Pilot Agency

[jelly jiggles]

Swindon cms can book a place for a meeting about an agency piloting. 6 cms can stay registered with Ofsted while they take away the hassle of invoicing parents and then pay you. If numbers of children are low we will be offered bank work in their nursery. The nursery that has a very bad reputation and had to shut their after school club because no one wanted to send their children there. Can't wait to sign up and join "not" lol! I am very interested in the meeting tho to see what they have to say.

[Bumble Beez]

Hmmm sounds interesting to say the least...
If you decide to go to the meeting, please feedback any relevant info.
We haven't had any mention of agencies here yet...phew

Sarah x

[oxfordshirecm]

Swindon cms can book a place for a meeting about an agency piloting. 6 cms can stay registered with Ofsted while they take away the hassle of invoicing parents and then pay you. If numbers of children are low we will be offered bank work in their nursery. The nursery that has a very bad reputation and had to shut their after school club because no one wanted to send their children there. Can't wait to sign up and join "not" lol! I am very interested in the meeting tho to see what they have to say.

I'm in faringdon so just outside Swindon and very interested in the meeting- definitely NOT the agency - invoicing is not a problem so why would I pay for someone else to do it? Also if I'm a bank nursery nurse what happens to my dd who is two?

Do you know when this meeting is ? X

[Simona]

Swindon cms can book a place for a meeting about an agency piloting. 6 cms can stay registered with Ofsted while they take away the hassle of invoicing parents and then pay you. If numbers of children are low we will be offered bank work in their nursery. The nursery that has a very bad reputation and had to shut their after school club because no one wanted to send their children there. Can't wait to sign up and join "not" lol! I am very interested in the meeting tho to see what they have to say.

Thank you for this post...it would be good if it was posted under Independent cms section or campaigns

Any moderators reading...please can it be moved so all cms can access this info in the proper section

JellyJiggles...are you saying Swindon is 'definetely' piloting agencies or is there a nursery doing the pilot?
I read this that cms can join an agency but 'remain independent' ? is that correct?
'Bank work with their nursery'...is the agency a nursery?
it sounds like the rolling out of 'childcare hubs'...a blend of childcare...ask if 4Children are involved

is the agency just there to do the cms paperwork? but you say they have a bad reputation...how can they be fit to be an agency and monitor quality?

sorry about all the questions but your post is very important ...looks like different agency models are piloted...please please keep us posted

[jelly jiggles]

Hi it is a chain nurseries. (Toad Hall. ) No paper work is mentioned but they will take away the burden of invoicing parents and pay you depending on the number of children you are looking after. If your not busy you will be offered bank work at the nursery. The meet is 12th Sept Trio are arranging it and 6 cms will be part of the pilot. Yes the cms will remain independent and the reputation in swindon is sooo bad I would not like to be linked to them.

[Kerry30]

Im also in swindon and had the email about it yesterday. Wouldn't want to be linked to that nursery due to their bad reputation. But am interested to know what they have to say. Dont no how it would work tho with them invoicing parents and then paying it on to cm cos surely they will want a cut??

[Simona]

Hi it is a chain nurseries. (Toad Hall. ) No paper work is mentioned but they will take away the burden of invoicing parents and pay you depending on the number of children you are looking after. If your not busy you will be offered bank work at the nursery. The meet is 12th Sept Trio are arranging it and 6 cms will be part of the pilot. Yes the cms will remain independent and the reputation in swindon is sooo bad I would not like to be linked to them.

Does 'bank work' mean you would be employed by the nursery?
Invoicing parents is the easiest thing to do...why do they believe it is a burden?
Paid upon number of children ...does it mean it restricts cms choices? and what do they mean by paying you...do you not set your fees?

Sorry for the questions but keep us informed...this is not good news

[JCrakers]

Yes I bet they will take away the burden of invoicing parents...... and then pay you less

Sounds like a ***** idea just like all the other ideas

[jelly jiggles]

Yes does not sound great but really want to know how, what, where and when. Lol! I'll keep you all posted if and when we hear more.

[Helen79]

Do you know if cm'ers will have to pay to agencies for this service? Invoicing parents is the easiest and least time consuming part of all my paperwork so I wouldn't see that as a benefit. Also being self employed I like to be in control of my money and can't see how having a middle man taking payments for me is going to make that easier.

I think cm'ers working as bank staff is a really good idea unless is mandatory which will be difficult for minders with their own children or those who really don't want to be associated with a particular nursery. I think its a good idea for cm'ers who may have spare days that they cannot fill if work is quiet to boost their income but I would prefer the bank work to be available across lots of different nurseries instead of just one chain so you don't have to work in a nursery that has a bad reputation all the time.

