accredited childminding

[janet]

hi all just been to a cluster meeting about becoming accredited which basically means i would be able to provide the free 3 and 4 year childcare grant.
I am quite shocked to how much reading i have come back with((2 bags full) at the end someone asked how much the pay would be , it is paid by the hour. i ended up very shocked to find out it is £3.28 I charge £3.50 so i would be out of pocket, doesnt make any sense for me to do it being on less money, but in a dilema now what to do as i could possibly risk losing one of the kids as mum would put her into nursery if i wasnt accredited.
why does everything have to be such a dam headache xxx

[ajs]

sorry i am being thick who gets paid £3.28?

[angeldelight]

Janet I am working towards mine and know just what you mean

Wonder why we bother sometimes

We get the money paid by the goverment

Some areas you do not end up out of pocket though

Angel xx

[susi513]

I can understand having a set rate for the nursery vouchers but I don't see why the parent can't pay the remaining balance, they same as they would do with the employers childcare vouchers.

Saw posts on another forum on this some time ago - seemed that some childminders took the fees for the session paid by nursery vouchers and upped their fee for any remaining hours booked so that in total the weekly payment they got remained the same. Don't know what the rules are though.

I can't see the point of going thru the hassle of accreditation if it means a loss of earnings.

[angeldelight]

I agree

Plus all the hard work we do to get there in the first place

Angel xx

[deeb66]

Hi Angel

Several minders have asked me exactly what they have to do to become Accredited - I have been very honest with them and said "sorry I haven't got a clue - but know someone who does" I would also be very interested myself!

What exactly do you have to do to become Accredited?

Dee

[nannan]

Hi, like Dee am interested in what has to be done to get accredited, and also, is they any way that your mum would pay the extra fee, or as its only two hours that the government will pay, would you consider the drop for that time and still charge for the rest of the time you have the child your standard fee, if mum is going to put the little one in nursery anyway better you get the money rather then the nursery,
mandy

[janet]

hi all
you have to be able to show proof that you are working with the foundation stage so that as the child moves on to school the evidence that the childminder has collected can go with them, the you are then assessed by a network coordinator this is usually an alright inspection as you would probably know this person if you are on a network.
also with an inspection from ofsted you have to show that you are meeting what the foundation cirriculam needs, but as we all know this will be changing to the foundation stage for early years soon. what i gathered from last night is that is basically boils down to learning through play, but the children have goals to meet, and we have to plan and observe, my coordintor said that if we started with long term plans ( not themes ) that would be enough to get the ball rolling. it is very very similar to birth to three.
i have decided today that i am going to go ahead and get accredited but it wont affect me untill the children reach three they are 2 at the moment. i am very lucky in my area as we get loads of training and we dont have to pay for it xx

[angeldelight]

I will explain the best I can.....

You would be offering children education in a home setting you can offer children / parents a valuable alternative to centre-based care provided in nurseries and pre-schools.

It means that you would be able to offer educational sessions and receive payment for 3 - 4 year olds

All 3- and 4-year-olds are entitled to free early years education sessions paid for by government funding.

Each local authority has to make sure a free part-time early education place (also sometimes called nursery education) is available for every 3-and 4-year-old in their area and funds local early education providers to offer these free places.

Childminders can offer these education sessions and draw down the funding but only if they been accredited by an NCMA Children Come First (Early Years Education) network


To become accredited, you will need to show your network coordinator that you meet the extra NCMA Children Come First Quality Standards for early education. You can do this during your initial assessment to become a network member.

Before your network can accredit you, it must also have demonstrated that it meets additional NCMA Children Come First criteria relating to early years education

You have a lot of assessments to do
You also get your house checked a bit like Ofsted - you still also have Ofsted

What is a network you may be thinking ?

When you join an NCMA Children Come First network, as well as all the benefits, there are certain responsibilities that you sign up to. If you want to join an NCMA Children Come First network (or a network that is working towards approval) you will need to:

show the network coordinator how you meet each of the NCMA Children Come First Quality Standards.

Make a commitment to three days' continuing professional development each year (or the equivalent hours).

Agree to receiving visits from your coordinator who will ensure you continue to meet the Quality Standards.

With the number of early education hours per week set to increase, it makes good business sense to add this skill if possible as pre-schoolers form the greatest proportion of most childminders' income.

How do you find a network?

Networks can be developed by a wide range of organisations so there may be several networks in your area, managed by different agencies. To find a local childminding network, you can contact:

Your NCMA regional office

It is hard work and I am not sure it is worthwhile but a lot of my moms whose babies I mind are very interested so I think for me it will serve its purpose when the babies are nursery age

Hope you understand more now ?

