Policy and Politics
'Unfit' nannies approved
Loopholes in Ofsted's Voluntary Childcare Register (VCR) mean that the inspectorate is approving nannies with inadequate documentation who in some cases do not even have the right to work in the UK, childcare agencies have warned.
Karen Dixon, the owner of the London Nanny Company and Family Match applied to join the VCR herself in a bid to highlight flaws in the system. She was approved to join the register 
despite having no childcare qualifications, no first aid training and no nanny insurance.
She then wrote to Christine Gilbert, Ofsted's chief inspector, in December 2008 to explain what she had done. While she received a reply from Ms Gilbert within four weeks, her Ofsted registration was not cancelled until August 2009 and she still has a certificate that says she is an Ofsted-approved nanny.
Ms Dixon also highlighted flaws in the renewal system for membership of the VCR. Nannies who wish to remain on the VCR must pay around £100 every year to renew their membership. However, no Criminal Records Bureau check is automatically carried out on candidates before their membership is renewed.
Ms Dixon added, 'Recently a nanny came in to my agency who had just renewed her Ofsted registration but her CRB check was more than three years old. She had just paid Ofsted £100 to renew her registration, but it had not even carried out another CRB check.
'Parents see the Ofsted certificate and take it for granted that these checks are being made. How would a family feel if they found out their nanny had a recent conviction, and yet had recently renewed their Ofsted registration?'
But a spokesperson for Ofsted said, 'All nannies applying for registration must have a CRB check. Nannies are not normally required to have a new check each year but Ofsted may require a new check when we have concerns. It is important to remember that our inspection of complaints against providers, and our arrangements with police forces to notify Ofsted of new criminal activities, provide a better means of determining someone's criminal records history than routinely repeating CRB checks. The new Vetting and Barring Scheme, which allows Ofsted to register an interest in childcare providers and be told if their barred status changes, will enhance the current arrangements.'
