4 Children Sue Robb talks about agencies...please read

[Simona]

I have posted this elsewhere but wanted more cms to see and read.

I met Sue Robb back in June at a London conference and was reassured when she said that she had concerns about agencies.
You may remember I fed back from that conference

Today I have read her article in the October issue of EYE...I am now not so reassured.

These are some of her statements

- concerns about potential 2 tier system
- concerns that cms who prefer to remain independent will be viewed as 'suspicious' by parents
- concerns about cost of registration and cost to parents
- 4Children is in favour of innovative ideas to make life easier for families
- we should not dismiss out-of-hand the gains that agencies could help deliver to families and the
sector
- benefits to parents to secure places and safety net when their cm is unwell
- cms will be freed from having to fill vacancies because of the parent matching system
- reducing bureaucratic burden on cms
- cms could benefit from discounted fees on training and sharing resources
- participants in the pilot will be chosen by the department, the DfE strategic partner, The
Children's Partnership, of which 4 Children is a co-founder, will be involved in facilitating the trials
- Learning from the trials will be shared among participants and more widely to inform further
delivery
- 4Children will watch the trials with interest in the 'hope' they will produce the insight we need to
introduce a flexible cm agency model, which will be welcomed by cms and alleviate some of the
pressure of family life for parents everywhere

I am stunned by some of the statements...
where is the evidence that parents will view non agency cms with 'suspicion'?
Thousands of cms have clearly stated we do not need help in running our businesses

What expertise have 4 Children in cms practice?

Innovative idea? maybe she should look at what happened in Holland...there is nothing 'innovative' about agencies

Cms have also clearly stated we do not welcome agencies so 4 Children's hope to see a flexible model introduced sound like this is a fait accompli..

While I agree that families face pressure should cms be used as guinea pigs to alleviate them by taking our businesses away..it is enough we subsidise childcare for parents often more well of than we are

I am hugely concerned at the various grants 4 Children have received from the DfE...will their judgement be unbiased when helping the DfE decision to introduce this controversial reform?

[lisbet]

[lisbet]

[Memina]

Wish I hadn't asked now! Really not what I wanted to read!

[VeggieSausage]

I would love it if every childminder in the country refused to join.....then what?......very worrying, reading that makes me think that my days as a childminder are numbered....

[Simona]

Now now...that won't do.
When we get a knock like this we get up and start again.
Maybe Sue Robb should get a few letters from cms...let me know if you want her email.

[Simona]

if you would like to attend the 4 Children conference here is the info
It is on Thursday 10 October with Truss and Ofsted Sue Gregory attending The title: Lets talk Quality. Making EY quality achievable for all!...yes via agencies???

I would like to go but it is extremely expensive...something I will point out to Sue Robb when I email her
I will give it a thought as it would be good to hear what the minister... if she is still with us by then...and her agents will say about agencies.
Lets hope I win the lottery!!

Let's talk quality! Making early years quality achievable for all

[sarah707]

Somebody has got to them! Maybe it's all the grants they have been given clouding their judgement.

Do you have contact details you can share on here Simona please?

[Simona]

That 'somebody' is the DfE who has awarded grants to many charities under the National Prospectus Grant for 2013-2015
I have posted several times about the amount awarded and what for hoping cms would pick up the warning.

Those charities include
4 Children who said all along they were supporting a financially sustainable model for a more flexible childcare...that is 'AGENCIES' ...their grant is over £1.5m

Action for Children to support recruitment of 630 cms...grant is nearly £1m

Barnardo's to improve the flexibility of affordable childcare and recruit new cms, mostly unemployed mothers. Grant nearly £1m

NCB nearly £1m to support 2 yo

NDNA nearly £1m to look at wrap around care, in other words childcare hubs and have started the trial.
Grant nearly £1m

Family and Childcare Trust to improve access to early education and childcare to disadvantaged families. Grant over £1m

PLA to deliver workforce training to improve settings in early education and childcare to enable children to achieve Grant over £1.2 m...no connection here to agencies

ALL these charities are part of the Task and Finish Group and I warned you all back in June that their grants looked like a way of supporting agencies and recruitment of new cms

There is no grant awarded to pacey who represents cms and who, in my view, would have had the best skills in this field, you may remember they were going to join Barnardos then changed their mind because Barnardos is recruiting new cms and pacey worried they were developing agencies???

All is under construction now BUT we can still be heard...if you look at any of the websites of the Charities above you can find a contact number...call them and raise your concerns

We have written to the DfE but these charities will have a profound influence of the decision...they look after families and we as cms are not their prime worry...

[sarah707]

It always was a fait accompli - I think we knew that - which is why it's so important that those cms who want to stay independent of agencies stick together and support each other