Childminders Wanted in Stillorgan, Cabinteely & Ballinteer…

There is shortage of Childminders in certain areas around the country. Currently there is demand for Childminders in the Stillorgan, Cabinteely and Ballinteer areas of Dublin. The Childminding Ireland Membership team has had a number of enquiries from parents in these areas looking for Childminders. If any of our Childminders have a vacancy or if you are considering becoming a Childminder and are based in these areas, please get in touch with us on 01 287 8466.

Childminding Ireland are recruiting to a Training and Professional Development post.  For details contact Nick Clarke on recruitment@ppservices.ie

Childminding Ireland Training and Professional Development post

Linda Fallon is a Childminding Ireland member and she is featured in the current issue of Irish County Magazine.  Linda discusses how childminders give children a home from home while their parents are at work, her relationship with the children she minds and with their parents, and how childminders like her minding less than four children full time don’t qualify for the childcare subsidy this autumn.

Read the article here.

Dear Members

So once again we face into the annual “back to school” madness. Summer holidays seem to pass so quickly. As the 1st September looms, I am looking forward to predictable drop-offs and routine, while lamenting the darker mornings and evenings which seem to come in so quickly this time of year.

It has been a busy summer for Childminding Ireland. The Working Group has almost completed it’s report for the Minister. I would like to thank all the members who have contributed through the Members Day in January and the circulation of the very important Parent Survey in May. We will be publishing the survey following the submission to the Minister. This is the first time that parents who use childminders have had an opportunity to have their say.

Work on the new website is continuing. The focus is now on adding an online joining facility to the website. The First aid courses are continuing throughout the country. We hope that Child Protection Training for Childminders will be coming on stream very soon. Membership stickers are currently being distributed to members on renewal. They are suitable for your car windows or your home.

As already stated in recent emails to members, Voluntary Notified childminders will not be permitted to offer ACS to parents using their service in 2017. You will have received a template letter from the office which you can use for your parents. We would be interested in hearing any feedback from members re the current situation. Are your families asking about it, have you lost families because of it or is it an issue for new parents seeking a place in your service? Please email us at support@childminding.ie with your experiences.

Thanks again for your support and participation this year.

Mary Walsh
Chairperson

Childminding Ireland welcomes the announcement by Minister Zappone last Friday to review the cost of delivering quality childcare.  We are liaising with the Department of Children & Youth Affairs to ensure childminders are part of this research. Click here for details on the research project.

On entering Ida’s children’s paradise it’s easy to understand why she won the Early Educator of the Year at the Boots Maternity & Infant Awards in October.  Ida’s dedication, enthusiasm and inclusive attitude is what makes her special.  Her infectious personality coupled with her warm and inviting home which has been superbly adapted is a testament to her.

Ida, a Childminding Ireland member, takes a child centred approach to learning and covers all aspects of the curriculum as and when children want to learn. Ida incorporates themes into all aspects of children’s learning. For example, there are a number of children in her setting who are very interested in dinosaurs at the moment.  Therefore, Ida is reading dinosaur stories, using dinosaurs to teach counting and is leveraging the theme to expand the children’s vocabulary and pronunciation by teaching them the names of dinosaurs like tyrannosaurus and styracosaurus!

Ida’s can do attitude is her guiding principal in everything in life and this is reflected in her service.   Ida has minded several children over the years who have special needs.  Currently Poppy is attending Ida’s preschool and she is paralysed from the neck down.  Ida attended courses to understand and learn more about the condition which affects Poppy and had her home vetted in advance.  Ida has successfully integrated all the personalities within her setting.  For example, when it’s Poppy’s turn to set the table she asks each child which colour plate they would like to use for lunch and they come up and get it from her.  Ida felt rewarded when Poppy’s parents spoke about how Ida gave them hope.

The children in her educational setting appear to be content and to enjoy each other’s company.  Ida has set boundaries for the children and this is without them being overly prescriptive or too restrictive to dampen their sense of curiosity and imagination.   Ida encourages the children she teaches and minds to be independent.  For example, Ida teaches the children to resolve conflicts with other children themselves whenever possible.  Ida also follows the Montessori thinking on not doing things for children if they can do it for themselves (e.g. put on their coats).  This all promotes an environment which encourages happy, self-confident children with high self-esteem.

