(CM) working for social service

[CwmbranChildminder]

Hi All - Im wondering how you go about getting work from the social services as a childminder and how does it work? money/contract etc
Any advise would be useful

I tried to get information about that last year from my local SS only to be told that they don't use minders anymore- however I knew two minders that did work for them.

hopefully somebody with more experience will tell you how to go about it.

I used to work with SS about 5 years ago as a cm. They were very good and agreed to my standard contract and payment took a few weeks to come through.

I'm sorry I dont know how you go about arranging it with SS as I was approcahed by them via a childminding network!

Good luck, it is some of the most rewarding childminding I've ever done. can be heart breaking though

I have been a comunity chidminder since july, I'm paid a retainer by social serices to keep a space open twice a week, I havn't been used yet though. I would speak to your develpment officer to find out more information

Thankyou all for taking time to reply! ;) I will get in touch with development worker

I've had emergency placements from Social Services on several occasions. I've got experience of children with special needs, which is what they needed initially and, having used me once, tend to ring again. I think they probably got my number from our Childcare Development Officer, who knew my experience and we'd met on several occasions.

All our arrangements have been by phone, so no contracts have ever been done, but I always get as much information about everything as I can, particularly phone numbers!

I issue a bill (typed out on a piece of super-duper Prisoner-headed paper), and they send a cheque through eventually (might be a couple of weeks).

I dare say that I'm contravening some rule or other by not having a contract but, to be honest, the placements have always been short notice and urgent. If Social Services trust me enough to care for these children, I trust them enough not to take the mickey.

I have a community childminder at the moment doing 2 x 4 hour sessions a week. I don't really know how she got into it, but I do know that some councils require you to go on a course. She has to be available at short notice and sometimes things can run over and so I think a laid back attitude helps. My social worker arranges the bookings with her rather than me directly.

oh another point is that she is also required to make reports for the case portection hearings as well and can join in meetings etc regarding vunerable children's needs.

Very much depends on whether you SS has the money in their budget to pay. The position where I live is dire at the moment as the funding to pay CM's has been stopped.

that makes sense as I have heard of some places saying the ss dont deal with them....always dont to money

Hi, I look after a child and his place is paid for by ss, but I don't "work" for them as he was already with me under the Care to Learn scheme. Then his grandma started caring for him and CTL would no longer fund his place, so ss said they would in order to provide continuity of care.

They have paid the same amount and in the same way as CTL- I don't have a written contract with them (which is something I really should do)- we've done everything over the phone.

However I don't know if they regularly use childminders or if this was special circumstances, so maybe I didn't answer your question too well!

I do respite care for social services.

In our area we have an inclusion development officer and lots of us went on a 2 day inclusion course, we then had a home visit/interview by the inclusion D.O., she then took her reports on us to a panel (made up of herself/social services and another person) and some of us became approved inclusion cmers. We now have another 2 days course to go on and will have quarterly meetings with the D.O.

I am the only one out of 4 of us who has done some work for SS (I do have some experience of caring for children with special needs), but having said that this is still fairly new.