My documents are not worth the paper there written on.......Apparently!

[Louise0208]

iv been minding a few months now (after a 4 year break) and just had a visit from my childminding development officer.

heres the problem....... having spent 10 months waiting for ofsted/CRB & doctors etc i made all my own contracts, policies, all forms books, eyfs learning journals, medical forms, daily diarys etc.......(bought on disk from an outstanding grade childminder, all ofsted approved & ammended to suit my needs),
i did a damn fine job of them too lol:clapping: (laminated covers, sprung bound with my logos etc....very ott :laughing: )

i used NCMA toolkit in previous years but found the contracts didnt cover all i wanted & it caused a few issues....anyway..... the CDO has just told me there not worth the paper there printed on, i asked why & she said there just not! ofsted liked all the trial versions i did during my inspection so went ahead with design & print.

any reason why? im assuming its because i have insurance with NCMA but there is nothing in it to say i have to use NCMA papers!

shes also given me a ring binder full of her preffered Policies, learning journals etc which tbh is a bit tatty & unprofessional looking & id rather keep to mine.

i feel a tad disapointed having wasted so much money, time & effort.

sorry rant over! :angry:

[wendywu]

If Ofsted like them then tough. It sounds like a touch of sour grapes on her part to me.

People skills does not come high on your DO list then :angry:

[hello kitty]

Development officers are great aren't they???

If Ofsted liked your versions of everything then keep them. Until your DO can clarify what is wrong with them go with what you have prepared.

Well done on being so organised. :D

[candy cat]

is she saying policies as well as contracts?.....surely all our policies are twaddle then as we all write our own!? not sure on contracts,although my friend as always used her own. If your happy with what you have done then stick to it.....job is hard enough without re doing it all:) x

[clio0602]

Nothing to do with them really so if it works for you why change?!

Although I have heard that if you are with NCMA you have to use their contracts????? But doubt you'd have to use all their paperwork! I'm with MM so not certain about that one though x

[rickysmiths]

I wouldn't worry it sounds as if you are more than prepared.

I think Sarah posted earlier this week that NCMA are Ok with us using our own Contracts now but do prefer us using theirs because they know them and know they are water tight.

Policies are written to meet our own settings needs and as long as you have the main ones required under EYFS any others are up to you.

Do you hire yourself out? I need someone to help organize my stuff I'm sinking in paperwork at the moment!!!

[sarah707]

I have all my own paperwork...

There is some stuff knocking around on EBay which says it comes from outstanding minders and tbh isn't worth a penny but if you have made changes to the wording etc then I am sure yours is fine.

I know if you insure with NCMA then you need to use their contracts to be covered properly.

Everything else is up to you how you design and word it.

Yours sounds lovely! :clapping:

DOs give advice, nothing more, they are not going to get you the Ofsted grade you want, only you can do that.

Be confident in yourself and your ability :D

[RainbowMum]

I may be wrong but I believe NCMA will only give the legal support if their own contracts have been used - there is a simple remedy to this though - switch to morton! :thumbsup:

[singingcactus]

I have all my own paperwork too. The NCMA contracts don't suit the service I offer - I bought a pack and used one of them, but I had to scratch so much out they were pointless in the end. They leave no room for the childminder to provide an individual service suited to both family and minder.
I haven't seen the MM ones but I can't see how they would be any better because the writer of those contracts do not know me, my service or the families I provide care for. Contracts for our line of work cannot possibly be a 'one size fits all' cos every child, family and minder has different requirements.

[Louise0208]

thanks....made me feel a little more at ease (im being a stress head today lol)

i think i will convert over to MM, shall look into it today, anyone tell me offhand how much they charge?

Rickysmiths.....Not a chance! i found myself in bed at 11pm last night doing my accounts as i forgot to do last months ;) i may be prepared but never organised.....the thought is there :laughing:

[sarah707]

I think Sarah posted earlier this week that NCMA are Ok with us using our own Contracts now but do prefer us using theirs because they know them and know they are water tight.

No it wasn't me... it was Debbie and the debate is still ongoing I believe :D

http://childmindinghelp.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=71996&highlight=contract

[singingcactus]

Their insurance is £41 a year. They do car, and house insurance too and are lovely friendly people who are used to dealing with childminders.

[manjay]

thanks....made me feel a little more at ease (im being a stress head today lol)

i think i will convert over to MM, shall look into it today, anyone tell me offhand how much they charge?