Ida’s setting is full of some of the most beautiful educational resources, fun toys and engaging books you could have.  They are well organised and inviting for children to want to find out more.  She also has a lovely garden equipped with a Jungle Gym, outdoor play cars and 2 chickens!  The good news is that the children will put the toys and resources they play with, away after they have finished using them with very little prompting. Ida rotates her educational aids and books depending on the themes of the month and childrens’ current interests.  She also has a storage room stuffed with resources which any childminder, Montessori, Primary School or crèche would be proud of.  This is a testament to her own insatiable appetite for new educational aids over the 20 years she has been working as a childminder and Montessori teacher.

The challenges that Ida faces on a day to day basis are similar to any other Tusla registered childminder.  Ida feels that the number and stringency of some of the regulations in the sector are difficult and the lack of understanding relating to how childminders differ can be frustrating.  Ida hopes that the new Tusla regulations coming on stream in January won’t be overly cumbersome.

When it comes to snack time, Ida takes a healthy eating approach to introducing the children to a selection of fruit and healthy snacks.  Ida is just about to graduate from Carlow IT (Wicklow campus) with a BA in Applied Early Childhood Education.  Congratulations Ida from all of us in Childminding Ireland – thank you and your minded children for welcoming us in to your home and childminding service.

Regina Doherty, Minister for Employment Affairs & Social Protection and Andrew Doyle, Minister of State for Food, Forestry and Horticulture were in Childminding Ireland’s offices earlier this month to find out how the Tús programme is working for our organisation.  The Tús initiative is a community work placement scheme providing short-term working opportunities for unemployed people.  Childminding Ireland have been involved with the programme since 2013.

We also had the opportunity to discuss the lack of an appropriate system, which impacts on access to funding, for the vast majority of childminders in this country and current issues in the sector.

Pictured here with the Ministers is Mairead Hurley, Head of Childminding Engagement.

Dear Member

It’s hard to believe that we are coming to the end of another year and that this is the Christmas ezine.  It has been a very busy year at Childminding Ireland. The Working Group on Childminding, the Affordable Childcare scheme and changes to the ECCE scheme, ensured that Childcare in Ireland was headline news throughout 2017.

We are ready to circulate our Annual Members’ survey.  I would appeal to all members to please take 10 minutes out of your very busy lives to complete the survey. The information that is gathered is vital for planning and meeting the ongoing needs of our members. It is your opportunity to have your say. The Members Survey is completely confidential and will be shared with you via an email link.

At the November Board meeting, it was decided to further develop the membership criteria by adding Paediatric First Aid and Child Protection to the requirements for membership.  I realise that many of you already hold these qualifications but for those of you who don’t, there will be plenty of time as the requirement will become effective in 2019.  The Board also approved a code of ethics which all members will be required to sign up to on renewal and joining.  These steps are designed to benefit you as a childminder and the children you mind.  The office will be sending out further information to you in the coming weeks.

Everyone is very busy working on AGM 2018. This year, we travel to the Sheraton Hotel, Athlone on Saturday 10th of March. We are looking forward to meeting all of you on the day.  A list of suggested B&B’s has already been sent out by email to you.  We will have further details for you in January.

I will close by wishing you all a very Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

Kind regards

Mary Walsh
Chairperson

Sector Update

Childminding Working Group Update

The Childminding Working Group met for the final time in September.  A ‘Drafting Group’ are currently preparing the summary report.  It is expected that the Working Group proposals on reforms and supports for the Childminding Sector will be with the Minister by January 2018.

National Collaborative Forum for the Early Years Care and Education Sector (Early Years Forum) Update

Garda Vetting
Additional funding provided to Barnardos and ECI to resource additional vetting processing staff resources.  Meeting with Garda Vetting Unit; identification of key issues that may delay processing including incorrect email addresses; applicants not checking emails; applications not completing information on time.

Improved communication with the sector by DCYA, Tusla etc.
Restructuring in DCYA will establish a specific communications unit.

Publication of the Early Years Strategy
DCYA restructuring from November and will create a specific unit to further develop the strategy.

Childminding Ireland Update

Membership Criteria Improvement
To ensure that members are adequately resourced and to increase recognition of the quality childcare that is provided by members of Childminding Ireland, the Board has recently taken the decision to strengthen membership criteria.
The additional criteria for membership will be:
1.   Current Paediatric First Aid training
2.   Completed, as a minimum, Tusla’s universal e-learning training programme ‘Introduction to Children First’ http://childrenfirstuniversal.hseland.ie/
We are aware that many of you already have the additional criteria.  We want to reassure those of you who have yet to complete the above, that Childminding Ireland will be offering support to you.  We will facilitate Paediatric First Aid training throughout the country and will look to keep the cost of this training to a minimum.  With regard to the Child Protection online training, this is free of charge and takes 1.5 hours to complete, you can do this in several sittings if you so wish.
We would encourage members to complete the additional criteria as soon as possible, however, you have plenty of time.  These additional criteria will only become mandatory in 2019.

