Opinion: To the point - This group will speak for you
Policy is on the mind of Childcare Corporation chairman Alan Bentley.
I strongly believe that the childcare sector, especially the private and voluntary parts of the sector, is in dire need of a trade association. With such a representative body, I believe we would have been far more able to protect ourselves from events such as the recently exposed NEG debacle (see Analysis, page 10).
In an effort to bring something like this about, various interested parties have been working over the past 18 months to develop a slightly less contentious or commercial body than that originally considered. However, its future development should enable those in the sector to participate more fully in the all-important 'policy development process' before it becomes enshrined in political dogma.
At the last meeting of this group, called the Day Nursery Policy Group, we were addressed by Maria Miller, shadow Minister for the Family. Personally, I was relieved to see a somewhat more inclusive approach to the future development of our sector being expressed than I have seen in recent years. Indeed, Mrs Miller made it clear that she would welcome future invitations from the group, and any suggestions we felt useful and reflective of the sector to enable a cohesive policy for childcare to be developed.
The reason I am telling you this is that any such body only gains credibility, especially with politicians or other policymakers, if it can show it truly represents a large and meaningful cross-section of the sector it represents.
At the moment our numbers are limited to 30 or so operators and those in the training sector. But now that we have been encouraged to develop the group further, we have decided to concentrate our firepower on examining three very important areas of policy: Funding, Training and Quality of Childcare. This is where you can be of great assistance.
Over the next few months, those responsible for considering proposed policy within these groupings will examine the various options either currently available or aspirational and seek to develop a position that we believe could be presented to our political masters. If you would like to be kept informed of this action, or more importantly, make a contribution to such policy development, please e-mail the group, stating the particular area you are interested in.
thedaynurserypolicygroup@googlemail.com
