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Title: SURESTART CHILDMINDING NETWORKS
Date: 25th May 2007
News Details:
A Childminding Network is a formal group of registered childminders who are recruited in a particular geographical area and assessed and monitored to quality standards by a Childminding Network Co-ordinator. The Network is a means of ensuring that childminders provide a high quality care and education service to children and families. A Network can consist of between 10 - 30 childminders, depending on local requirements, providing up to 90+ childminding places for children between 0 – 12 years.
As a result of funding through the SureStart programme, NICMA are developing Childminding Networks in the following areas across Northern Ireland:
•Newtownabbey - Maria Kelly Network Co-Ordinator 07771658886
•Shantallow, LondonderryJoanna Legg Network Co-Ordinator 07759816933 or 028 7135 6110
•Little Hands, Londonderry Joanna Legg Network Co-Ordinator 07759816933 or 028 7136 7524
•G-old, Cookstown - Tina McKeown 07720075855 or 02890 8676999
•SPLASH, Brownlow & Lurgan -Geralyn Maguire 07912368639 0r 02838 313360
•Horizon Carrickfergus & Larne -Joanne Martin 07834180557
•Strabane, Clare Hagan 07842871840
•Coleraine, Michelle McNicholl 07783221926
•Clogher Valley – Maria Moss (Una Leonard on maternity leave) 07855392147 or 028 8554 9898
•Shankill – Joanne Martin 07834180557 or 028 9087 8080
The aim of the SureStart programme is to work with families and carers of children aged 0 – 4 years to enable the children to reach their full potential and experience new opportunities. SureStart provides a range of services and activities that are community led and responsive to the needs of local families.
Integrating childminding as part of the menu of services available to families will ensure that local families can benefit from both home and centre-based care, depending on the needs of their child.
Childminding can help to improve children’s outcomes
Being part of a Childminding Network can help to raise the standard of childminding so that childminders are able to support children in developing socially, emotionally and physically with subsequent improved outcomes for children.
•Children’s individual needs can be met - through individual attention from the Childminder and interaction with other children of all ages. Babies, particularly, benefit from the individual, family type care provided by Childminders.
• Low adult /child ratio - Childminders can be registered to care for up to 3 children of pre-school age and 3 children of school age. This low adult/child ratio allows for children’s individual needs to be met and provides for a level of attention that is rarely matched in centre based care
•Flexibility and choice in hours of care - Children can be cared for on a full or part time basis from babyhood, throughout their pre-school, nursery and school years, and accommodate the varying needs of working parents.
•Family friendly - Childminding offers parents the opportunity for all of their children to be cared for in the same setting regardless of age, stage and ability. Childminded children are not segregated because of age or stage. This encourages siblings to bond and so encourages family relationships to fully develop.
•Part of the community - Children are cared for in their own community, enabling them to build and develop their own local connections and providing opportunities for close links with community based services and with local schools.
•Real life learning - Children looked after by a Childminder enjoy real life experiences like cooking, shopping, gardening, mealtimes etc. From these everyday activities the children can learn basic science, maths, social skills and language skills.
•Equality of opportunity - Childminding offers all children equality of access to opportunities to learn and develop, taking account of the child’s age and stage of development, gender, ethnicity, special educational needs and any disability. It also offers children with special needs or disabilities the opportunity to be cared for in an inclusive setting with children of differing abilities, ages and backgrounds.
The Benefits of integrating Registered Childminding as part of Sure Start
Childminding can:
•Provide families with the choice of home based childcare and education, which for some children, better meets their needs
•Offer a flexible approach to integrated childcare and education, which many parents need to balance their work and family commitments
•Ensure that babies and under 2’s are cared for and have access to early years education in the environment of a ‘family home’
•Increase the number of childcare places available which are more easily sustainable than other forms of daycare
•Offer specialist services for children with additional needs
•Respond to community need – particularly in rural areas where centre-based care is not sustainable because the community is too dispersed
•Provide childcare places without the expense of a capital building project
A Childminding Network that is linked to Sure Start can provide:
•A dedicated group of childminders who will be able to offer both full time and part time childcare places
•Quality assured childminding practice to the standards of ‘NICMA’s Quality Charter
•Wrap-around care for children, in particularly the under 2’s
•Provide transport to and from home, school and other community facilities
•Family support to parents in crisis or needing respite care
•Childminding vacancy co-ordination
•Childcare for children with additional needs
•Already established links with local schools
What Sure Start can offer to Childminders:
The support available to childminders in networks could include:
•A one-to-one mentoring service through the registration process
•Arrangements for childminders to use centre facilities, like toy libraries, meeting rooms, play sessions
•Vacancy co-ordination – helping parents to find the right childminder, including arrangements for cover if a childminder is on holiday or unavailable for any reason
•Inclusion in staff training and opportunities to meet other early years professionals
•Representation at meetings for centre staff and agencies delivering children’s centre services
The benefits to Childminders of being integrated with Sure Start/Children’s Centres
•The opportunity to become an integrated and valuable part of the way services are delivered to families
•Enhanced professional image
•The opportunity to become part of wider childminding networks and early years networks
•Support, training and advice
•Drop-in facilities, play sessions and other resources
The Childminding Network model
Recent research * highlights that quality assured Childminding Networks bring considerable benefits. The study showed that Networks:
•Are making a significant contribution to the quality of childcare offered by childminders
•Increase the status of childminding in the eyes of childminders and parents
•Provide a powerful mechanism in support of childminders
•Show signs of helping retention of childminders
*Cragg, Ross,Dawson:DfES, October 2003
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