Has the link to childcare listings for child minders gone completely?

[seekinginspiration]

Up until a few weeks ago I could get a list of local childminders with names and telephone numbers just by going to www.childcare.link and clicking on a map until I got to my local area. I could also find the local toddler groups the same way. Now I'm being redirected to Directgov and when I search for childminders I am given a link to my local Family Information Service. Has something happened are childminders being bombarded with crank calls and junk emails, or have they just moved the web site location, if yes where is it ?

Thanks - it has to go on Monday so I'd appreciate any help you can give me tomorrow

I can't talk to someone in charge.....I'm a pleb

Kate - e-mail on route to you.

ITD - I'm not sure what it means by the last online, last updated etc. Probably nothing to worry about... as that is just a system which is telling other FIS people (and anyone with Google, thus now also any mumsnetter) who the contacts are at each FIS/CIS in the UK.
Bedford Borough Council seem to have their data on. Milton Keynes also seems ok. Both are using the same software provider 1UpDesign. Any other councils in your area?
Looks like Inform0-19 (at Bedford Borough Council) are the main contact for parents to obtain childcare information in Bedforshire. Link will provide Manager contact info, if you require it.

I'm in North London;

My FIS are using:

ECD System: Tribal
FSD System: Open Objects

Sofe - as they are using ECD Tribal ... can you locate childminders using the childcarefinder.direct.gov.uk website?

Thats interesting Nick, thanks for that.

If I type in my exact post code then my Ofsted Registration no. shows on the list; I am listed as withholding contact details and as having no vacancies [hmmm]

If I type in the first part of post code a list of 400 childminders show but not mine or any of other childminders that I know.

I will ring them on Monday and see what is going on.

The entire system seems to be showing no vacancies - as yet I haven't seen any entry which says there are vacancies. Has anyone seen one?

If you try searching on postcode using the Outbound and first number of inbound code, does that give a better result?
Outbound code example = NW1
Inbound code example = 4AA
So outbound plus number on inbound would be NW1 4

Look at the Description field... if that says "This information has been provided by Ofsted" then your local authority has not uploaded their data.

Tribal is the company which is the ISPP (which is responsible for the data seen via childcarefinder.Direct.Gov
Thus as your LA is using Tribal for their ECD the system should be working as anticipated. If it isn't, then I suspect it's a data issue at your LA - they need to update your record.

Well I have just tried that Nick and this is what came up:

'Work is ongoing to improve the coverage and accuracy of this section. If you can't find what you are looking for, please call 0800 2346 346 to be put through to your local Families Information Service (FIS).'

No listings whatsoever!

I have just posted a message on my local netmums noticeboard to see if other childminders/parents in my area are experiencing the same difficulties.

Hi I'm a CM and just looked on the this website for check my details. It now appears all our Ofsted Reg numbers are now published. I don't think this is right, not sure what everyone else's views are?

This morning the system for those in Surrey is now no longer displaying names of providers... we are now called things like Ofsted Registered Childminder EY120121

I have spotted something on the system which seems a little odd - if you use the word YES as the search word, it results in some records being displayed. Strange... wondering why. Have contacted the first FIS with a record displaying under that search criteria to enquire as to if the word YES is in any field of that Childminder's record. I am suspecting that it may occur in the Vacancies Field. If it does, then the system is knowing about Vacancies but is just displaying NO for everything for some reason.

Oh x-post there Saz... we both spotted the same thing. Are you also in Surrey... or another area?

Given that the Ofsted system displays Reg numbers, it makes sense to me to have those on the childcarefinder system as well - means that if a parent reads an inspection report first... they can then search for the providers record for contact details.
While there may be an argument that it could result in tax credits fraud - that is tax credits issue rather than providers issue. When ever someone makes a tax credits claim, tax credits should notify the provider to confirm that the parent is actually using the service.

