Let childminders be childminders and informal arrangements be just that where both parties are happy.
Suggested by Elisefilby and tagged dfe. Comment.
The big idea
I am a registered childminder and want to care for children within a home environment and as part of my own family. I am bogged down by hours of paperwork and timewasting which detracts from looking after and interacting with the children.
People pay extra for nurseries as they expect the paperwork and observations etc and that is what you pay for as a seperate environmen and for a develping child and in tiime the government therefore funds accordingly.
I signed up 10 years ago to become a childminder to offer quality care for children within a loving caring safe environment and now it is so paperwork orientated that I spend hours in the evening doing things which do not effect the care of the children at all.
I am restriced to numbers as a childminder within my home, safe, environment however am now nannying as I can have up to 6 children in a parents home which is not as safe as my own and allows me to care for the children who are happy and whose parents are happy with the care I offer. I do not need to complete all the paperwork associated with childminding and can also care for my own 2 pre-schoolers as well as 2 minded children where Ofsted will not sanction the numbers. It involves additional driving and risks minimised at my own house which are present at the families house. I can still use my OFSTED number and the parents are all in agreement however it means I cannot be at home more than 2 hours per day. This is so rediculous.
I have 5 children on a Friday monring, 2 pre-schoolers of my own and 3 minded children who are all at nursery. Therefore for 3 hours on a ri morning I have been informed by Ofsted that I have 2 pay an assistant on contracted hours and we need to bb 2gether as we officially have 5 children when all 5 are at nursery! As a nanny I am able to have all 5 children myself with no restritiosn or paperwork involved.
Although I agree rules need to be in place to safeguard children there needs to be flexibility to look at circumstanes and childminders shoild be allowed to carry out our role within caring for children in a mutually agreeable situation where appropriate with no additional out of hours responsibilities.
The whole idea of being a childminder used to be that it fitted around my family – now my family and the minded children have 2 fit around me getting the right paperwork in order!
As far as informal arrangements go where no payment is given for family, extended family or colleague where a mutual arrangement is in place. Where it is mutually agreeable and no money changes hands then this should be an formal agreement and not subject to such strict rules of registration.
Paperwork is fine and a necessity in to some settings but when it detracts from the care of the children and family time outside of working hours this is not acceptable.
Several childminders I know have opted out of the system due to paperwork requirements now and others have not registered due to the constrainst in place.
The government are supposed 2 give chidminders an incentive to offer spaces and parents to go back to work however put restrictiosn in place which in some cases make it impossible or extremely difficult for people to be able to tow the line. Cases need to be looked at in their own merits.
Let childminders do their own job and achieve our main objective without the adverse paperwork and beaurocracy and seperate us from nurseries not band us all the same where there are very obvious differences in the care offered.
Why does this matter?
It effects so many people who are registered as childminders, have informal mutually agreeable arrangements for care of their children and also also working parents who use childcare services. It also effect parents wanting to return to work and offer a quality childcare service from home.