accredited minders - help please

[Heaven Scent]

Ok - I know I asked you all before how for help with this when I asked you for help with what you felt your costings were to run a minding service - well the meeting I required the information for was very conveniently cancelled.

There is now a new meeting scheduled for this Monday evening so I was wondering if anyone can help by giving me some info into what hoops your local councils ask you to jump through in order to be accredited

Ours has a huge list that includes such things as

3 annual visits from Early years Team can be unannounced

Annual Extensive training - don't know who is expected to fund this

Required to attend childminder drop ins at childrens centre

Attend EYFS cluster meetings

complete a Reflective document - similar to a quality assurance doc ie a file!!

Be involved with the Childrens Centre Service Plan

Engage in Peer Support

Complete something called Starting off Paperwork

Attend Local Authority Development Meetings (don't know how often)

All this for I think £3.25 ph per child 12/15 hrs pw TTO. (figure rumoured for round here????) that is less than my normal hourly rate.

Is any of this familiar to any of you?

There is another minder from this forum attending the meeting (one of our moderators who writes and sells books that you all find useful) - we have already written a very detailed letter to the council to ask them what exactly they mean but they have not replied - I presume our questions will be answered on Monday but it would be really useful if we could say what minders in various other Local Authorities have to do and what the going rate is - I can find that on my previous thread. Also it would be brill if you could say roughly what your annual total outgoings are just so we can back our arguments up with something concrete.

Thanks

[TammyN]

ive got my cm coordinator calling on monday to encourage me to work towards accreditation, i will find out what she says and let you know. im just not convinced it's worth the extra work (im already on yr 2 of early years foundation degree) but she's new and far to enthusiastic so i will listen and then decide i felt sorry for her, ooops!

Tammy

[beccas]

i attended a meeting in my area on thursday this is what i got told:

4 visits from early years/lead teacher 1 unannoced

15hrs pw from sept spread over 3 days min

paid 100% or 70% begining each term 30% end of term

only 4 extra forms to fill in thats only extra paper work

£3.42 a hour
used between 8am and 6pm mon to fri

10 hours one day ok as long as reminder used over 2 days

before we start we have to have a min standards inspection by lead teacher

we got to do 3 days trainnig a year (18 hrs) spread over year

attend accredited network

use own planning and paperwork

hope this is of any use to you

[Blaze]

I've pm'd you

[childmind04]

Hope this will help

3 annual visits from Early years Team can be unannounced [COLOR="Navy"]ours is 4 1 unannounced either from Network C or teacher

Annual Extensive training - don't know who is expected to fund this[I]we are expected to book on local training when possible usually this is offered free, or OU/college etc is ok[/I]

Required to attend childminder drop ins at childrens centre[I]encouraged to be seen as being part of it but its not really a 'got to do' thing[/I]

Attend EYFS cluster meetings = not sure

complete a Reflective document - similar to a quality assurance doc ie a file!!yes

Be involved with the Childrens Centre Service Plan we are invited to meetings and training within the cc

Engage in Peer Support they like us to do support childminder scheme, there is only 2 of us and we are both supports not sure what would happen if we said no

Complete something called Starting off Paperwork we had lots of ncma forms to find out if we were up to the standard before getting on network, then more for accreditation

Attend Local Authority Development Meetings (don't know how often)these would be classed as out network meetings which are bi-monthly

All this for I think £3.25 ph per child 12/15 hrs pw TTO. (figure rumoured for round here????) that is less than my normal hourly rate. ours is £3.43 but due to increase i think

We have also been told we need two close down days to attend training within the cc (same time as them), i am not happy with this as its too much money to loose and also lets my parents down, but as they have not happened yet i cant really say what i am going to do about themThanks[/QUOTE]

[Heaven Scent]

Thank you all so very much for all your help its brilliant - at least now I know its not much different - I was a bit worried because our council have been dragged kicking and screaming into this so was not sure if what they were asking for was standard or if they were making it difficult for us so we would be put off iyswim - they haven't been at all specific - I think its because they are not sure what they are doing yet.

No doubt it will all come out in the wash!!!

[childmind04]

It was a bit like this for us, myself and another cm started it off, we had to first get the network accredited then work with the councils early years and the teacher within the cc, it was hard ironing out what everyone wanted in a way that could work for us but i am glad i did it first We must have had about 10 visits within about 3 month, including an inclusion visit, but the people we were working with were lovely and i think they were very suprised how much we do and know!!!