Update: It appears that the results for the word Yes are bringing things up randomly. There seems to be no correlation between the first provider result I got and the vacancies field data. With thanks to RB Kingston FIS for getting back to me so promptly.

The NCMA confirmed to our county childminding association that they were removing the link to the direct.gov site as they had had so many complaints. I am past caring about checking whether or not they have.

Great news people... Direct.Gov have removed the displaying of the Vacancies field, so now the system does not tell parents that you don't have any vacancies.

Not sure if this change is just in my areas, or nationally (I expect the latter). Do have a check to see what it is showing in your area.

From correspondence I have had with my LA, the powers at be are aware of various issues to do with this system and no one at national government or local government level is happy with the level of service currently being provided to parents looking for childcare. No information regarding when the system will be fully operational... but at least it is now not saying that you don't have vacancies.

There is still no childcare of any sort showing up in my area.

There isn't a vacancy field but I am still 2km from GY

As far as I am aware they have not fixed the system.... the change is only to the way data which did get onto the system (and quite a bit still hasn't) is being displayed to the public.

Best to contact your local FIS for information about why childcare in your specific area is not showing up. It may be that they haven't been able to get their system to send any data yet to the national database.

Could we start a campaign to get the old www.childcarelink site working again ?
For people who used it all the time for child related topics and passing information on we could target specific areas and it was fairly accurate. Those of us who are being asked this information on a daily basis and didn't print off lists of our local services are not happy. We were advised not to print off lists but to check for the web to ensure the information we gave out was up to date. I don't think the individual FIS people have any power to make the direct gov site work.

There was a nursery which had an incorrect address, location and post code listed on the direct gov site for at least a year and no matter how many times the nursery wrote, emailed or phoned because the registered address was not the actual location of the nursery the outcome was a WRONG address. In the end they changed the registered address for the second nursery but this is worrying.

Could we start a campaign to get the old www.childcarelink site working again?

No. As far as I am aware the previous data provider did not get the contract for the new system and thus I would suspect they are unable to reactivate the old system. Software has been changed at local authority level and at national level, so I can't see them going back to the old system.

The new system once it is working should be a lot better than the old childcarelink website. This is due partly to using geographic based data (in my area, a 5 mile radius search would get data from 3, if not 4 different LA's) whereas under the old system each one of those LA's would have had to be checked individually.

The new database can also be accessed by third party websites via an API. I'm not sure of the licensing info, I expect there may be some restrictions... but consider it like the House Price Data produced by Land Registry... that data can be viewed on various websites in various ways (www.houseprices.co.uk I like as it's so simple and lets you see a map then drag around the map and it updates the average street prices). In theory it would be possible for a website to provide a similar service based on say Childminder fees data - so giving average fee information for geographic locations.

The individual FIS managers do seem to have some influence on the main database system, via some kind of feedback mechanism. Not sure how much influence they have over the way Direct.Gov operates... but the change I noticed today is the change that I have been campaigning for... so someone listened and got the right person to act.

Not sure what can be done about incorrect address data. Each FIS should now be able to update the data directly - so whatever shows on the local FIS ECD (Enhanced Childcare Directory) Software should be replicated by all websites displaying that data. That is if the system worked... which currently it doesn't.

Things are improving well not really... when i put my postcode in i now get childminders 9 km away.......i'm still not on there, no one in my area is on there....

you might consider contacting laura.clark@ dailymail. co.uk.

Nick I haven't come across any information about the API - can you point me in the right direction please?

It (well the database structure, example SOAP code) used to be on the iChIS site, but isn't there any more. Think it has all been replaced by the Web Toolkit. The toolkit talks of a Token rather than API Key though in a document I recall reading, they did refer to it as an API Key... not sure which document though - I've read so many recently.

A document from Google Cache - PKHD Search Access Points Version 1.01 - "Update as searching now requires an API key"

Interface Specification v2, Sept 2008 also mentions API.

What is not clear yet is what 3rd parties would be permitted access and what the terms of that access will be, or costs.