Accreditation for childminders to be phased out ?

[Fifi]

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)to become a statutory requirement from September 2008 - it will be unlawful for providers of childcare (childminders) to refuse to implement the EYFS

(The EYFS will be a single framework for care, learning and development for children in all early years settings. Building on the existing Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage, the Birth to Three Matters framework, and the National Standards for Under 8s Day Care and Childminding, the framework aims to increase coherence, provide a flexible approach to care and learning and raise quality throughout the Early Years Sector. It is intended to play a key role in improving the life chances of all children, regardless of their family circumstances, by setting a clear expectation of the care, learning and development they will receive, whatever the setting they attend.)

Since we will all be doing the same thing, does it mean that all childminders will be registered to receive nursery education funding ?

Will accreditation for childminders be phased out ?

[deeb66]

Good question

I don't know the answer to this one.

Would be interested if someone does know.

[sarah707]

At the moment there are no plans that I am aware of (or that Ofsted are giving away at the moment) to change accreditation... the problem is, though, that it's availability is patchy through the country.

There are also no plans to give childminders extra money to implement the new curriculum... some might say this is not a fair system.

It is partly because in a Nursery a child gets 15 hours (from soon) free or partly funded education, whereas childminders are still the poor relative, often with a few hours here and there. I imagine that the administration would be a nightmare!

Hope this helps.

[Heaven Scent]

It surely is unfair and I feel that once the EYFS comes into play then we should all be entitled to it but you know what things are like even in good old PC blity of the 21 centuary -

"All Men are equal but some are more equal than others"

- well except when it suits them to be otherwise.

I think we would have a fight on our hands if we tried to push for it - I bet no one has even thought about it to be quite honest and once it is pointed out to them then they will make something up to cover themselves like in nurseries the person in charge must have at least a level 4 qualification and we are only required to have a level 3 - I and I'm sure a great deal many more childminders are ahead of them on that - or it could be that we wouldn't have enough experience because of the low numbers of children we look after at once - it will be something equally as idiotic as that so lets just wait and see what they come up with - I've had my say on this on more than one occasion. The trouble is I'm too much of a coward to do much about it and also haven't got the time not the energy to do anything about it at the moment - too busy keeping up with getting everything thats required at the moment in place properly.


Celine

[emmadines]

hi i have heard that the "EYFS" but im confused

and this "accreditation"??

[angeldelight]

I have almost finished my accreditation and we all seem to be asking the same thing

I wonder now why I bothered

I have a meeting during the week I will see if I can find out anything but I have asked a number of times now with no answers - because I do not think they know themselves

Angel xx

[Cammie Doodle]

Oh Angel I hope they dont phase it out after all that work.
Are you feeling better I heard you had some bad news, hope you are feeling a bit better June

[angeldelight]

Hi June

Thanks yes I have had to work really hard but I did have a feeling this was going to happen to be honest

I am ok thank you

Hope things are ok with you

xx

[miffy]

I think it's very unfair that as childminders we get the thin end of the wedge.

When eyfs comes in we have to deliver early years education yet we cannot draw down any funding for this unless we are accredited - unlike nurseries and playgroups

I think ncma should already be lobbying on our behalf for funding but I don't think they are

Miffy xx

[sarah707]

hi i have heard that the "EYFS" but im confused

and this "accreditation"??

Emma.... EYFS is the Early Years Foundation Stage and it is what all early years settings - including childminders - will be working within by Sept this year. I imagine you will be having some training offered soon in your area.

'Accreditation' is a route some childminders, depending on where they live, choose to go down. It's very hard work, but when finished it means instead of sending children to nursery, parents have the choice to send a child to a childminder for their pre-school education and they receive a number of funded sessions a week (13 hours just now, due to rise to 15).

I hope this clarifies... it's always good to ask, we use lots of acronyms and don't always remember that some people are new... sorry!

[teacake2]

Hi I asked my network co-ordinator the question of funding just last week, she said that she had been told that minders would still have to belong to an accredited network to be able to get the funding, and so I assume will still have to be inspected every six weeks or so that they are doing all the necessary planning, obs etc. She did say that it would be too big a job (according to OFSTED) for all childminders to be inspected in this way, but then my arguement was are the pre-schools etc inspected every six weeks as well? that drew a blank and a shrug of the shoulders. A wait and see situation as usual with minders again being the whipping posts.
Teacake2

[emmadines]

Emma.... EYFS is the Early Years Foundation Stage and it is what all early years settings - including childminders - will be working within by Sept this year. I imagine you will be having some training offered soon in your area.

'Accreditation' is a route some childminders, depending on where they live, choose to go down. It's very hard work, but when finished it means instead of sending children to nursery, parents have the choice to send a child to a childminder for their pre-school education and they receive a number of funded sessions a week (13 hours just now, due to rise to 15).

I hope this clarifies... it's always good to ask, we use lots of acronyms and don't always remember that some people are new... sorry!

thanks xxxx im sure i will!

[Pauline]

I don't think they could or would ever offer every childminder the education funding without some sort of checks like the accreditation scheme, mainly because, even though we all have to implement the EYFS, some will implement it far better than others.

