CM Club: Is everyone a member of the NCMA? advice please

goosey, creepy hands gate, very sinister, almost hansel and gretel like. Very colourful though.

I've been with the NCMA since becoming a minder in June and I must admit I didn't have a clue what they actually did or that there were any other options.

teddy - thank you. Yes I do have a site by them but I only use it to link to my own business site. What do you think of the creepy hands gate?!

I find it a little strange that people question the cost really. As a qualified nurse I pay £15 a month to the Royal College of nursing but I consider it money well spent. I receive hardly anything for that. Not on a day to day basis but should the s* hit the fan the advice and backup is priceless. I also pay a substantial fee to the Nursing and Midwifery Council. Now I dont even work alone. Therefore as a childminder working alone who has a group of very young children in her care I will be happy to pay for any support I can get. Its not always comfortable to think what if this or that happened but sometimes you just have to.

Jackmummy, I expect that NCMA are unable to offer the renewal price, due to the insurance element having expired. It would be like you are starting over again, and thus the £72.15 charge (see NCMA website for membership pricing, £72.15 is calculated by adding Membership of 52.50 and insurance of 19.65. It is not known if either of these figures include or exclude VAT)

"However what has annoyed me is that the NCMA want to charge me about £75 membership, when I have a renewal form that quotes £57."

If the form also quotes that you need to renew by a specific date, and that date has gone past, then alas looks like you need to become a member all over again. If you have let your membership lapse, then I doubt they can renew at the renewal price.

In England there are 71,500 Registered Childminders (\link{http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/publications/index.cfm?fuseaction=pubs.displayfile&id=4148&type=pdf\Source: Quarterly Childcare Statistics, Dec 2005})

NCMA has 50,000 members, according to Liz Bayram - figure from their March 3rd press release, titled NCMA voted Top 100 Company by Sunday Times. Alas can't link to this, as NCMA's website doesn't seem to like pages within it being linked.

So NCMA represent about 70% of childminders. However the figure is not fully accruate, as NCMA represents childminders in England and Wales, and the figure from Ofsted for number of Registered Childminders is only for England. But it gives a good indication of the level of support which NCMA have.

Childminders cost the government £750 when they register, and when they are inspected. \link{http://www.dfes.gov.uk/consultations/downloadableDocs/Partial%20RIA%20Part%202%20-%20Regulation%20and%20Inspection.doc\Source}
\link{http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmstand/d/st051220/am/51220s01.htm\Another Source}
Childminders currently pay £14 for registration and £11 renewal.
The Partial Regulatory Impact Assessment (see first source above) estimates that Childminders cost £32 Million per year. This excludes the cost of dealing with complaints and follow-up visits. It also excludes Training and other local authority funding.

If the NCMA didn't campaign on behalf of childminders, I'm sure the government would charge childminders more to register and renew their certificates. After all, the government are charging more for nannies to register under the voluntarry Childcare Approval Scheme.

I am a NCMA member & have been for most of my childminding career. I didn't join until I had been childminding for about a year or so.I am a member of our local childming group, having just given up as being it's chair after 4 years & I am also on the South East Regional Committee for the NCMA. I can understand that people object to the membership plus insurance costs, however remember that your membership fees are not just producing the quarterly Who Minds but also contributing towards the cost of running a large charitable organisation with a membership of 48000 plus.As an organisation the NCMA lobby government regarding alterations to legislation re childcare, employ professional staff throughout the country who in a lot of local authorities are responsible for delivering childminding support, training etc. They write & provide the support for the CCP, inclusion training etc. approve the tutors who deliver the training, ensuring that they train & understand what it is like to be a childminder. Organise stationery for us to use if we wish, & although you might not, your own probably wouldn't be the same without at some stage having refered to their 'models'. Most grass roots childminders do not know what is going on at the 'higher echelons' & therefore don't realise what is involved in a volunteer run organisation. Yes the governing board is made up of volunteers, not paid staff, and you can as individuals have a say on what goes on by joining in in your local groups, county/borough assocations, regional committees & even the National Policy Forum, if you want to. I have found my experiences on both my local & regional committees very interesting & will happily talk to anyone who wants to know more. If you want to join in at county/borough or regional level the AGM's/ARM's are coming up in most areas in the next couple of months, find out when they are & go along to meet other friendly childminders & even consider joining in & making a difference in some way to childminding in the future. Remember that the NCMA can make changes happen, but only with the input & support from their grass roots members.

