To discuss the working model for child minders and available funding.
Minutes:
The Head of Early Intervention and the Strategy and Development Manager Under 5's gave a presentation in respect of the Working Model for childminders and available funding.
In order to become a childminder the candidate would need to contact the Family Information Service and attend termly briefing sessions operated by Council officers and also attend a pre-registration course run by either Bracknell and Wokingham College or the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years. Ofsted registration commenced during the course. Although there was currently no local authority funding available to support course fees, once Ofsted registration was approved childminders could apply for a childcare business grant of £500 from the Department of Education subject to signing up to deliver the free entitlement.
Council support for childminders consisted of a home visit to undertake a risk assessment; provision of advice regarding Ofsted and setting requirements e.g. safeguarding, room layouts, accessible equipment and garden safety; a Buddy scheme; a visit to support completion of paperwork taking account of policies, planning, observations and assessments; and provision of an observation and assessment course.
The current situation was:
· 210 registered childminders of which 150 had an Ofsted grade - 32 ‘Outstanding’, 114 ‘Good’, 4 ‘Requires Improvement’. In previous years numbers had ranged from 280 to 320 and then plateaued at 210. 22 minders were not in receipt of a grade as they had no early years children.
· 38 minders were registered with Ofsted but yet to have an initial inspection.
· 58 minders had signed up to deliver 30 hours (28%) of child care, an increase from the previous 9.5%.
· Minders had received support from the Council to help develop sustainable business models with business skills training delivered in September/October 2017.
Local authority childminder duties were set out in the Childcare Act 2006. Section 6 of which placed a duty on local authorities to secure sufficient childcare for working parents. Section 7 placed a duty on local authorities to secure early years provision free of charge and regulations made under this section set out the type and amount of free provision and the children who benefit from free provision. Section 1 placed a duty to secure the equivalent of 30 hours of free childcare over 38 weeks of the year for qualifying children. Children qualified if they were under compulsory school age and met the description set out in regulations made under Section 2. These regulations also set out the conditions to be met by parents in order for their children to qualify.
Under free entitlement the funding base rate for childminders was £4.00 per hour and the average hourly rate charged was approximately £4.75 to £5.00. The maximum funded hourly rate that a childminder could claim for the universal hours (15 hours) was £5.94 and the extended hours (up to a further 15 hours) was £4.64. Childminders could also access supplements to their hourly rate subject to meeting individual criteria in the areas of Early Years Pupil Premium, deprivation, flexibility and quality.
Funding reforms had changed Bracknell Forest’s position from a loser to a winner as the Council’s 2017-18 hourly funding rate had increased by 14.1% compared to an average national increase of 8.3%. Although a further 5.8% increase in per child funding was expected in 2018-19 this was still to be confirmed.
Future developments consisted of targeted support for childminders delivering funded places without a current Ofsted grade and work with Bracknell and Wokingham College to develop a ‘blended’ pre-registration course.
The following points arose from related questions and discussion:
· In the case of minding children over five years of age, Ofsted allocated a rating of ‘met ‘or ‘not met’ the required standard without specific gradings.
· Childminders were becoming more flexible to meet parents’ needs around working hours etc.
· The Council worked with childminders to meet demand and 86% were able to offer the extended hours. The increased employment opportunities associated with the redeveloped town centre was a factor for childminding.
· The requirement for childminding settings to have outside space for children’s use could be met by access to local parks and countryside.
· The automated system of inputting information into the provider portal in order to claim the childcare business grant worked well in Bracknell Forest. The demand for childminder places in September was estimated at the end of the previous summer term and subsequently rationalised when actual numbers were confirmed.
· Pre-school and nursery provision were alternatives to childminders and not all parents sought to take up the full 30 hour allocation.
The Panel indicated that it would welcome an update in respect of the childminding situation at a future meeting.