High Standards....

These are the standards that I have set myself and anyone who is involved in my business.  Yes it's a tall order to be all of these things all of the time but the children that we care for deserve nothing less.  How can we expect children to grow up with these characteristics if we are not prepared to model themselves.

Call for some 'Sustained Shared Thinking' and a complete review of the Early Years & Childcare Sector (2) - Did I always want to work in childcare?

Background to becoming an Ofsted Registered Childminder

Did I always want to work in childcare?

Absolutely not.  I was a 'career' person and as far as I was concerned being a childminder was not a career choice.

When my own children were born I wouldn't even entertain the thought of a childminder looking after them as, without even doing any research at all, I wrote it off as an absolute no.  My perception at the time was of some grandma like 'woman' down the road that I didn't know and that I couldn't possibly trust with my children.

My preference then (2005-2009) was for a private nursery, again I did no research at all in to this it was just a notion that a nursery would, without doubt be a better choice and have more status too.  I couldn't wait to say "My children go to a nursery".

As it transpired, putting my children in to nursery was just not financially viable and instead we opted to pay my mum to cover some of the childcare, my husband worked nights and cared for my young son for half the day and I applied and was eventually successful in changing my 40 hour a week work pattern under my right to request flexible working.

As I read this back I am completely astounded by my ignorance back then.  A well-educated graduate career woman, with the best of intentions, but with a complete lack of knowledge and understanding about child development and the childcare options that were out there.

It is only really by working in the sector that I have gained knowledge and understanding which has brought into question my past thoughts, feelings and actions about the provision of Early Years and Childcare.

Has much changed in the past 10 years?

Well I'm pleased to say that I genuinely think it has a little bit but not enough by far.  I certainly think that more parents are considering childminders as an equitable alternative to a nursery.  Many parents probably have to consider childminders because they require the flexibility and/or lower fees that a childminder may offer and a few may even understand that a home-based setting, especially for the birth to 3 age range, is actually a wonderful home from home environment in which very young children can thrive.

Since actually becoming a childminder and eventually an Early Years Teacher in a home-based setting I have worked hard to promote childminding as a career and had hoped to share what I thought was a great business model to encourage more to join me in what is a very rewarding career.  It does involve taking on one of the most important responsibilities that you could have, nurturing, supporting and developing our next generation.

Sadly my business model has been stopped in it's prime by outdated planning law......I will eventually get round to this in another post!

There is still so much more work to do to inform parents about their options and allow them to make informed decisions instead of being pushed into decisions because of finances, political agenda and/or media as well as raising the profile of the profession which is 'Home-based Early Years and Childcare Provision'.

Call for some 'Sustained Shared Thinking' and a complete review of the Early Years & Childcare Sector (1)

With the Childcare Bill (HL) 2015-2016 http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2015-16/childcare.html having it's first hearing in the House of Lords on 1st June and a pledge from the government that there will be a funding review, I suggest to you that there is much more which needs to be overhauled in this sector than a tweak with the amount per hour that we receive for providing Early Education and Early Years practitioners have been calling for this for a long time.

What I hope to achieve by writing this blog....

Well in the back of mind I guess I naively hope that someone somewhere with some influence will take on board my points and get ready to sit round a table and thrash out exactly where we want to be, tackle the barriers to this and come up with a plan which meets the needs of all stakeholders and is updated to be fit for practice in the year 2015. This is why I call for some 'sustained shared thinking'.  In reality, I know it will end up being just a therapeutic way for me to rationalise my thoughts but I have decided to write it anyway....ultimate outcome, genuinely unknown.

Sustained shared thinking

We spend our time waiting for 'wow' those moments in our practice when practitioner and child interact to solve a problem or extend an idea.  Both parties contribute in order to extend the thinking to reach an outcome which is genuinely open-ended. The word ‘shared’ does not indicate just a sharing of time or resources but indicates sharing of power, direction and guidance.

It seems to me that employing such a method of problem solving would be an appropriate way to make progress in our sector too but most of us mere mortals will never get the opportunity to have our voice heard as the decisions are already made, awaiting just the seal of approval, before we ever get wind of them.

Usually a very positive person who sees the best in things, I have been reduced to seeing the sector as a circuit of outdated, complicated and incongruous systems.

When we should be spending our time focusing on outcomes for children and ensuring that our practice is second to none, we more often than not, find ourselves bogged down by boring bureaucracy and rules which seem to have been out in place to hinder, not help.

My thoughts and feelings on the issues will follow below....

Call for some 'Sustained Shared Thinking' and a complete review of the Early Years & Childcare Sector (2) - Did I always want to work in childcare?

Of course, this article ( http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3110689/Parents-reveal-nightmare-childminder-horror-stories-Reddit.html ) enraged me…..I will admit to start with that I don’t usually read tabloid newspapers because as a rule they over-exagerate, sensationalise and often print material that leads to misinterpretation.   Today, however, I happened to come across this article when one of the professional associations who represent my vocation (Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years PACEY, on this occasion) had written a response and directed me to the Daily Mail website.  Thought I ought to have a look…..

Well the article itself was enough to set us back years in the public’s perceptions of Childminders.  The article refers to a number of different childcare providers and I can’t even pick out the one that is an Ofsted Registered Childminder in the UK – I will admit I haven’t read all the comments on Reddit only what was reported in the article.   The article is clearly jumping on the bandwagon as ‘childcare’ is obviously a buzz word at the moment.   “Shame on you Daily Mail”.  With Early Years and Childcare Practitioners morale and aspiration at ‘tipping point’ according to a recent survey conducted by PACEY then this is quite frankly not what we need.