Goosey, yes i have, did you have a letter about it? If not i could find the email address for you to send your details online.

Firstly for those who are new to my message board postings, I am not a Childminder - but a Nanny.

All this talk of NCMA membership got me thinking. About 15 years ago, I think, I was an NCMA member, even attended a local NCMA organised training day/agm. Being an NCMA member, I quoted that on my babysitting advertising. Social Services (who then regulated childminders - remember this was in the pre-Ofsted days) objected... they considered that I was 'confusing' parents. I considered it to be more about 'creative advertising'... after all, I wasn't telling a lie. But it goes to show, that even then, some 15 years ago, this 'NCMA Member' phrase was considered to be a sign of quality - though in fact, it doesn't mean that at all.

One benefit of NCMA Membership, is the Government Awareness that NCMA generate. Now days, most things our Government want to do with childdcare, get passed via NCMA who chip in with their view. Nannies like me don't get much of a look in, PANN who are supposed to represent nannies in the UK are not as vocal (in my opinion) as the NCMA, when it comes to changes in government regulations.

Have you taken them up on the free website offer Teddy? I am also in Devon.

in our area (devon) you are automatically a member of DCMA(devon childminding association) and we can buy all our paperwork through them and get good advice. They have also just got funding for free web pages for childminders too. The only thing i dont think we get is legal representation but i would imagine that MM (£30.00)insurance would cover that anyway if the need arose. Also all the courses are free too so i dont see the need to join NCMA.

I am a member of SCMA and have been able to access the training that they offer for free . I did the first aid course and child protection for free and am currently doing their scheme of excellence which is a recognised qualification and I will eventually be able to count towards my SVQ3. I also like the idea that as part of a larger body I am less isolated and can always get support and advice from them, not bad for £1 a week.

I'm not sure how it works because I didn't organise it, but you can get a cheaper rate of insurance with them if you are a childminding group. I know several minders in our area, we called ourselves Blah Blah Minders and, hey ho, got a reduced rate. We see each other from time to time at various child-related groups, but are certainly not a proper "group" ourselves as such, just friends.

I know that I have rung the NCMA advice line a few times, and they have been really helpful - not sure if you have to be a member to do this though.

I'm a member. I do think it's worth it, but I agree it's expensive.

That is a very good reason for joining.
So simple. All I have to do now is cough up my membership fee and have parents think me cut above the competition for having done so. Genius.
The NCMA (who will take subs off any childminder who can pay) have promoted THEMSELVES cunningly well haven't they.

If other parents, like motherinferior, think that it's some kind of "kite mark" of quality, then that's why we join!! When you see childminder adverts, they often say things like "NCMA member" (which suggests the quality assurance idea) and "Ofsted registered" (I never understand why minders put that, because they register all of us anyway).

We get a quarterly magazine, which I find quite useful for information (new Ofsted rules etc). I use the NCMA contracts, which are obviously cheaper if you are a member, as they certainly convey a more professional image to parents.

I really agree that an NCMA member is not a sign of how good they are!!!
I have a NVQ level three, over 5 yrs sole charge exp, special needs exp all quals such as first aid icp and food hygiene and my own little one. But to be a member of the NCMA you just have to be a registered CM.
I really don't see what benefits they offer me, besides 10% off early learning, which is quiet expensive anyhow.

Have to agree that being a member of NCMA is no indication of how good oyu are! I am BTEC diploma qualified childcarer and also have been a nursery manager and worked with children for over 10 years now, i have qualifications left right and center and feel i offer top grade childcare for low prices and thankfully OFSTED agree BUT i am not a NCMA member!!!!

I am not a member of NCMA and nor are any of my childminder friends. We all use Morton Michel for insurance and they are great!You get just as much insurance cover for £30 a year. I do know someone who is a member of NCMA and they tend to let me order anything i want through them! Dont pay over the odds just to get your insurance!

Any registered childminder can be a member of the NCMA, it is in no way indicative of how good a childminder you might be.

Jackmummy - what on earth are you getting for your £100? I certainly don't pay that much for my membership and insurance.

I just tend to feel it's a quality assurance mark.

MI - I am a network approved and quality assured childminder but I do not belong to the NCMA.
On what do you base that view? I am genuinely interested, because from my point of view the only benefit to me of paying my NCMA membership is the free legal representation it covers.