Are you happy with your childcare options?

[Carmensstory]

Hello to all,

I'm new at this. so please excuse any mistakes.

I'm a CDO with over a decade of experience and have noticed over the last few years jsut how much working in early years has changed.

I wonder if parents are happy with their childcare options?

In Scotland nurseries are regulated by Care Com and SSSC and Local authority which to all intents and purposes is a good thing however my concern is that the children attending are being observed and scruitinised within an inch of their little lives. We are spending less and less time interacting with the children and more and more time filling in paperwork.

We as childcare workers are asked to observe and make notes on absolutely every aspect of the childrens day from "planning learning opportunities" (I mean the kids are 2!!!!) to them having lunch. (God forbid they should have some spontaneous fun)

So, are parents happy with this? Do they even know? Would you be happy be observed every minute of your day and having someone make notes about you? And would parents like an alternative?

Any thoughts?

I know that ofsfed requires lots of paperwork to be completed. Personally I don't see the need or benefit but not much I can do about it.

My dd goes to a wonderful nursery so yes I am happy.

My 18 month old DD goes to a wonderful CM and I am very happy with that. I receive a daily diary which just summarises what they have done and what she ate - not huge detail - and I appreciate that too.

I am aware there are huge paperwork responsibilities which I would agree might be a bit OTT at my DD's age. However, I expect also that they do get childcare providers to think about planning learning (I'm sure a lot always did anyway of course!), which is a good thing. I would always bear in mind that the OFSTED rating may tell you at least as much about the quality of paperwork rather than of childcare, and I would certainly prefer my CM to spend time interacting with my child than worrying about paperwork.

I don't know the answer - maybe regular but less frequent paperwork? Observations once a week rather than every day?