Childminder Agencies etc.

The Children and Families Bill would make changes to the law relating to childminder agencies and childcare provision.

Key provisions include:

  • Clause 73 and Schedule 4 contain provisions for childminders to register with a childminder agency rather than applying directly for registration with the Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills.
  • Clause 74 and Schedule 4 would enable the Chief Inspector to charge a fee for inspections or re-inspections carried out at the request of the childcare provider.

MPs are particularly interested in your comments on the practical implications of specific clauses of the Bill. Please make clear whether your comment relates to a specific clause or schedule.

This forum is now closed.

282 Responses to Childcare

Neil B says:
February 26, 2013 at 09:40 AM
In my view, E Truss’s logic for why C/M numbers have fallen is flawed. Many left childminding as the bar was raised in terms of quality, many left when Ofsted took over inspection in 2002, many left with the introduction of EYFS as their own inspections became due. Many of those who left childminding needed to do so. The overall quality of childminding provision in England continues to improve.
Although individual childminders will have the option not to join agencies, will they still be charged for inspection as "individual agencies" and if so, is this the financial lever to force all childminders into agencies?
This change will not lower prices to the customer although it may mean that agency childminders see less of their earnings.
I agree with clause 74 around re-inspection fees and see this as a potential improvement to the current system
Alison H says:
February 26, 2013 at 09:36 AM
The Nanny State strikes again! Parents are no longer allowed to make their own decisions on where to place their child/ren. Childminding agencies are not the way to go especially if they are only looking at the childminders with the higher Ofsted result. Seeing as these are totally meaningless anyway ( in all aspects of the inspections- schools as well) it would be depriving the so called "lesser" childminders to not be considered by parents. Purely because an inspector didn't like that person on the day, a different one may have found a different result. Agencies are not the way to proceed. It was wrong in the first place for childminders to be inspected by Ofsted as though we were schools/nurseries but AGENCIES now you really are taking the biscuit. Are you just wanting to spend money on crackpot ideas for the sake of it or are you trying to put this economy back on track? This is not the way to do it.
The French might well have this system but 80% of it is funded by the state - is that going to happen here? They go to Maternelle (preschool) all day at the age of 3 so have only got to cover birth to 3, and then primary school at 6. Not quite what we have here so not able to compare the systems at all.
Please return to planet earth and listen to us. Would you do this for plumbers, electricians, wealthy self employed business people? Would Richard Branson allow you to take over his business to watch you screw it up in the same way as you have the countries economy? I think not - so please do another one of your lovely u-turns and leave our businesses alone. They are ours and we don't need your help!
Sylwia B says:
February 26, 2013 at 09:31 AM
I do agree with charging a fee for inspections or re-inspections carried out at the request of the childcare providers because the inspections are not mandatory but just on request and the one who request it shall pay for it.
Asmeret S says:
February 26, 2013 at 09:31 AM
I am a childminder is been 3 years since I am registered, I really love what I do , it gives me the freedom and I am own boss and I run it the way I want it of course to run a business you have to work and communicate with the customers. I left my previous job because it was to stress full, specially when you have a child and family it is hard to be flexible , and why would I wanna work for anyone again or with agency telling me what to do I choose this job is easy to set up and flexible hours and it fits around my personal life , how an agency will help me to make it better or what are this agency for please let us do our job the way we want and the way families want us to do NO AGENCY or 3rd party ,the main reason I left my own job is too much demands from the bosses.
linda says:
February 26, 2013 at 07:46 AM
Agency??? Why??
I am a level 3 childminder.been in my own business for 7 years..struggled a long the years when I had no work..this is another way the govn want us to pay for things they messed up..some of us is struggling on our business already. How will we afford to pay agency fee..unbelieavable..this business is getting more difficuilt from the time I first started
Jill C says:
February 26, 2013 at 07:46 AM
I am strongly opposed to the concept of childminder agencies. I am a successful childminder who does not want to be part of an agency. Childminder networks work veery well in my area. We do not need an agency taking hard earned money from us and/or the parents. I am a single parent of three teenagers and need to keep the money I make to feed and clothe my children not pay someone else for a service I dont want or need.
C Howe says:
February 26, 2013 at 06:51 AM
Having signed petitions x 3, completed several surveys, from multiple childcare related sources, discussed on several online forums, and at my own LA forum, and now here, will someone PLEASE listen to childminders!
There has not been enough information given with regards to agencies, a very broad outline at best, and absolutely NOTHING from anyone that answers our business concerns.
Childminder agencies will damage or even destroy so many independent businesses, people that have families of their own to support, will be forced to leave a profession they are committed to because no one is listening!
I was unemployed for 3 years, claiming benefits to support my family before becoming a childminder. I'm concerned about the viability of my business if this bill goes through, having worked hard to gain my clients, earn a positive reputation, and taken on study of higher qualifications which will become worthless if this goes ahead
B. Y says:
February 26, 2013 at 12:02 AM
Clause 73 and Schedule 4: No to Agencies.
I am an experience childminder for 19 years. I have a successful business which I have built up with my own hard work, and I thoroughly enjoy my work. I am not clear what an agency will bring to childcare? We are currently registered and inspected by OFSTED and my local authority Early Year provide training for childminders, and this system works well. I want to know where is the money coming from to fund these agencies? We have a system in place -the FIS where parents can ring and find out CM contact numbers. So don't disband the FIS and local autorites early years teams, we have enough people who are unemployed.
Kpotatey says:
February 25, 2013 at 11:54 PM
Why is an agency route necessary? I am currently a childminder however have also employed a nanny and childminder in the past. As a childminder I have always been close to capacity, I only work for friends or families already known to me. It is important for me to build partnerships with my parents. I would not want to join an agency to provide bank care nor do I need to join one in order to find work. As a parent who has used chilcare providers in the past, my best experience has been using childminders. I found two fabulous providers through word of mouth and visited them in their own home. I could also see them at work in local play groups. The local child information service also provided free and impartial advice during my search. I have also employed a nanny through an agency. As a parent returning to work the recruitment costs were extortionate, I was responsible for paye and her tax. This took time to administer, the hourly rates were very high and sick days wre an issue. These are administrative tasks requiring time and training to a parent with little time. I can only see the agency approach increasing costs to the parent -against the goverment policy of accessible and affordable child care. I think here may be more mobility amongst childminders which will ultimately lead to less continuity in the child's learning journey. Especially in the vital early years age. The system does not need this whole approach, the costs of which will be ultimately brne by the parents.
Jennifer M says:
February 25, 2013 at 11:29 PM
As a registered childminder for the last seven years, I am always full and have a waiting list. I have been graded Outstanding in all areas twice. I run a highly proficient, loving and caring childminding service. I have zero interest in joining an agency as they can offer me nothing.

