At the National Childminding Association conference on 'Childminding Changes Lives', held in London last week as part of National Childminding Week and National Childcare Month, Ivan Lewis, minister for young people and learning, hinted that there might be changes to the standards next year. He said, 'I am aware that the national daycare standards did not always meet the aspirations of the NCMA and childminders.
'I recognise and acknowledge your particular concerns about them. The standards will be reviewed next year and I know that you will want to play a full part in the consultation process.'
Also at the conference, Dr Tony Munton of the Institute of Education told delegates that all early years workers should be entitled to the equivalent of INSET training days just like teachers. Dr Munton, currently seconded to the DfES to oversee its Investors in Children star-rating scheme, said that childminders and other childcare professionals should not be expected to train at weekends.
Dr Munton said that rather than training on Saturdays, 'the nursery sector needs to follow the education sector by saying staff need training during four days a year'. He said day nurseries could tell parents in advance that the nursery would be closed on a particular date for training, so that the children would either be kept at home or sent to another care provider.
The idea was welcomed by the National Day Nurseries Association. NDNA chief executive Rosemary Murphy said, 'A number of our members are keen on the idea of having specific days off because they recognise the value of team training -but only if the NDNA took the lead and ensured all providers had the same training days. They would not want to be the only setting in the area holding a training day as they have fears of losing the children in their care to other local providers.'
He stressed that the Government was keen to work with the NCMA, Early Years Development and Childcare Partnerships and 'other key stakeholders' on the revised standards.
He made his comment in answer to a question from a delegate from the Portsmouth Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership who called for there to be greater recognition that childminders often spent Saturday mornings on training courses.
A delegate then asked whether the days should be called 'Munton Days' after former education secretary Kenneth Baker's 'Baker Days'.