Angel xx

[deeb66]

Thanks Angel

That certainly has shed a little more light on to the subject.

Still not sure it is something I want to do especially as the money I would get from government is considerably less than my hourly rate.

Why would I want to make even more work/hassle for myself to receive less money?

Dee

[angeldelight]

This seems to be the problem in some areas

But I was told today by my network that the fee can be more like £5 - £6 an hour
No idea how true that is

She may just be trying to butter me up because I am fed up a little with all the work and finding the time

I do wonder if it is worth it and there are no accredited childminders in my area at all I would become the first so I have no one to ask advice

I may give up myself yet ha

Angel xx

[deeb66]

I don't think anyone would blame you Angel as it is all getting ridiculous.

I totally agree that childminders should be teaching the children about everyday things and trying to stimulate the children but I also believe that them going off to nursery is a good thing. They need to start learning to be independant, to be seperate from the ones who love and care for them and generally get ready for the school environment.

I may be being really thick here but I fail to see how the children can gain these experiences at home with us especially as we are still trying to deal with and look after the younger ones who are no where near that level of learning.

Surely if that is what the parents wanted they would have placed the child in daycare nursery and not with a childminder - and on that note how are the parents of the younger ones going to feel? they may think that we are neglecting their children and in the long run we may end up loosing business to the daycare nursaries!

Sorry to rant on but this is really beginning to hit a raw nerve with me....am I the only one?

Dee

[janet]

i was really shocked last night when i found out how much the goverment pay and so were many others, i dont know about other areas i am sure it has to be different in other areas as in the south childminders are on more money,
on the network though i am on teen parent so most of my pay is through care to learn, another government thing, but at least on this you can earn up to £160 per week.
i seem to be just going on about money, but yes dee you are right more hassel for less pay at least in my area.

[angeldelight]

I agree !!!

Not sure why a child's education can not wait till they go to school anyway

They are not children long enough just enjoying life anyway are they

It does not seem right having to educate them at 3

Oh I am really going slow with my course work and my heart is really not in it

I am sure I heard somewhere that if you become accredited that it could prevent you getting outstanding with Ofsted but for the life of me I can not remember why - does anyone else know ??

I honestly thing that just lately they are starting to want childminders to be more like a nursery

And that is what we are NOT

Childminding seems to be more and more business like every day

What happened to our old fashioned home based childminding where the children could have fun and we did not have to have so many documents and learning resources because they just learnt anyway from the simple things and pleasures in life

Yep Dee it gets my back up too!!!

Angel xx

[deeb66]

I think those days are in the long distant dark memory and I rue the day Ofsted took over.

I seem to also remember something along the lines of the inspection process needing to change as they would have 2 completely different areas to inspect but I can't remember exactly how.

I do know a childminder who is Accredited and she was inspected earlier this year and recieved Outstanding but I don't know is that was just the normal inspection or for the accredited side as well - next time I see her I will ask and see what she says.

Dee

[manjay]

Not sure how this works in Wales but children where I live go to school every afternoon when they are 3 anyway. Personally I think for the children it is a natural progression, toddler group, playgroup and then the nursery class in school. They do this for 12 months before starting full time school when they are 4. I think if they missed out on the nursery class in school to stay with me they would be the "odd one out". I think I have mentioned before that we do not follow BTTM and Wales have only just completed the consultation phase of the EYFS. So watch this space!!

Amanda xx

[angeldelight]

Oh they go to school at 3 wow that is early !!

I guess like you say children just take it as the norm

In one sense it is great that they are learning ........but what happened to kids childhood
The time when they could just be " themselves " without the hang ups of school or learning

Kids grow up too fast

Angel xx

[manjay]

I know what you mean. However I don't think they actually do much "learning" it's mostly play but it gets them used to school and they look soooo cute in their school uniform.

Amanda xx

[Bella]

Accredited childminders have two ofsted inspections with a seperate mark for each. At present accredited childminders have to show evidence that they are following the QCA quidlines , BUT from Sept 2008 all practioners caring for children under 5 will have to show evidence that they are following the EYFS , SO everyone, accredited or not ,will be doing the same amount of work, recording, planning etc.

[angeldelight]

Yes Bella that is correct thanks for pointing it out

Angel xx

[nannan]

Hi all
I agree, when are the children going to be children again, I also feel that the children benefit from going to nursery to meet new friends, as we all have to follow the eyfs from next year, I feel that we should all be able to say that we accredited already, most of if not all of us are teaching the children anyway, when we sit down and read, sing, count, the only thing we might not do that a nursery does is let them play on the computer.