That's it, I'm done

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06-09-2015, 06:25 AM
smiler

That's it, I'm done

After 13 years as a dedicated, caring childminder, I say goodbye and move on to pastures new. I can no longer continue working in this wonderful profession - unable to manage the increasing demands of ofsted, the often unrealistic expectations of parents, the appallingly low rate of pay and the many long unpaid hours preparing and writing evaluations and notes and ticking boxes. Ok, that all sounds very negative doesn't it? I don't mean it to, I'm just feeling sad today...I've absolutely loved having my home full of happy little people and I've been a great childminder, caring and nurturing, and have been like an extra family member to some of my families...but I'm drowning under all the heaps of paperwork, regulations and long hours. Good luck to all you wonderful childminders out there / keep up the good work. I'm off to clean peoples houses for 3 times the pay xx
06-09-2015, 06:30 AM
loocyloo

Wishing you all the best for the future, keep in touch.
06-09-2015, 07:42 AM
blue bear

It's such a shame that politics is driving so many wonderful childminders from the profession, it's happening in so many professions too. Good luck with the next chapter x
06-09-2015, 08:00 AM
Maza

Good luck. Very sad that so many people are being put off such an important job. x
06-09-2015, 08:55 AM
Simona

Quote:

Originally Posted by smiler

After 13 years as a dedicated, caring childminder, I say goodbye and move on to pastures new. I can no longer continue working in this wonderful profession - unable to manage the increasing demands of ofsted, the often unrealistic expectations of parents, the appallingly low rate of pay and the many long unpaid hours preparing and writing evaluations and notes and ticking boxes. Ok, that all sounds very negative doesn't it? I don't mean it to, I'm just feeling sad today...I've absolutely loved having my home full of happy little people and I've been a great childminder, caring and nurturing, and have been like an extra family member to some of my families...but I'm drowning under all the heaps of paperwork, regulations and long hours. Good luck to all you wonderful childminders out there / keep up the good work. I'm off to clean peoples houses for 3 times the pay xx

Good luck in whatever you choose to do....with your kind of positivity you can ...if you wish...look at using your skills in another area
It can be done and I can vouch for it!

I feel for a lot of the things you say
At times I also believe cms have let themselves be led into believing a lot of requirements are there ...when in fact they are not.

EYFS has removed so many ridiculous red tape and yet ...cms ...still look for what EYFS does not require and go and do it....or misread what it does allow us to do.....crazy.

Ofsted paperwork is a prime example...half of what I read is not necessary at all...but cms do it 'just in case'

LAs...they have imposed unnecessary and idiotic conditions on cms....many have rebelled against them ...but many have also accepted them 'just to be able to help families' with funding...understandable but not good for our businesses.
It's like a game of cat and mouse with the LAs and the DfE...one goes beyond requirements ...the other panics and does not know what to do....the Tom and jerry show!

Politicians I agree with you are a real meddling bunch and extremely volatile...anyway Ofsted leads them now in policy making.

As for pay...again cms have often told themselves they cannot 'earn or charge' a sustainable fee because they cannot charge more than an amount....that is really not true and against the very ''market' mechanism this govt has introduced
We still hear cms saying their wages are low...when we are not a waged sector...we are self employed.

Your sadness is like grieving and we have to go through it when we step away from being a cm and,.,,as you say....having had so many happy children and good memories....take those with you and start fresh!
06-09-2015, 03:19 PM
teacake2

Good luck with your change of direction. I am on countdown now till I finish, I am expecting it to be summer next year, but there is a possibility that it will be after Christmas, I have been Childminding 31 years and have decided to take no more children, the last little one I am looking after is starting mornings at school nursery next week but still coming to me in the afternoons so, he has coming to me since he was 8 months old, so it is a natural wind down for when he starts school next year. Will miss everything but at least I will still have my little granddaughter to look after but it won't be the same as minding.
Looking forward to it.
Teacake2
07-09-2015, 01:24 PM
Ripeberry

Good luck in your new job! I did exactly the same. Gave up after six years, now I have my house back and have afternoons and evenings to be with my own family. The regulations that have been coming in over the last year or so have just become ridiculous! And yes, cleaning does pay more and there seems to be more demand for it in my area, than there ever was for childcare!
07-09-2015, 05:17 PM
Maza

I'm taking a little break from childminding. Might be back, might not, depending on weather or not I can make my old career work again. x
08-09-2015, 07:41 AM
hectors house

Sorry to read that someone with such a wealth of experience is leaving the profession, but I completely understand where you are coming from, I got outstanding last year but at the expense of my time with family and friends - I won't bother trying to get outstanding next time, I got it once that's enough.

