There are now 20 childminder agencies being
piloted in England and, despite extensive lobbying against the
concept of an agency by PACEY and others, legislation making them a
legal reality is on its final stages through Westminster. From next
September, agencies will become part of the childcare landscape. So
PACEY has taken time to review its current policy on agencies.
Through this review, PACEY reaffirmed that
it will continue to raise the following key policy concerns:
- the negative impact agencies could have on
the perceived quality and professional standing of childminding to
decision makers, childminders, parents etc
- the risk of increased costs (in agency
fees) to parents and childminders
- the available evidence that shows agencies
do not drive up quality of care for children
- that childminders do not have to join an
agency – it must never be compulsory
PACEY will continue to raise awareness of
the fact that agencies are an optional route to registration and
childminders can choose to remain independently registered with
Ofsted. Childminders do not have to join an agency.
Indeed PACEY will continue to encourage
childminders to retain their individual registration with Ofsted
for all the positive reasons we have communicated so far. Where a
childminder remains independent, PACEY will continue to raise
awareness that a local authority must continue to provide them with
support (as set out in their statutory duties). This will be
especially important in childminder agency pilot areas where
independent childminders are concerned they may be left without the
support they would traditionally access from LAs.
As part of all this, PACEY will now
regularly review the pilots as they develop, to better monitor
their impact on the issues above, and will be asking members to
support it by providing local intelligence.
Up until now, PACEY has not provided
government or regulators with any advice on the development of
childminder agencies nor the regulation that will set the minimum
standards they will be required to meet by Ofsted. Going forward,
this will remain the case for the development of agencies e.g.
PACEY will not advise government or organisations running pilots
how to ensure a successful business model, one which is viable,
attractive to childminders and parents alike, and navigates the
myriad of tax, insurance and other liability issues that come with
agencies delivering services to families via self-employed
individuals.
PACEY remains concerned about agencies and
does not want to help them to succeed. However, PACEY exists to
ensure high standards of care and learning to all children in
childcare, and has recognised that there will be increasing numbers
of children cared for by agency childminders as they become law in
September 2014. So PACEY has decided that it now needs to start to
advise government and regulators on how to develop a robust
registration and inspection framework that ensures minimum
standards for childminder agencies; keep children safe and still
enable childminders to deliver quality childcare to children and
families.
PACEY will be providing this advice and
scrutiny at a national level. Where PACEY is currently under
contract, to support a local authority's childminding development
and that local authority is also piloting an agency approach, PACEY
staff will mirror that advice and scrutiny on what an agency will
for required through regulation to do. However, PACEY staff will
not assist pilot childminder agencies to develop their business
model nor with the marketing and promotion of the agency to local
childminders.
In summary PACEY will continue to oppose
the agency model on the grounds of cost, the negative impact it
will have on childminder professionalism and a lack of evidence
that they will drive up quality for children but will provide
advice and scrutiny on proposals for the regulatory framework for
agencies.
On behalf of our members, PACEY will
scrutinise the childminder agency models by gathering information
from staff working in the pilot areas, reviewing public domain
information on pilot agency programmes of support, and via direct
member feedback. This position will allow PACEY to focus its
efforts on defining the minimum standards any agency should meet,
whilst continuing to highlight the risks the model presents and the
need to provide the vast majority of childminders (who choose not
to join an agency) with support. The agency pilots will be
evaluated in summer 2014. PACEY will review its position on these
issues again, in light of this evaluation.
Queries from childminder agency pilots with
which PACEY has contracts will be dealt with on a case-by-case
basis during the pilot period, to ensure consistency of
messaging. Please email agency.monitor@pacey.org.uk
if you have any queries.