Childminders take on the Government

DETERMINED . . . Linda Wilson (left) and Janice Jarvis plan to petition the Government over new chilcare regulations

A PAIR of Chadderton childminders are set to take on the Government over ‘unnecessary’ new guidelines.

Linda Wilson and Janice Jarvis, from Selkirk Road, are angry about targets which they claim are difficult to achieve.

In fact, Mrs Wilson is so incensed that she’s thinking about giving up childminding after more than 20 years.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), introduced last month, aims to ensure everyone working with young children follows a structure of learning, development and care.

But Mrs Wilson (48) said childminders were struggling to complete the same requirements as a nursery or playgroup.

She said many of the training courses needed were unnecessary and completing extra paperwork was proving difficult.

Mrs Wilson, who has been a childminder for 24 years, said: “The Government is trying to train us to be nursery nurses and is expecting us to write reports on each of the children.

“It’s target setting and we feel so pressured because we have to write everything down, with some women staying up till midnight writing reports.

“I’ve had training courses every Saturday this month, done during my time and at my expense.

“And while some need doing — like first aid and criminal record checks — others don’t.

“I’m thinking of giving it up because of the way things are.”

Mrs Wilson said she is looking to contact other childminders to gauge the strength of feeling in the area.

And she is determined to let the Government know what Oldham childminders think about the new guidelines.

She said: “I want to get a campaign going to get our feelings across and to let the Government know we are not the same as nurseries or other types of providers.

“Nurseries have set things to do but mothers choose childminders because they want a caring home environment for their child.”

A spokeswoman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said the EYFS, which will be inspected by Ofsted, was not a burden on childminders and most would be familiar with it because it was what they were already doing.

She said: “The EYFS doesn’t have any specific requirements about what ‘reports’ must be kept.

“The only requirement to write anything down is the EYFS Profile which must be completed in the year the child turns five, usually by primary school teachers.”

She added EYFS was a legal requirement and action could be taken if not met.


Anyone interested in contacting Mrs Wilson should send an email to lindawilson1959@hotmail.co.uk