New childminding agencies - what do you think?

[KatieMumsnet]

The government have announced changes to the way childminders can work. The Children and Families Bill (2013) will allow the creation of a new system called childminder agencies. Some might be community based agencies, others may be nationally run private-sector organisations.

The government hope agencies will become "‘one-stop-shop’ organisations which will help childminders with training, business support, advice and finding suitable parents...attracting new high-quality providers and create[ing] more choice for parents."

You can find more information here, but essentially:

Agencies will offer advice and help with finding a childminder and will handle administrative arrangements, but this may include parents paying fees to the agencies.

Agencies will ensure a childminder is suitably qualified and receiving support, development and training and can help to handle day to day issues and emergencies, including ensuring that cover is provided if a childminder is unwell or on holiday.

Childminders don’t have to join agencies and can choose to stay independent. If they stay independent, Ofsted will still inspect them individually, but if they join an agency, Ofsted will asses the agency ensuring the agency is happy with the quality of provision and has carried out thorough checks on its childminders, including regular home visits.

Ofsted are now seeking parents' views on how they should conduct inspections of agencies. If you'd like to take part you can read more here and take the online survey [[
www.surveymonkey.com/s/ofsted-cma2014 here]]

It would also be really helpful to hear your views; do you like the sound of childminder agencies, would they help you find childcare, are you reassured by the idea of Ofsted inspecting the agencies? Do let us know your thoughts on the thread below.

Ach, it's just another way for middlemen to make money out of parents, like Childcare Voucher Schemes and nanny agencies and Ofsted and so on.

I am VERY against childminding agencies based on my recent experience of a local company who are quite clearly gearing themselves up to be a childminding agency and I was horrified by their business model and unprofessional conduct.

They promote themselves as being the future of flexible childcare and advertise that they been used in government papers etc as being a model example. I contacted them as I need very flexible childcare for very young DC. I requested qualified and ofsted registered childcare. The company suggested that they send the owner of the firm for the first session so I could use her ofsted number and then the childcare would be taken over by Joe Bloggs employee - which when I looked into their job adverts they target local students (any uni student, not childcare students) and retired people all at minimum wage. When I explained I wanted a qualified professional with EYFS knowledge I was given a lecture on the benefits of using a retired grandparent instead.

I was horrified that they are abusing the Ofsted registration system in such a blatant way. They are supposedly a reputable firm and yet they are, just as others have already said above - simply a way to reduce standards and increase costs. The company I contacted quoted me an hourly rate about 30% higher than a well qualified nanny costs in this area all for the privilege of using unqualified staff they have whizzed through a DBS check.

plinkyplonky that's horrifying.
Please don't tell me that agencies are going to be allowed to use non childminders as long as they're crb checked.
I'm going to look that up. If they're not allowed, please report them.
If they are allowed, then we need to make this very public.

adsy I doubt what they are doing is legal at all. I wanted the childcarer to come to my home which I know means they don't have to be qualified - but I requested someone who was qualified and ofsted registered.

I've just looked at their website and there's now lots of referencing to childminders and childminder training - so they are clearly expanding into that area on preparation. They also promote their ofsted registration heavily on the website homepage. I can only presume their standards will be just as low when they start as a childminding agency.

Childminder agencies are just another means of outsourcing council services, in the same way that the NHS is being gradually privatised by the back door.

I'm quite convinced that more services will follow suit. Some are already outsourced.

While Plinky's experience would be illegal at present for childminding, I wonder how long that will continue. Liz Truss was trying to deregulate childminding a few years ago and met with a unanimously negative response - and we all know how much notice she takes of that kind of thing

i think its all going to go tits up....i am yet to meet or read about a childminder who is wanting this "service"....

lets hope it never gets off the ground

I am a fairly new CM, just coming in to my second year, I have a very successful buisness, I am always full and never need to advertise, word of mouth is enough for me.

I would NEVER elect to join an agency, because I don't think they would benefit me in anyway. In my eyes all it would do is mess with my current success. I also don't think it would decrease our paperwork load because most of our paperwork is EYFS documents that are an Ofsted requirement.
I also wanted to become self-employed so that I had that autonomy over my finances, it's a step backwards, to me, to join an agency.

HOWEVER, there are a lot of struggling CM out there, who find this job almost unmanageable, and leave the profession to do something else, I think if there were agencies, they could support these otherwise fantastic CM, to run a good buisness.

My final worry is that some LAs are turning into agencies. My LA is incredible, and do so much to support parents and CM, if they turned into an agency and I didn't want to join- what would I miss out on? Training? Networking? And at what cost? Would my annual Ofsted fee increase? I fear there is such financial incentive for the govt, that they will eventually force us all to join an agency!