to think the gov has money to burn if it can pay retired teachers hundreds (£200+) each day to inspect child minders?

[browniedropout]

I've heard this is the next big idea. Child minders are going to be inspected, not by ex child minders, nursery nurses. health visitors, social workers - but by retired teachers charging huge amounts. Ex child minders wouldn't ask more than £10 an hour and know much more about looking after children in a home than a retired teacher !! Money to burn - what should they do with it?

OOh, could I get a job doing that? (Not quite retirement age yet, but it feels like it.)

Oh thats handy, I'm a childminder and my mum is a retired head teacher!

Oh good, at least teachers have the same feelings towards ofsted as we childminders do. Do we think that they will all inspect us to the same standard or will they do as happens now and inspect us to the inspectors individual standards!!

sorry to disappoint u Hennipenni, the retired teachers in this situation will be Ofsted Inspectors, not standard retired teachers. I think it is a waste of tax payers money. I think childminders should be checked but by childcare people such as ex Playgroup Managers, Day centre child qualified staff or health visitors... and I'm none of these, just someone who is watching some Play groups drowning under red tape and unrealistic allowances to allow proper operation yet mountainous amounts of money thrown at some areas of education eg (this example) and the new Academies.

Nooooo, not Health Visitors!!!!!

Oh brownie, I was all excited for a minute. At the end of the day it sounds like it ties in with the introduction of The Early Years Foundation Stage that all us childminders will have to work by from sept next year.