona]

Yes you're right Simona, I shouldn't have gone off track, apologies Sarah x

Apologies Kiddleywinks...I was referring more to myself going off track not you
I don't think you went off track as the letter contains the issue of funding, networks and LA support...and DfE reassurance...are you...reassured I mean? :(

[FussyElmo]

Sarah thank you for your hard work again.

For organising the letter getting people opinions from here and our fb page and for once, I think for the first time an in depth response which is positive for all us cms who want to remain independent :D

[cloud9]

Hi. I don't seem to be able to access the attachment?

[sarah707]

Hi. I don't seem to be able to access the attachment?

Send me a message with your email address and I will pop it over to you - unless you are on the FB group in which case it's in files on there too :D

[cloud9]

Hey Sarah, thank you I was able to access it on my laptop it must be a phone issue