I don't want a blanket grading either. This is most unfair as there will be those who deserve a higher grading who will be pulled down to a lesser grading, and those that achieve a higher shared grading who actually do not deserve it. This is not accurate and is not a true reflection of the childcare service being provided.

If it means that only agency childminders will be able to provide gift subsidised funding and child care vouchers etc. then this will definitely create a two tier system... Where the less well off will use agency childminders and the well off will use independent childminders. Many childminders will close if they're unable to offer funding, as their demographic demands it.

We are SELF EMPLOYED. We pay our taxes, we hire staff, we provide a flexible and much needed service to our future leaders. What other industry has been so attacked as us right now? Imagine the huge outcry were all the self employed accountants in England told they'd have to join an agency to 'deal with their paperwork and bring them clients'... One of the joys of being self employed is being able to choose our clients! I am not a drop in centre, I am a childminder. I work from my home so am careful re who I choose enters it... I choose my own families. They choose me for the specific service I provide.

Different childminders offer different things - some do school runs, some do not. Some are open only during term time, some are open all year round. Some have a variety of age groups, some focus on a particular age group. Some cook fresh and nutritious meals from scratch, some prefer the mindees provide their own food.

The current system works. I'd gladly pay OFSTED more for my inspection. I work hard for my grading. I'm qualified in every way to run my childminding business as is seen in the success that it is. Nothing needs changing.

My LA and Early Years Childminding team (Wandsworth) are superb!!!! Offering incredible training and support. Dedicated and professional.

Why change something that doesn't need fixing? Please leave us alone so we can focus on our businesses and the precious ones in our care, without this dark cloud looming overhead, threatening to take our livelihoods and businesses we are so passionate about, away from us. We live in a democracy do we not? Bullying and undermining and creating fear is not democratic or fair or even very nice. And sadly, that is what is happening.

Lets put the children first please.

Related information

What is Public Reading?


Public Reading is an initiative to give members of the public the opportunity to provide their views on Bills before they are made into law. This is the first Public Reading to be run by the House of Commons and is a pilot of the process. Comments on the Bill will be made available to the Committee of MPs responsible for examining the Bill in detail so that they can take them into account when deciding whether to make changes to the Bill.

About the Children and Families Bill


The Children and Families Bill contains provisions to change the law in several areas relating to children and families.

Explanatory Notes


The Government publishes explanatory notes alongside a Bill to assist readers in understanding the proposed legislation

Additional Comments?


Comments on areas not covered by the listed Bill topics, or broader comments on the Bill as a whole (including anything that you think should have been included in the Bill but is not) should be posted as an additional comment. As this Public Reading is a pilot, we are also keen to hear your views on the public reading process itself.

Public Bill Committees


A Bill Committee is appointed for each Bill that goes through Parliament and is named after the Bill it considers. Public Bill Committees have the power to take written and oral evidence. The Committee examines the Bill line by line and reports its conclusions and any amendments to the Commons, where MPs debate the Bill further.

Pre-legislative Scrutiny


Some provisions in the Children and Families Bill were published in draft form last year so that MPs could scrutinise them and recommend changes to be made before the Bill itself was introduced to Parliament. Four different Committees from the House of Commons and the House of Lords examined draft clauses.