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......

My thoughts on an email from Ed Miliband

It is not really my style, or in my business interest, to start getting political BUT at the end of the day we are all going to be faced with important choices to be made in the forthcoming months about who we want to lead us for the next few years.  As a childcare provider, mother, wife, full-time worker, self-employed person, owner of a micro business, employer, Early Years Teacher and many more hats... then I certainly have a number of issues to consider when I think about casting my vote.

Today I received a 'personalised' email from Ed Miliband #nicetouch informing me of the promises he will uphold on a range of issues.

Some looked good, a lot didn't, but what particularly infuriated me was Mr Miliband's pledge to support working parents with 25 hours of 'free childcare for three-four year olds'.  Now while I think this is a wonderful pledge to be making I wonder why Mr Miliband thinks that 3 and 4 year olds stand out for extra funding alongside every other age of child....I think he has missed the point that yes extra funding for childcare and, in particular, the Early Years would be appreciated but that working, and non-working parents for that matter, have children of all ages...

Let's take 2 year olds, for one age range.  Such a wonderful age when many are just like sponges soaking up the whole wonderful world around them.  Frightened, timid and anxious about the separation from their parents at first, understandably - BUT gradually, in the right childcare setting, self-confident, chatty, happy, relaxed, comfortable, resilient, wonderful 3 year olds, ready for the next stage in their learning..... Now Early Education for them is limited to a mere 40% of the 2 year old population, those that are 'classified' and I use the term loosely as most vulnerable but what about the rest?  Surely every 2 year deserves the opportunity for a great start in life and I would ask you not assume that their parents' income can determine this.

My point is that 3 and 4 yr olds already get 15 hours funded education as a given - not means tested, no eligibility criteria, it's just there - a great achievement but let's work toward offering more for other ages as well - I think it is short-sighted and unfair to single out 3 and 4 year olds for additional funded hours.

So on that particular point Mr Miliband, I'm out unless you broaden your age range....and I'm happy to speak to personally about my views and why.   I live and practice in your constituency of Doncaster North so I'm sure you're up here often and you're always welcome to come and talk...

All the Little Caterpillars love the wheeled toys - are they just good fun?

We have been pretty proud of our achievements with the outdoor garden area and many of you will know that we abolished all our lightweight plastic ride on toys over a year ago and gradually started to replace them with higher quality 'Winther' Ride Ons.  We have found that since replacing the cheaper plastic versions children have a better quality play. We used to find that children would take more pleasure in just picking them up and throwing them around than in actually using them to ride on but with these heavier and more robust toys they can't do that because they are too heavy. We have sourced a range, or fleet as I like to call it, of different types and sizes so that all the children can enjoy at least some of them depending on their physical ability.

The taxi.....

The ones, like the taxi above, and the 3 seater encourage children to co-operate and help each other out.  It is undeniable that all the children love playing on the ride on toys. There is never really a day when they are not chosen for play at all.  We are lucky to have the space to create this wonderful decked area on which children can practise their skills in control, balance, spatial awareness and hand to eye co-ordination.  That's not forgetting that there are always opportunities for turn-taking, sharing and generally being friendly and enjoying the company of other children.  To add extra challenge we have installed a ramp and the children learn how to safely manoeuvre themselves up and down it. 

What we have tried to avoid is a space where wheeled toy play dominates everything or that other activities are prevented from taking place.  Fortunately this does not have to be the case here because we have a very large outdoor play area in which children are free to move around at will. 

The few boundaries that we have set include limiting the number of ride on toys out on the decking at any one time to 2.  This means that the decking does not get swamped by them and there is less chance of collision or accident.  The children can choose which ride ons they want out and are encouraged to ask, or indicate by pointing if they do not have the speaking skills, which ones they want at any one time.  We do encourage them to access them themselves where they can but some of these ride ons are heavy and for little ones it sometimes not quite possible.  We also ask children to wear footwear, shoes or wellies when they are outside because if they go over a foot then they do hurt.

What happens when demand for the ride ons is more than 2?

When several children all want to play then it's time for turn-taking or perhaps swapping one of the individual toys for one that 3 children can use....negotiation skills!  While children are waiting they may decide to go off and do something else which is fine.  Just pop your name down on the chalkboard (with help if you need it) and wait until your turn comes up (encouraging emergent writing skills).

What next?

We are currently adding additional ramps to add interest, experimenting with different surfaces and introducing a track so watch this space....

Taking on an Early Years Apprentice....