[madredann]

Things I have gleened from a meeting I had with someone from my LA this morning-
in my opinion LA's are the strongest and most important method of support and knowledge for childminders I cant believe that they are making these changes and hope these pilots prove what a complete and utter step in the wrong direction they would be.
It is all about saving money but they are going to be wasting money with all the problems this is going to throw up. LA's in my area support in settings so can see when things arent going so well and help maintain a good standard of care-not just a visit once every 3 years - I know which service I would value and respect more, however Ofsted are saying that LA's are no longer going to be able to do this they will only be able to go into settings when grades are inadequate or below so that will mean poor quality of care left unnoticed for longer periods of time and it will be the children that suffer!
So imagine being a childminder with no support as I would imagine when agencies are set up they will be providing the legal requirements for support and not our LA's. As I see it alot of people that work for LA's are like us very worried about their jobs as once agencies are in place LA's will no longer be required.
My LA have put forward a plan to become a pilot agency but anyone can set up an agency. An agency will need to make money as they will have to pay staff to do the inspections and monitoring of settings as well as the paperwork. Agencies will provide the training etc involved in registering. If an Ofsted inspector inspects an agency they will then select a few CM's to visit to make sure they are been sufficiently monitored and if they arent then the agency is accountable-if an agency gets an inadequate we all would be inadequate but I am sure that those agencies that know what they are doing have been within childcare for many years would make sure that everyone is up to scratch but again where would an agency get the money from to remain sustainable from Childminders and parents and what if an agency is run by someone who has limited experience in childcare. PACEY are not supporting agencies and are probably aware that they are going to fail, they are going to cost more in the long run (and it may not just be monitary) than they are going to save! The LA is very important and it is only when you reach out for help and support to find it isnt there that we will realise its too late so we really need to stick together and support them in my opinion x

[Chatterbox Childcare]

Where abouts is this meeting and is it the ones for the GEMS?

[jelly jiggles]

It's just for swindon minders and what would be really great is IF we did stick together and no one agreed to be apart of the pilot then how would they proceed then?? Every one is wondering about their jobs and I feel for them all to. My support worker has been excellent and I hope these very silly ideas are put to bed and we can all relax and get on with being 'self employed'

[Chatterbox Childcare]

I am also in Swindon and am attending a meeting on 12th September and eagerly await the information.

I may be wrong but there are a lot of new childminders who don't have a clue about getting work or the payment side of business and may welcome this idea.

For those of us who have been around the block a time or two the idea no doubt will not appeal.

Going in with an open mind for information.

[Simona]

It's just for swindon minders and what would be really great is IF we did stick together and no one agreed to be apart of the pilot then how would they proceed then?? Every one is wondering about their jobs and I feel for them all to. My support worker has been excellent and I hope these very silly ideas are put to bed and we can all relax and get on with being 'self employed'

No cm can be forced to be part of any pilot...please do not talk yourselves into an agency or pilot at the moment
There is still a long way to go before they are 'the law'

Let them test the pilots and then decide but you must have all the question answered...none of mine from the post below have been answered

Chatterbox...I do not get the 'many cms have no idea how to do the payment side of the business'...why become a small business then?
or is childminding what people do as a last resort...it does no justice to those cms who have worked for years to make a success of their small business and have learnt how to run it successfully!

[k1rstie]

Hi jelly, thanks for taking the time to post your information.

Are they requiring 6 childminders to join the pilot? I can see how they could possibly suggest bank days for the 6 childminders. But surely these could only be undertaken if you were to have no children, not just one down on your numbers. If they were to have 100 childminders on their books, could they offer bank days to them all?

But do many childminders have periods or odd days when they do not have any children for a full day (8 till 6 say) or even for half a day (which would most likely cover lunchtime)?

I think the bank days carrot is not likely to be practical.

Thanks again
Kirstie

[angeldelight]

Thank you for this post...it would be good if it was posted under Independent cms section or campaigns

Any moderators reading...please can it be moved so all cms can access this info in the proper section

JellyJiggles...are you saying Swindon is 'definetely' piloting agencies or is there a nursery doing the pilot?
I read this that cms can join an agency but 'remain independent' ? is that correct?
'Bank work with their nursery'...is the agency a nursery?
it sounds like the rolling out of 'childcare hubs'...a blend of childcare...ask if 4Children are involved

is the agency just there to do the cms paperwork? but you say they have a bad reputation...how can they be fit to be an agency and monitor quality?

sorry about all the questions but your post is very important ...looks like different agency models are piloted...please please keep us posted

Yes Simona will move it now ..thank you

Angel xx

[vals]

i've considered bank work before, i am doing my level 3 at the moment. If I find i have any days with no one i will sign up with a local agency that supplies bank staff to local nurseries - but this would be of my choosing, I would never join a childminding agency.