NCMA has heard from many of the childminders who have received an 'outstanding' grading, including those who had only being registered for a few months beforehand.
Meeting such a high standard is no easy task. Childminders are self-employed and usually work on their own. They do not have colleagues or line managers to give them support on a day-to-day basis. That is why NCMA works with local authorities in England and Wales to establish Investor in Children-approved Children Come First childminding networks.
Networks give registered childminders encouragement to undertake training and qualifications and regular monitoring of their practice. This, along with Quality First, an NCMA quality assurance scheme for individual childminders, provides alternative ways to support and encourage them to continuously improve. Our goal is that every registered childminder will be able to join a network.
Research has shown that there is a link between higher qualifications and improving quality outcomes for children. Continued sustained investment in training and quality assurance are key to supporting all early years settings.
These registered childminders, along with all the other outstanding childcarers listed in the Ofsted report, are providing the high-quality childcare that the children and their families need, and the whole profession should be very proud of them. I am sure they will be the first of many more outstanding practitioners.
* See News, p
- ASK CATH