I have been thinking about dog walking and pet sitting, I can imagine my converted garage toy store as a little doggy day care with little doggy sofas - trouble is, it's still self employed and like cleaning people rely on you and it's hard to take holidays without lots of notice.

Wishing you well and hope you enjoy having your house back - I went to visit a show home at the weekend with my daughter and thought "wow" this is what my house could look like it I didn't have to have such practical furniture and fittings.
08-09-2015, 10:26 AM
BallyH

I also feel sad to hear of wonderful CM's leaving but also understand their reasonings. Like hectors house I also got outstanding in my last inspection but at my home and family's expense and dare I say my health because I felt 'sick to the stomach' leading up to the inspection working myself like a dog. I cried when she left the house, tears of pure relief. And I'm getting concerned as I'm due in the next year and can feel myself slowling slipping towards 'must keep my grade'.
08-09-2015, 11:13 AM
Simona

HH...sorry to ask but why would you find it difficult to get holidays without lots of notice if you worked as self employed in another business?
maybe I have misunderstood but I am curious.
I have run 2 businesses since 1988 and it has never been a problem with choosing my own holidays...my clients have to accept that

I am also so very concerned at the stress cms feel about Ofsted
Why has the inspectorate suddenly become such a source of unhappiness for many cms?

Those leaving appear to be well established, often top grade and successful cms...a real loss to the sector...compared this to 2008 when many left because they feared the EYFS was too much for them.

if anything cms have proved so resilient and adapted to so many changes and, in some cases, with total lack of support....but they have come up as winners.

My bug bear in all this is that the govt is turning its back on children and it is all to do with 'economics'...nothing to do with children's wellbeing anymore.
08-09-2015, 12:45 PM
mumofone

Quote:

Originally Posted by hectors house

Sorry to read that someone with such a wealth of experience is leaving the profession, but I completely understand where you are coming from, I got outstanding last year but at the expense of my time with family and friends - I won't bother trying to get outstanding next time, I got it once that's enough. I have been thinking about dog walking and pet sitting, I can imagine my converted garage toy store as a little doggy day care with little doggy sofas - trouble is, it's still self employed and like cleaning people rely on you and it's hard to take holidays without lots of notice. Wishing you well and hope you enjoy having your house back - I went to visit a show home at the weekend with my daughter and thought "wow" this is what my house could look like it I didn't have to have such practical furniture and fittings.

HH, I expect being outstanding is embedded in how you work naturally and your practice anyway or do you really feel like you had to perform a particular way in order to achieve it?
Sorry not sure if that makes sense or not?!
08-09-2015, 01:32 PM
Maza

Quote:

Originally Posted by mumofone

HH, I expect being outstanding is embedded in how you work naturally and your practice anyway or do you really feel like you had to perform a particular way in order to achieve it?
Sorry not sure if that makes sense or not?!

We've all seen people who are fabulous with children but unfortunately, unless you have the paper work to go with it you are not going to be graded outstanding - rightly or wrongly. I know there are lots of posts where we discuss that we are doing 'too much' paperwork but there is an element of 'keeping up with the Jones' - if an inspector visited two equally brilliant childminders but only one had the paperwork to back him/her up then it might just sway the inspectors judgement. I know it's quality of paperwork and not quantity, but really, what is the bare minimum amount of paperwork...

I too felt like my outstanding grade was achieved to the detriment of my family life - and I went into childminding to spend more time with my daughter, not less. I decided when the inspector left that, like HH said, once was enough and I had proved to myself that I could do it, but I wasn't going to sacrifice that much family time again. I dramatically cut down on paperwork (and spending) after that but am still the same childminder I was before, if not better because I have more experience under my belt and attended more training. There is absolutely no way I would get outstanding any more, and that's fine by me. It's not just about how you 'perform' on the day, although that is important too. For me, I didn't want to 'leave any stone unturned' before my inspection, I didn't want to miss any tiny thing that could lead to me not getting outstanding and so I adapted my provision and made sure I had proof of everything, just incase they asked...I also felt like I would be second guessing the inspector - would they prefer individual hand towels or disposable paper towels etc and wasted valuable mental energy on all sorts of 'dilemmas' when in reality you just try one way and if it doesn't work you try another way and it's all part of the fun.