There are many different types of childcare mentioned in the article but, sadly and misleadingly the headline mentions Childminders.  Childcare comes in the form of registered and non-registered providers.

Non-Registered or with Optional Registration

Nannies – these do not have to be registered with Ofsted if they are working in a child’s own home.  That said, many do, in the interests of professionalism, commitment to their vocation and so that parents are able to claim help with childcare costs.

Babysitters – there are no regulations whatsoever which cover babysitting and this should not be confused with the professionalism required to be an Early Years and Childcare Practitioner.

As you read on the tone turns to ‘mom’, ‘daycare’ and quotes daily fees in US dollars.  To confuse anything that happens in the US with the UK is just simply misleading and should not have even been included in the article.

Professional Early Years and Childcare Practitioners registered with Ofsted

Some nannies, as mentioned before.

Nurseries are also included in the article it seems.  To have 15 x 2 year olds would be way beyond the statutory ratios for a Childminder even if three practitioners were working together – the maximum for childminders would be 9 so this leads me to believe that this person is referring to a nursery.  Nurseries follow the Statutory Guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and are registered as Childcare on non-domestic,or sometimes, domestic premises.  The lead practitioner in a nursery must meet certain qualification criteria and a % of other staff must meet certain qualification levels dependent on the ratio of children to practitioners that they wish to care for.

Childminders – Ofsted registered Childminders are professional Early Years and Childcare providers who follow exactly the same Statutory Guidance as nurseries – the EYFS.  Their care is home-based.  Their qualifications range from the Statutory Minimum to much much more.  As a bare minimum a Childminder would have completed a preparatory course for home-based childcare which is approved by their own local authority counts as 4 credits at Level 3 and a 12 hour Paediatric First Aid Certificate.  They will also have been inspected by Ofsted prior to starting their practice.  Many childminders are qualified to much more than this such as Level 3 in a relevant course and some, such as myself have achieved Early Years Teacher Status (at level 6) and/or other post-graduate qualifications such as Masters degrees.

Some readers’ comments, put simply, highlight the lack of knowledge there is about the whole sector and why the whole Early Years Education and Childcare system needs a complete rethink.

It's all in the terminology - The difference between 'Early Education' and Childcare for Parents who Work, neither of which are free....

With everyone, even the DfE, coining the phrase 'Free Childcare' coupled with an already complicated system that parents and the public frequently misunderstand, I feel that it is dangerous to clump together 'Early Education places' and 'Childcare for parents who work'. In my opinion, there is difference.  Not in the physical teaching and care given but in the motivations behind it.  The reasoning behind the government's commitment to extend funded places for 3 and 4 year olds to 30 hours confuses me as a practitioner let alone anyone else. 

1. Early Education

This is provided in order to prepare children for school and life and ensure that they being given appropriate opportunities to support their development. With the support and teaching from skillful 'Early years practitioners' these children will be developing in line with expectations.  If they are not then this will be identified early and an intervention to narrow the gap will be put in place.

This was identified in the 'The Effective Provision of Pre-School Education [EPPE] Project A Longitudinal Study funded by the DfES (1997 – 2003)'.  Following the study, it was decided that all 3 and 4 year olds would be entitled to 15 hours of funded Early Education.

More recently, disadvantaged' 2 year olds have also become eligible for 15 hours of Early Education which has, in my experience (I am not aware of research and statistics to prove this but I am sure there will be some in time) has worked really well in narrowing the gap in development for those who are likely to developing at a rate which is below that expected for their age.

So for the other 60% of 2 year olds...... well some will be accessing some form of Early Education either because their parents have made the conscious decision to do so at their own cost, some will be accessing it because they go out to work and so they have to, some will stay at home with well-educated, child-led parents who are providing an appropriately supportive environment for learning and development and then there's the rest..... It's these 2 years olds I feel for most - not deprived enough to be entitled to a funded place and yet perhaps not getting the support at home to be learning and developing to their full potential.

2. Childcare for Parents who work - as I have already said parents who are accessing either an Early Years place or wrap around school care because they are at work still deserve and benefit from exactly the same teaching and care but their motivation is care for their child during the hours that they work.  I am certainly pro helping out parents who work as much as possible by subsidising their childcare costs but that is exactly what it should be a subsidy to their total childcare cost and not an add on to a funded place.

An across the board subsidy, probably a % paid by the state for all working parents who pay a registered provider for childcare (a bit like the current tax credits system but simpler and fairer to middle earners) for children of any age would work better in my opinion.  If the intention is to get more people to take up jobs then why not just offer a higher % of childcare costs paid than the current 70%?

Some parents are fortunate enough that their child's Early Education place does coincide with their working pattern and therefore benefits them and their child at the same time but let's remember that isn't the intention of an Early Education place although if it helps then great.

15 hours of Early Education for every 2, 3 and 4 year old
Now back to Early Education, yes I do believe that it should be extended to all 2 year olds and not just those who meet the criteria for being a 'disadvantaged' child.  Let's be fair about it and offer every child at age two, three and four, as a bare minimum 15 hours of learning opportunities that will set them up to be good learners, school ready and eventually good contributors to the United Kingdom.

Whatever the motivations behind Early Years and Childcare places and whether funded places are rolled out to all 2, 3 and 4 years olds the next questions are:

How do we ensure that all places are of the highest quality?

then 

How do we ensure that those providers who do offer places are able to run sustainable businesses?

They are other posts......