Rickysmiths.....Not a chance! i found myself in bed at 11pm last night doing my accounts as i forgot to do last months ;) i may be prepared but never organised.....the thought is there :laughing:

You will need to wait until your NCMA pli runs out before you change over insurance companies.

I would just take what the DO says with a pinch of salt. No one has ever told me how to write my policies. they may have shown me some examples but never told me what to write.

I continue to use NCMA contracts as tbh I don't find it very difficult to get them to fit my needs. Plus I live in Wales so I like to be able to offer a bilingual contract which I am not going to be able to do myself:rolleyes: . NCMA only advise that you use their contracts nothing else as far as I am aware.

[georgie456]

Your policies are worth their weight in gold and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise!!!!!
As others have said, DO's are there to advise and that's it. You have spent a lot of time on your paperwork and know it back to front and are proud of it - don't change over to paperwork you dislike on someone's say-so.

I use my own contracts, although I am with MM as they are written to how I work.

Good luck and stick with what you have done - I am sure it is fine x

[keeks]

It sounds like a strange statement from someone who is supposed to support you. Could it be that she is only familiar with her own paperwork and isn't confident to to "evaluate" or understand yours?

When my ofsted inspector came for my pre reg we realised he was the inspector for my nursery two years ago. At the nursery we had a discussion about the council's QUILT advisors. During both meetings he said to me "You do know that you don't HAVE to follow their advice, don't you?" And that it is Ofsted who does the regulatory visits, not anybody else.

If your inspector was happy with your paperwork there is no need for you to change it.

Good luck!
xx

[Ripeberry]

You don't have to take the DOs' advise anyway. Carry on doing what you do best :)

[carol cameron]

At her last visit my DO told me I should not use the word ' discipline ' in my behaviour policy. What makes it more interesting is that the basic policy originally came from her and I have only tweaked it a little. Ofsted have seen it at my last two inspections and again following a complaint-unfounded- ofsted looked very closely at my behaviour policy and procedure and were very happy that I had followed it to the letter!
I told my DO that it was my business, my policy and that I would not be changing it:)

[Chatterbox Childcare]

DO's are there for guidance and they are not god.

Remember it is Ofsted who regulate us not NCMA

[mrs_scottydog]

At the end of the day it's your business and you should run it how you want to, not how your DO wants you to. Therefore if you want to use your own paperwork you should. I get the impression that DO's just want everyone to have their paperwork set out the same way so that their job is made easier! I think that our forms and paperwork should be easy for us to use and understand, everyone finds their own way for doing things. Hx

[sonia ann]

have never met my do, don't even know who they are and i have been doing this for 14yrs :huh:

[Saranotts]

have never met my do, don't even know who they are and i have been doing this for 14yrs :huh:

Same here!

Sara

[Rubybubbles]

oh hun:(

When I lived in Lincoln my DO was know for not being great, but when she came to me she was happy (I paid her well lol)

I am meeting mine new DO in BUcks on Monday:)

[Erika]

i asked why & she said there just not!

There it is, right there. You asked why. She did not provide you with a reason why. In my opinion, if a person is unable to substantiate their view on such a matter then it is their view is completely and utterly worthless, not the paperwork. "They're just not", is not an answer.

[Mollymop]

DO what you think is best, I thikn it is cos she is NCMA, they all have their own rules. :rolleyes:

My DO has her own ideas I wonder where she gets them from I have heard so many stories and,.. she once told me that i need to get a CRB for my mother if she visited more than 4 times (she had visited twice since I registered and it was noted in my visitors log, popped in with a loaf of bread and second time a present:rolleyes: - stayed for total of 5 mins:rolleyes: )

I phoned ofsted as soon as she left as I thought it was not right and they told me that she (mother) would only need one if she was to live with me.:mad:

I soon emailed my DO to tell her what Ofsted said and that I will be using their policy seeing as though they are my governing body.... I got NO REPLY!

Development Officers??.... .. pah!!

[Heaven Scent]

If you are insured with NCMA they will not offer Legal Advice/Assistance if you don't use their contracts I wasn't told this on my ICP course when they gave us a choice of pack but I changed to MM the next year and used 1 pack of their contracts - I now use my own contracts with MM insurance and after a year I also took out NCMA membership (only) - it works out a bit more expensive but I feel I have the best of both worlds.

[SamBaker]

have never met my do, don't even know who they are and i have been doing this for 14yrs :huh:

Nope, me neither lol!