Children’s Centres, JobCentre Plus and unemployed parents may be looking at the world from different perspectives, but they have a common goal. Together they have the key to changing family life in a very real and positive way. At the moment they each hold an interlocking piece of that key, but when the whole key comes together new doors to employment will be unlocked for families who are currently living on very low incomes, and in poverty.

I am interested to hear about your experiences as a member of Children’s Centre or JobCentre staff or a parent of a young child who uses these facilities to find work.

Daycare Trust find that, on average, childcare costs £7000 to £8000/year. NDNA say this equates to £2.98/hour for a 50 hour place. Parents pay their child’s care and education. To provide care and education providers pay for premises, equipment, resources., meals, staff. and so on.  NDNA envisage fees will rise as nurseries recruit more graduate level leaders and the EYFS comes into force. Daycare Trust continue to campaign for better wages for nursery staff.  What is your take on all this? 

Should the government pour even more into money at the Childcare industry?

http://www.proceedc.com/main/page_current_issues_government_spending_.html

http://www.proceedc.com/main/page_current_issues_transformation_fund.html

http://www.proceedc.com/main/page_current_issues_rewarding_work.html

Should parents have a rethink? Should nurseries make better use of fees?

Now this is really where the fun began!

Playgroup Tales. Who wants to be first to tell us what it is like to work in a playgroup? 

The Under 8’s Officer had been visiting me in her official capacity to do the relevant Childminder checks. One day she came along and told me about a little boy who needed to get to daycare. “Would I take him?” I thought I could not. Harry had a life threatening disability and I thought I would not be able to manage. I let the Under 8’s Officer persuade me that my fears of incompetency were unfounded. Oh what joy!  Harry blessed me so much. We loved him instantly. Harry was responsible for helping me to overcome my own inadequacy; knowing him and his family brought a different aspect in to my childcare career – one of awareness of ability of all children to succeed.

‘There is a little group of mums and toddlers meeting together every week who needed organising. Would you like to do it?”

I saw this invitation from the Under 8’s Officer as an endorsement of my work with children adn families so far, and accepted. The invitation very quickly became a challenge.  I had been to the Mother and Toddler group with my own children. We were not welcomed at all. in actual fact we sat down the other end of the hall while every one else had tea and biscuits and watched a video or something. I did not know any one, and no-one made an attempt to get to know me.  After letting my children have a short play we left, I felt very embarrassed and cross.  

So, when the Under 8’s Officer said she thought I was the right person for the task, I already had some experience – of how not to run a Mother and Toddler group.

Oooh! The hassle people can give you when they have been there for ever in their little cliques. Sure Start have the same problems today. That is why a freshional (friendly and professional) Early Years consultant is such a useful person to have on side.

The Mother and Toddler group, merely by its title, excluded dads. I changed its name to Parent and Toddler Group, negotiated a rent free school classroom, sorted out a committee and we were under way in no time at all. The community supported with donations, the Parish Council with grants, we had plenty of clean toys and happy families.

Step 3 was complete.

Why not visit your local childcare provider and find out how you can help them? They may need help with events, IT, displays, anything.

Let us know what happened.

Evaluating Sure Start Local Programmes was one of the most interesting and rewarding pieces of work I have ever done.

You may have heard about the millions of pounds that the government have pumped in to Sure Start. You would be forgiven for thinking that every Sure Start Local Programme and Children’s Centre is well funded, well staffed and well-equipped, but you may be mistaken. It is far more likely that when your local Sure Start first arrived in your community, it was actually one or two people camping in the corner of someone else’s office space. These highly skilled and resilient folk worked their socks off to win friends and influence people in that community, in the hope that all would pull together to make sure that young children got the best start possible in life.

Organisations who already provided childcare services in their community, often felt threatened by their new neighbours; others saw great potential in working together with Sure Start and sharing local expertise with the newcomers.  

My approach to evaluation of  Sure Start Local Programmes and all other Early Years and Childcare services and activities is to get to know the people behind the posts who are providing the service; to find out their vision and purpose and observe the way in which they go about achieving it.  Evaluation is firstly about accentuating positive achievements.  The position of Evaluator is one of privilege; an outsider being invited on to the inside in order to obtain a clear and objective view of the impact of services and activities on the people who use them.

Yes, evaluating Sure Start Local Programmes is good.

Congratulations you found us!

You have been looking for someone to help you build up your Early Years provision – and here we are.  

You have staff who know what they are doing- and some who don’t; activities that work – and some that don’t; parents who think your services are great – and some that don’t.  You are run off of your feet and there are not enough hours in the day to grow your business.  What you need is a freshional (friendly and professional Early Years consultant who will work with you, your team, your parents and other professionals associated with your daycare. 

Blog with us the kind of help you would like – if the price was right.  

Check out our website www.proceedc.comfor more information about ProCEEd consultancy.

Congratulations you found us!

You have been looking for someone to help you build up your childcare business – and here we are.  

You have staff who know what they are doing- and some who don’t; activities that work – and some that don’t; parents who think your services are great – and some that don’t.  You are run off of your feet and there are not enough hours in the day to grow your business.  What you need is a freshional (friendly and professional Childcare consultant who will work with you, your team, your parents and other professionals associated with your daycare. 

Blog with us the kind of help you would like – if the price was right.  

Check out our website www.proceedc.com for more information about ProCEEd consultancy.