I know all jobs take you away from family life to a certain extent but there is no obvious cut off point in childminding - when have you really done enough?
08-09-2015, 02:15 PM
Simona

I agree with you Maza...it is the quality not the quantity of the paperwork and documentation we have.
The only paperwork required is that specified in the EYFS and some to comply with regulation.
We require a few policies...so why are there endless lists of policies that could easily be amalgamated with others.

Our inspection is now based on the CIF...it is the teaching/outcomes that is going to be judged not the paperwork but yes how we document children's progress is very important...but that is not paperwork

What is important for me is understanding the EYFS inside out and ability to challenge when an inspector is deviating from that and also reading what the various guidance documents say in order to discuss.
As for grading that is due to our practice and understanding of child development that supports progress and our settings.
I have always spoken out against too much paperwork...I strongly believe many do too much 'just in case'

When the EYFS 2012 came out my 5 shelves of 'paperwork, files and bits and bobs' was reduced to 1 shelf and that made no difference to the grading achieved, in fact it went up.
08-09-2015, 04:55 PM
BallyH

For my last inspection I had loads and loads of paperwork and, yes, I was guilty of having it all for 'just in case'. But I got the grade I wanted. My inspector said I had too much paperwork and when I asked for her her advice on how to 'get rid of' some of it she looked puzzled and didn't reply.

But this time I have about a third of what I use to have. However, I do think this is due to me becoming more competent at doing the paperwork, knowing what is expected from me as an Eyfs provider, having a very good understanding of eyfs and being able to show excellant examples of understanding the developiment of each child in my care.

But old habits die hard and I think it's because I've now got a lot less paperwork I'm finding myself analysing what I do to make sure it's enough. Maybe I'm tired. Not sleeping well as Dh snoring. Brrrrrr. But that's another thread.
08-09-2015, 07:18 PM
Bear23

interesting read x
09-09-2015, 08:19 AM
hectors house

Quote:

Originally Posted by MOH

For my last inspection I had loads and loads of paperwork and, yes, I was guilty of having it all for 'just in case'. But I got the grade I wanted. My inspector said I had too much paperwork and when I asked for her her advice on how to 'get rid of' some of it she looked puzzled and didn't reply.

But this time I have about a third of what I use to have. However, I do think this is due to me becoming more competent at doing the paperwork, knowing what is expected from me as an Eyfs provider, having a very good understanding of eyfs and being able to show excellant examples of understanding the developiment of each child in my care.

But old habits die hard and I think it's because I've now got a lot less paperwork I'm finding myself analysing what I do to make sure it's enough. Maybe I'm tired. Not sleeping well as Dh snoring. Brrrrrr. But that's another thread.

I asked my inspector if I was doing too much paperwork and too many observations and she just replied saying that was the sort of person I was and I wouldn't be happy if I wasn't doing 110%, which wasn't really the answer I wanted to hear. I am trying to cut down by giving myself permission to sometimes just add photos to Tapestry that say "children playing with friends" rather than making it into a detailed observation and linking it to EYFS. I have 2 new babies starting settling in sessions and am determined to not do as many observations with them but it's hard as I need to establish starting points as I don't know them yet.
09-09-2015, 08:24 AM
Simona

Quote:

Originally Posted by MOH

For my last inspection I had loads and loads of paperwork and, yes, I was guilty of having it all for 'just in case'. But I got the grade I wanted. My inspector said I had too much paperwork and when I asked for her her advice on how to 'get rid of' some of it she looked puzzled and didn't reply.

But this time I have about a third of what I use to have. However, I do think this is due to me becoming more competent at doing the paperwork, knowing what is expected from me as an Eyfs provider, having a very good understanding of eyfs and being able to show excellant examples of understanding the developiment of each child in my care.

But old habits die hard and I think it's because I've now got a lot less paperwork I'm finding myself analysing what I do to make sure it's enough. Maybe I'm tired. Not sleeping well as Dh snoring. Brrrrrr. But that's another thread.

Yes I find that too...having reduced the superfluous paperwork and documentation I now make sure what I have is more than adequate to cover the EYFS requirements.

Thank you for your reply