News
Financial Support for Childminders
Charging parents while not working If you have a voluntary arrangement with parents that they will continue to support you financially while you are closed, either due to shielding or as a consequence of the ‘test and trace’ system, this may continue. However, any agreement must be voluntary because you cannot require a charge if you are not offering a service and the CMA are actively pursuing providers who have wrongly charged parents while not offering a service. You should ensure your policies and contracts reflect this – you will find more information and guidance on writing your contracts and policies here. … read more
Early Years Funding Update
Funding for the Summer term Local Authorities have received funding for the current half term as usual from the Department for Education (DfE) but they are spending it in different ways. … read more
Expired First Aid Certificates can be extended until 30th September 2020
The Health & Safety Executive have stated that if you hold a first aid certificate that expires on or after 16 March 2020 and cannot access requalification training because of coronavirus you may qualify for an extension until 30th September 2020. To qualify for the extension, you must be able to explain why you haven’t been able to requalify and demonstrate what steps you have taken to access first aid training, if asked to do so. … read more
Childminders and Outings
Childminders across England had been left wondering whether or not they could take children outside of their settings and what the specific guidelines were. … read more
3 in 4 families would NOT have done the same a Dominic Cummings if they had been in the same situation say the 16,764 parents we surveyed
Dominic Cummings, special adviser to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, has been the focus of recent media attention due to his controversial 260 mile drive from London to Durham during lock-down to stay at a cottage on his parents farm. … read more
The most common phobias passed onto children revealed
Whether you have a major phobia or not, it’s inherently human to be scared of something. Lots of parents may try to hide any fears they have from their children, but kids are notoriously perceptive and pick up on the most discreet cues and behaviours. Therefore, we wanted to survey parents in a bid to find out which phobias are most commonly passed on from parent to child. … read more
Childminders reopen for all children without clear government guidance and support
Thousands of childminders and group early years settings are returning to work with early years children today, yet they have not been provided with clear guidance or support from the Government to do so safely. … read more
Self-Employment Income Support Scheme extended for a further 3 months but tens of thousands of childminders will still struggle to survive
The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has announced that the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme has been extended for a further 3 months. … read more
The loophole some parents are using to send their children to school during lockdown
Schools closed their doors to most children at the end of Friday 20th March 2020 but have remained open to care for the children of key workers and vulnerable children. … read more
Steps to controlling coronavirus in early years settings
Our childminder operations team have now reviewed the latest DfE guidance - 'Preparing for the wider opening of early years and childcare settings from 1 June'. … read more
