Does your Council Publish your EY number?

[shoshe]

Just discovered mine has done in the change over. Not happy as this now means that anyone could use my number to fraudulently use it for tax credits!

Plus they have a link to google maps which takes a enquirer straight to my address!

Just found out mine does too - not on their website but on written lists they send out to potential parents. I was surprised too, as the lists obviously give your name, address and phone number - everything needed to calim fraudulently.

In my area (West Surrey) the online system shows the postcode but not EY. Don't know about the written lists.

On a positive note... if parents are told your EY, then they can look at your Ofsted inspection report.

Has your local authority sent you a letter asking you to say what information you want to be made available? I was sent a form saying that information was going online several months ago.

yes Nick a long time ago, I asked for no postcode and no EY.

I really dont count it as a positive, as I have had three phone calls from Tax Credits asking how long I had had certain children, I had never had!. With the info on the open web of our address, EY number and name anyone could claim on our number.

And these people had been claiming a while, so what would happen if I was audited, I take it the tax man would have a list of who was claiming tax credits for my childcare, how would I prove that I was not in receipt of monies from them.

Anyone can take a childs name off their books, and say they never had them. So it leaves us wide open to abuse.

Have you asked your local authority about removal of your postcode?

I think that with the various online databases/directories available, if someone wants to identify a Childminder it is not a very difficult thing to do going between the Childcarefinder website, Ofsted and the childcare.co.uk site.

I had seen a couple of reports recently of inspections that were in my postcode area and with a bit of judicious work, I was able to identify them within 10 minutes trawling around on the web using the sites above and other things like Royal Mail's postcode ID tool.

How ever much you conceal your identity, there is probably something someone can do to find out your details.

As a parent I wouldn't be fussed about getting it on an initial council list, but any CM who wouldn't give me their Ofsted number on enquiry would be immediately binned from consideration. It says you have something to hide. But I think you should be the one to control it, not the council.

I give out a copy of my Ofsted Report with my handbook when somebody enquires, weather in a hard copy or by email (my Ofsted is not on line anyway, there was data protection probs, with putting accredited CM's reports online, why i have no idea.)

But I blank out my number, until a client has signed a contract, then they are given it.