Supporting Partnerships All LAs Need To Know About CMAs › ... ›...
35
Supporting Partnerships – All LAs Need To Know About CMAs Sarah Read, Early Years Manager Action for Children 6 November, 2017
Transcript of Supporting Partnerships All LAs Need To Know About CMAs › ... ›...
Supporting Partnerships – All LAs Need To Know About CMAs
Sarah Read, Early Years Manager
Action for Children
6 November, 2017
–Offer support to Local Authorities interested in setting up as a CMA or wishing to work with CMAs in their local area
–Offer support to those considering setting up as an agency, either now or in the future
–Share experiences and best practices of existing childminder agencies
–Access to the most up-to-date information on childminder agencies
Aims of the session
• 10 Childminder Agencies registered with Ofsted
• Up to 36 childminders registered with each agency
• More going through the registration process
• 30 hours – childminders vital to this agenda
• Partnerships are key
The current picture
St Bede Childminder Agency
The Northumberland Church of England Academy
Trio Childcare Connections Ltd
Daryel Care
Leap Ahead – Achieving for Children
City Childcare Childminding Agency
Rutland Early Years Agency Limited
@Home Childcare
Suffolk Childcare Agency
Dandelions – Northfleet Nursery School
The 10 Childminder Agencies
Local Authorities establishing a CMA
–As an ‘in-house model’
–Working with other organisations to set up a CMA in a local area:
Schools
Maintained Nursery Schools
Training providers
Childminders
Other early years provision/organisations
How?
–Trading Arm
–Business plan, SWOT analysis
–Staffing
–Application / registration
–Consultation with childminders
–Events for childminders
–Provision for Ofsted registered childminders
Considerations for Local Authorities
How Local Authorities
can work with
Childminder Agencies
in their area
–Quality of provision
–Safeguarding
–Sufficiency
–Funded places
Working with Agencies in your Local Authority
–Mechanisms to provide checks for prospective childminders registering with an agency
–Systems to find out which childminders are registering with the agency and in which areas
–Regular dialogue to ensure that a two-way sharing of information is maintained
–Looking ahead – regular dialogue to establish how an agency in your area could support delivery of the 30 hours
What do you need to have in place?
–What are the benefits and challenges for Local Authorities when working in partnership with Childminder Agencies?
–What are the benefits and challenges for Local Authorities when establishing themselves as a Childminder Agency?
Discussion
How CMAs currently work with Local Authorities
Rutland Early Years
@Home Childcare Childminder Agency: Partnership working
with LAs
Background
• Registered as a CMA nearly 2 years ago
• Flexible home childcare provision since 2005
• Quality home-based childcare for all families
• Training provision
• Social enterprise
• Cover Notts, Derby, Sheffield & Leicestershire areas
Working in partnership with
Nottinghamshire
• Increase the number of childminders able to provide funded
places
• Regular quality improvement and assurance of childminders
to help improve outcomes for children and close the gap
• Register more childminders to improve sufficiency in target
areas
• Key partner in early innovator bid for the 30 hours – local
focus is flexibility and parental engagement
How do we add value to Local Authorities
What are we doing as
a CMA?
• Start-up support with the registration process from
start to finish – all under one-roof approach
• Robust procedure for registering childminders
• Sharing of information strengthens safeguarding
• Provide regular quality improvement support to help
preserve the high standards of childcare within the
LAs
What are we doing
as a CMA?
• Regular quality assurance inspections
• Increasing the number of childminders available to
provide funded places
• Increasing the number of Good and, eventually,
Outstanding childminders
What are we doing
as a CMA?
• Equipping CMs with the knowledge and skills
• Regular CPD training
• Funded Level 2/3 qualification training
• Mentoring: each CM has a dedicated SAM (Support,
Advice & Mentoring)
What are we doing
as a CMA?
• Become a childminder recruitment campaigns in hot
spot areas
• Beginning to join-up with schools
• Marketing and advertising to help fill CMs’ vacancies
• Business support e.g. employing assistants
Partnership
• At the top table with the LA:
– Attend strategic meetings
– Share information
– Analyse data
– Invited to be on interview panels
Feel valued: Genuine Partnership
Achievements
• Registered 38 childminders
• Can now register some childminders in 2 – 3 months start to finish
• Effective judgement from our Ofsted inspection
• Proving and refining our CMA model for effectiveness, quality and
growth
• Beginning to be able to afford to employ staff
• Beginning to offer career progression opportunities for
childminders
• Authentic partnership with some LAs
Challenges
• Being a pioneer
• Lack of funding
• Conditions are not in place to incentivise childminders to join
agencies
• Some LAs are still not signposting us
• Lack of understanding amongst existing Ofsted registered
childminders
• Admin intensive
• Cannot be our sole focus as a business
What’s next?
• Continue to review and refine our model
• Diversify
Q & A
Developing a Statement of Purpose
When setting up a Childminder Agency your statement of purpose should contain:–Aims and objectives–Organisational structure
–Arrangements for registering providers–Training and monitoring providers –Ensuring provision is of a sufficient
standard
Setting up a CMA
–Communication
–Safeguarding
–Enforcement action
–Alternative arrangements for when one of it’s registered providers is unable to provide childcare
–Additional services or facilities offered
Setting up a CMA
Action for Children are continuing to support CMAs
• Information events
• Bespoke visits
• Registration support
• Telephone and email support
• Toolkit
Support Available
• Supporting new organisations to become ready to register with Ofsted
• Supporting existing CMAs:
o Forum
o Regular meetings
o Marketing toolkit
o Ongoing telephone and email support
Support Available
Contact Us:
D: 07734 165642
W: Foundationyears.org.uk/child-minders
Further Information
Childminder/CMA and school partnerships:
–Roadshow type events across the country
–Bespoke visits to schools
–Bespoke visits to childminder groups
–Production of a ‘wrap-around toolkit’
–Advisory board
–2 national ‘partnership working’ events –October/November – London and York
Additional Partnership Working
–Working with existing Hubs to extend and develop partnership working with childminders
–Re-work of the Hubs toolkit
Continued Learning from Hubs