(This post is based on my own experience and current knowledge - anyone thinking of taking on an apprentice should find out as much possible from other sources such as www.apprenticeships.org.uk or their local training provider before making a decision as to whether it will suit them)

So there seems to be an increasing amount of interest in childminders taking on an apprentice.  I hope I haven't, in the past, put anyone off doing this by suggesting that apprentices are unreliable.  Yes I had an unfortunate experience when ours left prematurely but this wasn't necessarily due to the fact that she was an apprentice.  First of all I still believe that the Apprenticeship Scheme is a good one and we are, in fact, currently looking for another one.  The first misconception might be that apprentices are all young or school leavers.  This is not the case, there is no age limit on apprentices so they can be any age.  Clearly the rate that you pay your apprentice may attract a certain age group (ie. a mature person with a family to support may not be able to survive on the minimum apprentice rate of £2.71 per hour) but you do not have to pay the minimum you can of course pay more than that if you choose to.  An apprentice will generally have to work a minimum of 30 hours per week.  I think there may be some instances when less hours are acceptable but this is something you would need to speak to the training provider or www.apprenticeships.org.uk about.  Finding a training provider - you can search for a training provider on the www.apprenticeships.org.uk website or you may know of a local college or provider who offer childcare courses.  Different providers will have different ways of delivering the training and some may require the apprentice to be released for a day a week, for example.  This doesn't suit me and my business so I have opted for a training provider where all the study is independent with the support of a tutor.  Do you have to give your apprentice time off for study? - You don't have to they do it in their own time unless you are super nice and give them paid time off for study. Either way I would make it clear from the outset what your expectations of them are.  Can you take on more children with an apprentice?  Yes you can do as you would with any assistant as long as you stick to the ratios in the Statutory Guidance - ie. 3 in the Early Years and 3 in the 5 to 8 age group per practitioner.  I would register them as an assistant with Ofsted using the EY2 form as you would with any other assistant.  As with any assistant you will need to consider what would happen if your apprentice were to be off sick or leave.....we found ourselves in a pickle when ours left as we had maxed out on numbers.  This is not a problem that is exclusive to apprentices, this could happen with any assistant so it is just something to be aware of.  I suppose the fact is that if you pay an apprentice a relatively low wage then they are more likely to look for other positions on a better rate of pay and may be drawn to another position where the grass looks greener.  Can I leave my apprentice alone with children or do they need to be supervised? If you want to leave your apprentice unsupervised with children then they will need to have a DBS check and hold a 12 hr Paediatric First Aid Certificate (completed within 3 years).  On a personal level I have now stipulated that our successful apprentice will have these before they actually start work with us.  I have also stipulated that the apprentice will be responsible for paying for the DBS check and the first aid course but that I will reimburse them for both after 8 weeks of working with us but you may wish to pay for them for the apprentice.  How long does an apprenticeship last?  If your apprentice is doing a level 2 qualification then these generally take about 1 year.  If they are doing a Level 3 then these can take 18 to 24 months.  Do I have to employ the apprentice at the end of their apprenticeship?  No you don't have to.  I have always made it clear that there may be the possibility of a job at the end but I certainly make no guarantees.  What sort of contract should they have?  I have used a fixed term contract in the past.  All terms and conditions such as entitlement to paid holidays, notice periods etc.... must still be observed but the contract states that the employment will end on completion of their training.  Do I have to pay for any of their training?  If your apprentice is 16-18 then 100% of their training will be paid for.  If they are aged 19 to 24 then 50% of their training will be paid for and if they are over 24 then a contribution may be made towards their training.  Personally I would speak to the training provider about this as sometimes they seem to be able to access funding from various streams.  What is the Apprenticeship Incentive Scheme?  The scheme pays an eligible employer £1500 for taking on an apprentice - there are various stipulations which can be read here:
http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk/~/media/Documents/AGE16TO24/AGE-Employer-Fact-Sheetv16.ashx   My training provider completed all the paperwork for this for me and I successfully received the payment - The apprentice has to stay with you for a minimum of 13 weeks and although it then says that the payment should come through 9 weeks later in reality mine was more like after 26 weeks.  This scheme is due to end on 31st December 2014 unless it is extended once more although there does not seem to be any suggestion of this that I can see at the moment.  I still believe that we, as childminders, can give apprentices a good grounding for a career in Early Years and Childcare.  They will get to work with children of all ages and they can become involved in pretty much every aspect of what we do.  I think it is great that we are able to offer this opportunity.  It is a big commitment though not only financially but emotionally as well.  You have to be ready to support the apprentice through their training and in their work and some may come to you with little or no experience of work at all so your responsibility is not only to employ them but to mentor and support them too.

You are more than welcome to take a look at our Early Years Apprentice job description and person specification here:
http://issuu.com/eharris1974/docs/apprenticeship_opportunity_2014/1