CYPOP5

[heartmoonshadow]

Hi,

I submitted the coursework for this at the beginning of August I have just found out that 80 percent of it is not good enough I don't know what else I have to put in. Most of the comments are you have done this well but we need exact examples but the problem with this is how can I say what happens in my business until I have been doing it a while and as I only started in September it is very difficult. Can anyone point me in the direction of some stuff that has passed so I can get ideas to personalise my answers.

Thanks

HMS

I've never heard of it, but these people have

If you give us some examples of the questions, we might be able to give you some ideas about what to use as evidence

I didn't choose CYPOP5 in the end as I felt learning about a childminding business was not so helpful to me as been doing this over 6 years but if you're new then it's probably a good one. What sort of questions have you had? When I chose my optional units, some were geared at under 3s and I was only allowed to choose them if I cared for under 3 year olds as otherwise I wouldn't be able to provide the right evidence.

Who are you doing this through? Have you not got a tutor who can give you the guidance you need?

CYPOP5 appears to be a joke my assistant has submitted work which both I as an experienced childminder of over 10 years and her tutor could find no fault with.

Her work has come back with very similar comments all great but........

Very very contradictory we have rung NCMA and they have had to relook at all of her work we have yesterday received an email which is also contradictory for example one pointer for her to improve her work is:

Produce a charter for parents/carers which include the following:

• an explanation of the importance of partnership with parents for all aspects of the childcare service - you cover this in your charter

so she has to make a charter to cover what's already in her charter I think

It also seems that they are not able to take what is written in one task and use it to cover a different task so for example your safeguarding policy can not be used to count towards your safeguarding leaflet.

Also apparently giving one minute for each complete year of a child's life when in time out is discriminatory most people with an ounce of common sense assess each child and would alter their policy with parental agreement for any special needs or known difficulties.

OMG, what a load of rubbish!!! . I hope the others aren't like this as I've just started on module 2 of my course and my optional units are CYPOP1&2 and HSC3045 but am yet to complete my first assignments. As for the time out thing, honestly, how stupid! I use the timing as a rough guide and carry it out depending on the child and their understanding etc. The world has gone mad!

Thanks for the replies believe you me I would not have done the course if it was not mandatory for OFSTED as I already have a First class degree in Early Childhood Studies, the Early Years professional qualification and a PGCE in Early Years Teaching. I have 6 years teaching experience and I think it is just about semantics I will keep battling on to pass the course if not I will have to give up childminding and go back to teaching how crazy is that!

Well it depends what they're saying isn't good enough. I thought the ICP was a pile of poo but this seems worse.

What a nightmare! I did my CYPOP5 in December last year and my assignment was passed with no comments like that! Where it said produce a charter/leaflet/flier/whatever I just ignored the instructions and wrote all the answers in bullet point form! They were fine with this. I did mine through a company called MNT training instead of the NCMA. They were cheaper and obviously the people marking my assignement were much more flexible! I got the results back quite quicly too.

Fraktious I did ICP was boring as you like and so basic CYPOP5 is in so much more in depth but it seems the assessors are unable to deduce anything from text and need it put into an idiots guide

Don't get me started, already level 3, I have a degree on education and I can't figure out what they want for this stupid course. And thanks to it being on-line there is no obvious support!!!!!!!!

I am doing this same course and it is ridiculous. I am a secondary school teacher, have an MA with distinction in English, have 8 years experience teaching, with lots of special needs and EBD experience. Before teaching I was a nanny and alongside teaching I have fostered difficult teenagers. I also have two children of my own. You'd think I should walk it.
As childcare, petrol and other basic costs have made it impossible for me to continue teaching I have had to give up my job and was looking forward to having fun with children, my own and other peoples', as a childminder. But it looks like I might fail.
I only have until the end of October to complete the course or the council will try to recover the costs - that's less than two weeks now. I can't afford to pay them back but if I don't complete this course in time it won't be for the lack of trying.

My family and my friends can't believe that I'm struggling and I'm getting comments like "well, you're probably just being too in depth" or "you are worrying too much." Well, the tutor doesn't think so!

In my experience so far there is virtually no support. The descriptions of the tasks and the assessment criteria they share with you often don't convey what is expected. Much of the work it turns out is putting the words of Sheila Riddall-Leech's book into your own words (the health & safety task was particularly mind-numbing) but you need to cover every last thing she says and then add all your own specific things. The feedback from tutors is confusing and the expectations are truly ridiculous. Some of the assignments require five, six or even more A4 pages worth of a response. I have had to pay for my children to go back into childcare so that I can complete them.

It has been great to read the messages on this board. I was beginning to wonder if I'd lost it. With many councils having cut all funding to train childminders, we may see a shortage in childminders in the coming years - perhaps even their extinction. The NCMA are hardly helping matters by making this course so impossible to pass and it seems unfair if it is possible to gain the same (necessary) qualification elsewhere with much less work.

I too am struggling with CYPOP5... just had a LONG discussion with my Assessor today because I am tearing my hair out. I have an academic background, a degree and four years experience of actual Childminding, but still my tasks are not hitting the mark :-O

I am re-registering with Ofsted (following a break from CM and house move) and I now find I have to complete this ridiculous course, having previously done the ICP/CACHE, which was FAR better.

I'm trying to complete it by the end of this month and finding it far from straight forward to negotiate the stoopid website/online training. PLUS: there are techical faults which are not obvious (I have wasted hours today thinking the fault was me) and the NCMA have not even sent me the course book yet!

Please can someone out there help?

Is there a book I can buy which might help and covers most of the course content?

At the moment I am working 'blind' with just my own knowledge and ICP notes...

Ta

You need the Riddall-Leech book as they just want you to regurgitate that. I passed my cypop5 a few months ago without having to make any amendments or additions and I didn't think about it too hard. Maybe you are over-thinking things and tying yourself up in knots. If I can help further, feel free to pm me. Maybe I just got lucky with an easy assessor...?