No one else has been brave enough to come on board yet which is a shame but hey ho someone might come on board

[Ripeberry]

Can I just ask, do we have to have an NVQ3 or be working towards one?
My DW is trying to get me to join and she is waiting to see what grading I get.
But I don't think I want to do it As I'm only term-time and want to stay quite small anyway. Have too much going on with my life at the moment, what with my mum having dementia, my grandparents needing help and my MIL having cancer treatment
Also, if I had to do the NVQ3 I would not be able to do it as I would have to give up my evening job (cleaning) and it would be impossible for me to get to the college as my husband does not get home until 7pm and he can't get home any earlier.
I would rather they give me the full info and then I'll decide. My DW, tries to make it seem so easy but sometimes I think she is too keen

[Chatterbox Childcare]

Ok - I know I asked you all before how for help with this when I asked you for help with what you felt your costings were to run a minding service - well the meeting I required the information for was very conveniently cancelled.

There is now a new meeting scheduled for this Monday evening so I was wondering if anyone can help by giving me some info into what hoops your local councils ask you to jump through in order to be accredited

Ours has a huge list that includes such things as

3 annual visits from Early years Team can be unannounced

Yes ours do 1 per year

Annual Extensive training - don't know who is expected to fund this

Our networks put on training free for us but we are expected to keep up to date and hours from first aid and food safety soon bulster the figures

Required to attend childminder drop ins at childrens centre

these keep you informed and provide activities for the children

Attend EYFS cluster meetings

keep you up to date and counts towards training hours

complete a Reflective document - similar to a quality assurance doc ie a file!!

file given to me in a questionnaire format to fill in

Be involved with the Childrens Centre Service Plan

not sompulsory here

Engage in Peer Support

this could be you helping others but I would expect to be paid for it

Complete something called Starting off Paperwork

presume that this is a start point

Attend Local Authority Development Meetings (don't know how often)

part of training hours again and good personal development too

All this for I think £3.25 ph per child 12/15 hrs pw TTO. (figure rumoured for round here????) that is less than my normal hourly rate.

£3.82 per hour - head count done at the beginning of each term and paid withi 3 weeks upfront

Is any of this familiar to any of you?

There is another minder from this forum attending the meeting (one of our moderators who writes and sells books that you all find useful) - we have already written a very detailed letter to the council to ask them what exactly they mean but they have not replied - I presume our questions will be answered on Monday but it would be really useful if we could say what minders in various other Local Authorities have to do and what the going rate is - I can find that on my previous thread. Also it would be brill if you could say roughly what your annual total outgoings are just so we can back our arguments up with something concrete.

Thanks

It sounds like a lot but most of it you will be doing anyway. To be accredited you are expected to be "above" the norm and therefore would need to do training to keep yourself there.

[Blaze]

Can I just ask, do we have to have an NVQ3 or be working towards one?
My DW is trying to get me to join and she is waiting to see what grading I get.
But I don't think I want to do it As I'm only term-time and want to stay quite small anyway. Have too much going on with my life at the moment, what with my mum having dementia, my grandparents needing help and my MIL having cancer treatment
Also, if I had to do the NVQ3 I would not be able to do it as I would have to give up my evening job (cleaning) and it would be impossible for me to get to the college as my husband does not get home until 7pm and he can't get home any earlier.
I would rather they give me the full info and then I'll decide. My DW, tries to make it seem so easy but sometimes I think she is too keen

You don't have to do an NVQ - You just have to have a relevant level 3 qualification - this can be the NVQ or the DHC - both of which you can do via distance learning (NEC IMHO) is best - that way it shouldn't interfer with your life too much. HTH

[sarah707]

Well we had a meeting last night and they said it wouldn't be in place until next year!

At which point our jaws dropped and I kind of switched off

[beccas]

no appartanly all la have to have it in place by this sept 2010.

[TammyN]

no appartanly all la have to have it in place by this sept 2010.

that will explain why i'm being targeted at the mo she did say it will take a year before accreditation! some councils are obviously looking ahead.

[Heaven Scent]

According to the powers that be at our LA so long as they have started the ball rolling by Sept 2010 then it is very acceptable for them not to be ready to impliment it until Apr 2011.

If you remember I told you all a while ago they wanted figures from us so they could come up with an average costing to run an average Childminding Service - well they have actually asked us for our actual and I mean actual figures for the last 2 years - what a blasted cheek - I thought it would be just OK to let them know an average number of hours I worked over the past 3 years for my under 5's and then work out an average of my total outgoings generated in order to provide them with quality care and to fulfil my responsibilities under EYFS.

Anyhow, the meeting was not what people expected and certainly not what I was led to believe would be covered - it appears that we are twits that need to be drip fed on a strictly need to know basis.

Its a waiting game for us I'm afraid but it appears that although the actual sums of money that providers across the board/country will be slightly different we will be all asked to jump through similar hoops in order to be allowed to receive it.

Thanks again to very one for you insite to how it works for you.