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Original poster

Want to register as a Childminder? Better do it before September

33 replies

MrAnchovy · 11/04/2012 10:46

I know a few MNers have recently registered as Childminders and found that they had to bypass the red tape of their Local Authority to avoid unnecessary delays in registering. Unfortunately it seems that from September you will no longer be able to do this - and the National Childminders Association is NCMA encouraging this and other increases in the burden of regulation and compliance for childminders as below:

  • The NCMA wants all childminders to be required to achieve a NVQ Level 3 qualification within five years of registration.
  • The NCMA wants all prospective childminders to be required to attend training and pass a test in delivery of the EYFS before being allowed to be childminders.
  • The NCMA wants all prospective childminders to be required to undertake mandatory safeguarding training (as well as first-aid training) before being allowed to be childminders.
  • The NCMA believes that all registered childminders should be required to attend annual refresher courses on safeguarding.
  • The NCMA supports the principle that all childminders are legally required to deliver the EYFS, even if they only provide wrap around care.
  • NCMA supports the requirement for providers to give parents a written summary of their child's development in the prime areas when their child is 24-36 months.
  • The NCMA wants childminders to be responsible for ensuring (so far as is reasonably practicable) that corporal punishment is not used on a child by any person who cares for them.

Speaking as a parent, I don't want my childminder to be required to do any of this - I want my childminder to be a 'second family' for my children, not an under-resourced imitation of a pre-school.

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Original poster
MrAnchovy · 11/04/2012 12:07

Anyone know current membership figures?

NCMA quote 38,000 childminders. Ofsted have about 58,000 CMs on the Compulsory Register - I don't know if NCMAs figure includes some not on the register (8+ only etc.).

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Original poster
MrAnchovy · 11/04/2012 11:58

NiceShoes you may not be aware that many Local Authorites restrict access to the required training, making it impossible for even a qualified Nursery Nurse (for instance) to register as a childminder in less than 12 months under this new regime. I agree that the current situation, where a childminder can 'register now and train later' is less than ideal, but the right solution to that is IMHO to have a nationally approved training scheme that could be accessed independently from the LA, not to revert to the old system where childminders were run by some local authoraties as private fiefdoms.

The NCMAs recommendation on corporal punishment is very strange so I am going to repeat it here verbatim:

"Providers must not give corporal punishment to a child. Corporal punishment must not be used on a child who is being cared for at the setting by any other staff member or a person who is in regular contact with the children at the setting, or any other person who lives or works on the premises. . They should also ensure (so far as is reasonably practicable) that corporal punishment is not used on a child by any person who cares for the children."

Given that the first two sentences cover the childminder and anyone working or living with them, surely the last sentence refers to people who are nothing to do with the childminder - parents, pre-school teachers etc.? Now I think that this may just be a case of bad editing - the original consultation document only included a sentence similar to the last one so it was clear (to me at least) that it only referred to people under the childminders influence, so perhaps that is not what the NCMA meant - but who knows?

OP posts:
NiceShoes · 11/04/2012 11:47

Thanks for clarification,I thought the CP reference was in the CM home,so extended family of CM must not use CP? On the face of it I don't think the proposals are overly onerous, but I am not a CM. Again, as a parent I would be inclined to see it as introducing rigorous standards and check and balance.

Flisspaps · 11/04/2012 11:37

I've been registered 18 months. These proposals will make it much easier for me to confirm that this is only a short term job for me rather than a long term career.

As someone on here said a few months ago, they want a CM to be able to 'be bosomly and know their way around a fish finger sandwich'.

If they want more CMs to leave the profession then NCMA are going the right way about it. I wonder if the current extension of membership to non childminders is because so many CMs have left NCMA that they're not bringing in enough £ from those they've got left?

nannynick · 11/04/2012 11:27

Does NCMA represent the Majority or the Minority of childminders these days? In the past their membership levels were quite high but these days I wonder if they even represent 50% of registered childminders, yet alone those who don't need to register.

Anyone know current membership figures?

any person may mean more than just the childminder themselves - so may mean the childminder telling parents how to raise their own children. Is that why it was highlighted?

HSMM · 11/04/2012 11:17

I know some fantastic Childminders without a level 3.

How are we supposed to ensure that parents or grandparents don't use corporal punishment?

ChildrenAtHeart · 11/04/2012 11:17

As a childminder I voted at an NCMA conference 9 years ago for the resolution that members have a full relevant L3 within 5 years of registering
We already have to do Safeguarding training & it's normally covered in the initial training course (was ICP when I did it) - only change is CMs will have to complete it before registering instead of within 6months which I believe is a good thing. We also have a current duty to ensure our safeguarding knowledge is kept up to date so an annual refresher would cover that
We already have to deliver the EYFS for wrap around but the new EYFS has reduced the burden of this making clear that we will not have to do full obs & learning journals for before/after school care & school holidays
I have no problem with the 2-3 year check. I already provide annual progress reports for parents & in our area the HV's currently rely on parents answering a ticklist for the check, and hope that pre-schools will flag any issues. They don't see the children unless there is a 'concern'. At least this way the check is being performed by someone who really knows the child & if they need any support
Not sure about your issue re the corporal punishment comment. We have a duty of care and to me that is all part of my job

I am a childminder. I am happy to be required to do these things as I am a professional childcarer with equal status to other forms of childcare & would like this to be formally recognised. I am not an imitation pre-school. Equal does not mean the same. I can comply with the EYFS without copying a preschool and I do. I have 2 outstandings that show that Ofsted agree & numerous comments from parents to show that they are happy too. I provide a homely, caring, child & family centred environment for the children in my care , the 'second family' you refer to. The two are not mutually exclusive.

NiceShoes · 11/04/2012 11:09

I support the NCMA proposals, obviously you don't. Watching children is a responsible job and I would expect the CM to have attended safeguarding training, and I definitely want the CM to ensure no corporal punishment is used! I am not sure why you haver emphasised any person in relation to not using corporal punishment? Why would you object to not using CP?

Speaking as a parent I support all of those recommendations, but I do not think of CM as a second family. But nor do I think CM is an imitation of pre-school.