Can you imagine a childminder who can barely read and write herself having funding to offer educational places? I don't mean that it any way detrimental to anyone who struggles to read and write but the emphasis is on education with the funding and if you can't do something yourself, how can you pass it on/educate the children?

The thing that really annoys me about accreditation is that it is not freely available. I'd love to become accredited but they cannot afford to fund the co-ordinators to set up a scheme in our area, I've been asking for years!

I've heard that the latest plan is for more networks (possibly being set up in children's centres) and from that for some kind of scheme to come about that will enable access to funding, but it's all up in the air at the moment, so who knows?

[Tatia]

You beat me to it, Pauline. I was going to say much the same, probably not so well, though.

[Fifi]

Can you imagine a childminder who can barely read and write herself having funding to offer educational places? I don't mean that it any way detrimental to anyone who struggles to read and write but the emphasis is on education with the funding and if you can't do something yourself, how can you pass it on/educate the children?

Hmm!! How are these childminders going to cope with all the paperwork, observations etc…? Wonder how many childminders will be left in 10 years’ time

The number of childminders has fallen by almost a third over the past decade. In 1997, there were 98,500 registered childminders in England. In 2007, according to the National Childminding Association, there were 69,925

Don’t you sometimes feel like they are trying to get rid of us.?

[crazybones]

Hmm!! How are these childminders going to cope with all the paperwork, observations etc…? Wonder how many childminders will be left in 10 years’ time

The number of childminders has fallen by almost a third over the past decade. In 1997, there were 98,500 registered childminders in England. In 2007, according to the National Childminding Association, there were 69,925

Don’t you sometimes feel like they are trying to get rid of us.?

Or maybe just some weeding out. I dont think I would want my child looked after by someone who didnt have basic reading and writing skills.

[miffy]

I don't personally know any childminders who don't have those skills

I do know several childminders who are not very good at writing things down and paperwork but who are excellent with the children they care for

miffy xx

[Pauline]

Hmm!! How are these childminders going to cope with all the paperwork, observations etc…? Wonder how many childminders will be left in 10 years’ time

They are helped to cope by being offered support. Initially they will be graded inadequate or even inadequate 2, at that stage Ofsted usually gets in touch with any support co-ordinators in the area and they are quick to offer help and advice to bring that minder up to standard. Sadly there is not always support in every area, but hopefully that will change, in fact if MUST change in my opinion, otherwise these minders might be de-registered and then there is the risk that they will start minding un-registered and when that happens the option to offer support or to 'keep an eye on them' is lost. Better a poor minder registered and insured and getting support than an unregistered minder caring for children in a dangerous uninsured setting. But this is only my opinion!

The sad thing to me is when a minder is offered support and they don't take it, with help they could become great minders.

How many minders left in 10 years? Dunno, bet I'll still be here slogging away!

The number of childminders has fallen by almost a third over the past decade. In 1997, there were 98,500 registered childminders in England. In 2007, according to the National Childminding Association, there were 69,925

Don’t you sometimes feel like they are trying to get rid of us.?

I'd like to think that it's because we are becoming more professional.

In the 'good old days' you could be registered and up and running within a matter of weeks, I know I was.

It was the opportunity for some people to register and take on a few kids, earn a bob or two and then pack up when they realised that it was harder work than they thought. Nowadays, it takes longer, you need to have done some training first, or early on, and gone to various induction meetings, that way the people who think it is an easy job are weeded out and time and money isn't wasted registering someone who will give up within a few weeks. Although having said that it does still happen but not as much as far as I know.

[Pauline]

I don't personally know any childminders who don't have those skills

I do know several childminders who are not very good at writing things down and paperwork but who are excellent with the children they care for

miffy xx

They do exist Miffy. What tends to happen is that they are caring for children from the same type of lifestyle.

There are some areas in the country where people live in what we might think of as poor conditons, poor education, dirty homes where you'd wipe your feet when you come out! Minders in these areas care for children from the same type of family to themselves, and that is what the parents want. They wouldn't want to go to the 'posh' folks (for want of a better description). The minders and parents live their lives the same and feel secure in that same environment, they are happy, they don't want nor understand policies and procedures. But how do Ofsted bring those minders to the same standard as other areas when that isn't necessarily what the parents want?

If they refuse to register them because they don't do observations and have policies etc. then it goes back to un-registered minding, which I've given my thoughts to in the post above.

Am I making sense?!

[ajs]

They do exist Miffy. What tends to happen is that they are caring for children from the same type of lifestyle.

There are some areas in the country where people live in what we might think of as poor conditons, poor education, dirty homes where you'd wipe your feet when you come out! Minders in these areas care for children from the same type of family to themselves, and that is what the parents want. They wouldn't want to go to the 'posh' folks (for want of a better description). The minders and parents live their lives the same and feel secure in that same environment, they are happy, they don't want nor understand policies and procedures. But how do Ofsted bring those minders to the same standard as other areas when that isn't necessarily what the parents want?

If they refuse to register them because they don't do observations and have policies etc. then it goes back to un-registered minding, which I've given my thoughts to in the post above.

Am I making sense?!

my friend is a development officers in the east end of london, where most of the minders don't even have english as a second language she is really fighting ofsted to support them