[senco-forum] Childminders

A friend of mine is doing a child-minder qualification - and this is a

You are right.

If I were to look after my grandchildren for money - I would need to be
registered.

And I think that the requirement for all childminders to have the formal
qualifications may be earlier than 2015 - because the mother doing this is
51 and is doing it before she has to.

However - I consider that a formal qualification is going many steps too
far. By definition, childminders open their homes to children - and we all
know how homes differ - and very acceptable homes will not all operate in
the same way - there will be different emphases placed as to what the
parents see as of particular importance to their "family style".  And surely
you will chose the "style" you want for your children - I did.

There are an awful lot of excellent childminders out there - who will not be
able to put "their own stamp" on what they do in a written answer - and an
oral assessment might well be a better way forward if they must do this.

I am sorry but I see this as yet another example of the "nanny state".

I can look down the list of childminders in my area - and find people who
are registered - and qualifies - that I would not send a child to in a month
of Sundays!

Regards

Ruth

-----Original Message-----
From: senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk
[mailto:senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk] On Behalf Of Rourkes
Sent: 15 July 2007 21:00
To: 'David Bowles'; 'senco-forum'
Subject: RE: [senco-forum] Chilren's rights - "recent and relevant research

David

Bad news for you I'm afraid.

I think you'll find that if you were hoping that your children might want to
pay you for your efforts and you were looking after them in your own home
that the legislation technically already requires you to register as a
childminder!

not only that but by 2015 (I think that's the date) you will have to have a
degree go through an assessment to achieve "Early Years Professional
Status."

Personally not opposed to the requirement to train, because as someone who
has worked in the Early years sector for x years, There is very good and
very poor practice out there and the difference is the often in the training
that has been carried out and the Practitioners ability to understand the
way young children and babies develop.

The real problem "our" sector has is that anyone who is keen at present and
does lots of training is usually attracted by the "long Holidays" and
"higher pay" that is available in certain "other sectors" of education and
disappears into schools either as Teachers or TA's!

On that note enjoy the long summer all of you and think of those of us who
are working through the summer!

Jonathan

-----Original Message-----
From: senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk
[mailto:senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk] On Behalf Of David Bowles
Sent: 15 July 2007 16:10
To: senco-forum
Subject: Re: [senco-forum] Chilren's rights - "recent and relevant research

In the rural area where I live registered child-minders are like gold
dust. Stupidity such as this will serve only to make this situation
even worse.

It seems to me this over academicisation of child-minding serves no
purpose whatsoever other than to discriminates against anyone who is
qualified at less than degree level. On the other hand maybe this
should be construed as further evidence degrees have become so dummed
down nowadays they have become almost worthless as a useful
qualification.

Maybe I should act now and get myself qualified as a 'registered child
minder' before I become a grandparent, just in case they bring in a
new law that states I'm not allowed to be alone with my grandchildren
for more than half an hour unsupervised unless I hold an appropriate
'child-minding' qualification'. Hmm, I'd better get on the Internet
then and look up which Universities offer Masters degrees in
'child-minding'.

On the other hand this might not be such a good idea in case my
children chose not to become educated to degree level, as they might
bring in legislation that prohibits parents from bringing up their own
children unless they are suitably academically qualified. Now don't
get me wrong here as I love looking after children. But at my age I
don't want to get dumped on as the only person in my extended family
who is academically qualified to look after my grandchildren
full-time.

David Bowles

> A friend of mine is doing a child-minder qualification - and this is a
> section she has to write on - has anyone any suggestions as to what I
might
> recommend to her to do for this?

>  

> "Evaluate the impact of recent and relevant research on children's rights
in
> relation to practice" 

>  

> And this is just one question from 10 that she has to do in three weeks!
> And they are all like this - a sentence that people write whole books - or
a
> series of books about.  To be frank - I have never seen so much rubbish in
> my life - and child-minders everywhere - will apparently all be doing this
> to gain what will be an essential qualification of you wish to be a
> childminder.

>  

> And on a personal note - I have used three childminders in my life for my
> own children - and none of them would be childminders today if they had to
> produce acres of written work.  And I think that we all know who we would
> use - and who we wouldn't - to look after our children!

>  

> Heresy over - I now read no research in this area - and don't know what
are
> the latest buzz areas for children's rights.

>  

> Regards

>  

> Ruth