CM Club: NO childminders allowed at ANY surestart groups as of now!

[PinkChick]

This is what i was told via our cm co ordinator last night and today!
They only want underpriveledged parents coming, however admit they will not request proof of income etc from parents to determine if theyre "underpriveledged"!?

So 'every child matter' doesnt apply now??!!, if parents make the effort to get a job, their children miss out on so many opportunities all because the government want the numbers to dwindle so they csn close the centres with no backlash !!!

The kind of parents that Sure start are trying to attract, won't get off their backsides in the first place to attend.
Our local surestart allows CMs but on the understanding that if it gets busy then the CMs leave to make way for the parents.
Only a tiny group of 10 anyway.

Sure Start is a complete waste of money. Sooner it goes, the better.

and whys that agnethafaltskog?

its nothing to do with taxpayers paying for us to attend the sessions, the one i go to helps the children with makaton and rhymes and where as id HAPPILY pay for it as i do ALL other activities - this one dosnt require it.

The children love it, their parents are tax payers AND SO AM I!!!!!

sure start should be about the children, minded or not minded.

Although i will agree that if its full of parents taking their children then so be it, i will find another activity.

I am a tax payer!
My parents are tax payers!
No one is subsidizing us at all, if we didnt attend these groups no one would! And that i think is the point!

Limit the usage then suddenly discover oh no one comes anymore!!.. Lets close this centre!.. Hey ho

"if we didnt attend these groups no one would! And that i think is the point!"

Exactly! There clearly isn't a need for Sure Start. The parents of "underprivileged" children don't use it, other parents either are not allowed to or don't need to use it!

Parents do use it. may not all use it in each area but they do participate here so there clearly is a need

We phoned our local childminding association today to see what they had heard about this. They said they are fighting tooth and nail that CM's can attend and it's all inclusive. They are appalled but this as they acknowledge that CM's have an important role at the centre's.

One of the centre's we go to the CM's look after the "disavantaged" children while their mum's do course's. If they weren't allowed to go then the course's would have to stop also.

I like the centres because apart from the children mixing with other children, they get to play with other toys that they wouldn't have done in their settings. I know that the centres around here are very in tune with the EYFS and provide resources that compliment it. A normal playgroup or Mum's and Tot's wouldn't be set up this way.

We phoned our local childminding association today to see what they had heard about this. They said they are fighting tooth and nail that CM's can attend and it's all inclusive. They are appalled but this as they acknowledge that CM's have an important role at the centre's.

One of the centre's we go to the CM's look after the "disavantaged" children while their mum's do course's. If they weren't allowed to go then the course's would have to stop also.

I like the centres because apart from the children mixing with other children, they get to play with other toys that they wouldn't have done in their settings. I know that the centres around here are very in tune with the EYFS and provide resources that compliment it. A normal playgroup or Mum's and Tot's wouldn't be set up this way.

This is bad.

If the services are indeed for "deprived" families only, then they need to find a means of finding those people (if they want to come) and preventing the parents they don't want to help from going! If they are open to all parents (as they are in my area of Surrey) then all sessions should also be open to childminders.

Why should the kids of parents who work - and their CMs / nannies - be excluded?!

I love these centres.

Look around your local churches they often run excellent mother toddler groups that welcome nannies and childminders and do not push the religious side if thats a problem for you. Local Libraries also run sing along groups and can often tell you whats on in your area.
Having said that The SureStart Centres where I work have been very welcoming to nannies but childminders dont seem to use them.

I asked my local centre if as a nanny I could attend the childminders group or did I need to go to the open for all one, and I was told if I was a registered nanny (which I was until Oct last year) I was welcome at the childminders group, otherwise I could only go to the open to all group.

Have no idea why I can't go to the carers group just because I am not registered as it makes no diffence really to a nanny if reg or not, it isn't as if we have all the paperwork to do that childminders do, and I would welcome the idea of being able to meet other carers without the whole are they carers or parents thing you get at normal groups, nothing against parents, just some are a bit funny when they realise you are the nanny.

I hope this gets sorted quickly so the children can still benefit.

this is nothing new im afraid. It was over 2 years ago that we had a massive issue exactly the same as this.
Our local community center ran a toy library on a thursday which was also a stay and play session. Very popular and always full, mixture of CM and parents. They also did a toddler group on a monday which was popular with CM and parents. Sure start took over and basically put a blanket ban on CM using the groups. I was a parent at the time, wasnt working as a CM BUT because i had been a CM i was told i could no longer attend.
Our local childminder support group got involved and in the end the co-ordinator of our 5 sure start centers agreed that childminders could have free use of the center on a tuesday and friday morning if they ran the groups themselves.
You need to be stating that EVERY CHILD MATTERS and i would also state that children of working parents deserve the same rights as children of SAHM. It is disgraceful BUT it also just highlights the huge issue with sure start centers.
I live in an area that is classed as deprived. Our local primary had a sure start center built in its payground under the understanding it would target deprived children from our area. 2 years on it caters for middle class families, usually mums who are on maternity leave and are going back to work who access the baby massage and arts and crafts sessions. The only other people who use it are the teen mums who HAVE to attend and do so with a SS worker.
I think its a huge oversight on sure starts part.........if a child has parents who are neglectful or unable to care for that child at an acceptable level they will not go to a center where they think they will be watched and have attention drawn to them.

Am in Scotland - is surestart free?

Yes weve been quoting eyfs statements (psed etc), every child matter, inclusion policies and the fact theyre called "childrens centres" not parent , cm or aunty only centres!
Ive had 2 meetings and 1 phone conversation with a cluster manager, centre manager and playgroup staff who have ALL said we CAN still go to the groups and the meetings are on going with them completely on our side!.. Cant really do much now until/unless someone stops us.

Yes we do also go to a weekly church group and a fortnightly library group but that is surestart run too so will see what happens.

thats a shame, I love sure start and childminders are welcomed with open arms!

I thought the children's centres received funding to provide for childminders? Has this stopped?
Because the co-ordinator in our local children's centre has been getting grief because she wasn't providing for us!

I'd be interested to know what OFSTED say, too. They wanted childminders to meet up at children's centres rather than each other's houses. That's one of the reasons the CCs received the funding for childminders. Since OFSTED inspect children's centres as well, maybe approaching them might be an option?

hi im from leeds and it happened to us we all use to go to the tots groups twice a week then 2 weeks b efore xms we were told we couldnt come any more so my dd and my minded kids missed out on th party . we were offere to use the center on a tue pm to have our own group but it is slowly dwindling as they are brining new rules in all the time .ie no sleeping in prams ect basically what we have in place agreement with parents doesnt stand and our own policies mean nothing .we all felt used upset and very angry