CM stopping because of new legislation with regard to having to abide by the same rules and regulations as a nursery

[monkey03]

As a single working mum, I need as much trusted help as I can get with regards childcare. I managed to find a great childminder whom my son adores but now that the government/Ofsted want her to complete extra paperwork and run the same curriculum as a nursery she has advised me that she can no longer carry on looking after my child and will be stopping being a childminder. I chose her because I wanted someone to look after my son in the way that I would if I did not have to go to work, in that I wanted him to feel as if he was at home even though he was not. I also send him to nursery a couple of days in the week so he is receiving the educational side too. To me a childminder is someone that cares for/looks after children he/she is not someone who is paid to educate them, is that not what nurseries and schools provide? My son will be 4 soon and starts primary school education in September so I really do not want or need the stress of searching for another childminder that I and he will be happy with for a few months. Is anyone else facing the same issue?

No but I am a childminder and it is becoming mad what they want us to do so its sad but I can't blame her really :(I feel the same.

I think you will fin this happening more and more. I now only do before and after school care, I don't have quite as much paperwork as those CMs who do EEYFS wth pre schoolers.

Yes - am a CM too - times are v bad for us sadly. Set to get worse too, from Sept onwards. I'm staying 'Independent' but I predict many will leave/give up. New CMs will start via Agencies, but standards will be different, as they won't be individually Ofsted inspected. Stupid government is meddling with Childcare and clearly don't understand what they are doing.

CMs have been following the same curriculum as nurseries since at least 2008 when EYFS was published ???

hi im confused
im a childminder and have been since 2010 ans ive always followed the same curriculum as any other childcare providers - i follow the EYFS, do planning, observations, baseline assessments, learning plans ect
ive done this ever since i became a childminder plus i do write all my own policies, risk assessments, registration forms, contracts - I assumed all childminders done this as we get inspected by ofsted just as all childcare providers do

She should have been following the eyfs (which is the same as nurseries) for ages, maybe she's just decided not to carry in if due an inspection?

Can you increase your DC's days at nursery?

DOCTRINE op is saying she wants the home environment atmosphere as well as nursery.
although the statement " I also send him to nursery a couple of days in the week so he is receiving the educational side too." is a bit misinformed as CM's deliver exactly the same educational program as nurseries, but with fewer children to deliver to so a more individual learning experience

I agree that CMs have been obliged for several years to apply the same standards as nurseries. I suspect that the issue with this lady is that OFSTED/DfE are proposing to make yet more changes to those standards this September, having only done a major overhail last September, and that it is just too much hard work and unpaid hours (training, updating documentation etc) to keep up with it all. Added to that, the regulators are threatening to be much stricter with inspections and come down harder on those who do not meet these standards, so she may be anxious about the outcome of her next inspection. The irony is that many parents don't actually want all this planning, documentation etc and would be more than content to see their child in a loving home from home environment.

Yeah, sorry, that was a bit short, i meant since the DC was starting school in September that increasing days at nursery would be easier than finding a part time place at a new childminder for four months.

Would she maybe consider working in your house as a nanny till sept? Than childminding regs don't apply ( though nannies need tax paid) .

When I chose a place at a childminder for my son I chose the one which I felt was like a home away from home not a business institute. I wanted him to feel comfortable with the childminder which he did instantly and I felt her home was safe enough. 3 years on from when I started leaving him with her he now struts around her home as if it is his home and is so happy to be with her that if I ever need a baby sitter out of hours I have no hesitation leaving him with her. His happiness and safe being were the most important things to me not making sure he was of a certain standard in order for him to be ready for his first day of school?! In my mind his mental state for the next big stage of his life is just as important as his level of education which he definitely has developed with my childminder and I definitely feel that the education he has been taught at nursery which he started when he was 3 has got him to the level which will be required for his schooling (A happy balance). If I was to send him to nursery for longer he would be totally shattered as there is always something happening there and he does not rest (due to the fact that in his mind he might miss out on something if he did!!) The other issue is that the nursery does not have space for all the time the childminder looks after him!