Lobbying Update

Childminding Ireland met with Alan Farrell TD Chair of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs.
Among the points discussed were the following:
• There is currently no appropriate system for the majority of childminders
• Childminders are not recognised for supports including training and subsidies
• Childminding is not the same as other childcare
• The unique benefits children receive from the childminding model
• Vast majority of parents using childminders cannot access the Affordable Childcare Scheme (ACS)
• There are currently no incentives and no requirement to evidence quality for most childminders
• There is diminished local support for childminders and where there is support it can be inconsistent depending on location

Child Protection Training for Childminders (CPTC)
The first childminding specific Child Protection trainer has almost completed her training.  The Childminding Ireland CPTC course is due to launch in Mayo during January 2018 and the expectation is that courses will run regularly on a national basis.
In order to support delivery of CPTC, our plan is to have experienced childminders deliver this training. If you would like to be considered to deliver this training, please let us know at training@childminding.ie   There will be an application process to be completed.

Out of Hours Support

This project is advancing well following an initial information meeting in September.  A training day was held in November where 8 volunteers took part in an “active listening, boundaries, supports and roles” training course.  The next step is to work out the practicalities of rotas and volunteer availability.  More news on this to follow.

We were blown away with the standard of entries in Childminding Ireland’s Autumn Art Competition.  There was great excitement every day opening the envelopes to discover the amazing artistic creations of the children you mind.

We had over 80 entries and now we have the pleasure of having these on the walls of our offices to enjoy every day.  Given the amount and the high standard of entries, we have decided to award a third prize as well! So without further ado, the following are the winners:

First Prize:
Winning Child: Chloe (age 2) and Winning Childminder: Laura Burns.  Chloe wins a Smyths egift voucher worth €50 and Laura wins a Holland & Barrett hamper worth over €70.

Second Prize:
Winning Child: Nitin (age 8) and Winning Childminder: Monika Jhuboo.  Nitin wins a Smyths egift voucher worth €25 and Monika wins a Holland & Barrett hamper worth over €70.

Third Prize:
Winning Child: Michael (age 10) and Winning Childminder: Linda Gadiot. Michael wins a Smyths egift voucher worth €15 and Linda wins a beautiful hamper.

Here are some other beautiful entries…

Childminding Ireland’s Press Release in response to Fine Gael proposal to introduce tax credits for parents who directly employ childminders in their own home

2nd January 2018

PRESS RELEASE – Fine Gael Proposal for New tax break for childcare in home

While Childminding Ireland welcomes the focus on home based childcare and the important role it plays in the childcare sector, we call for all childminders providing quality childcare to be included in any State supports.

We would like to clarify that childminders are self-employed childcare providers working in their own home often for several different families, the proposal as quoted refers to ‘childminders’ as those working in the child home whereby the parents are the employers. Childcare workers employed by parents in the family home are often referred to as nannies. The employments rights of childcare workers in the home are covered by domestic worker’s legislation.

Benefits of childminding include:

• Childminding settings allow parents to choose a childminder that reflects their own parenting style
• Childminding allows a child’s individuality to flourish
• Children thrive in childminding settings
• Childminding provides a home from home environment for children

Childminding Ireland calls for:

• An appropriate and relevant system for the childminding sector
• Recognition for the unique value that childminding brings to both children and families
• The contribution of childminders minding Ireland’s children, to be recognised and supported

ENDS

Pathway to a quality support and assurance system for childminding – Vol 1

Pathway to a quality support and assurance system for childminding – Vol 2

CHILDMINDING IRELAND PRESS RELEASE

“Pathway to a Quality Support and Assurance System for Childminding in Ireland” launched on 26th March 2018 by the Working Group on Reforms and Supports for the Childminding Sector.

Childminding Ireland Press Release – 27 March 2018

The post “Pathway to a quality support and assurance system for childminding” Launched by Minister Katherine Zappone on 26th March 2018 appeared first on Childminding Ireland.

Childminders to Shape the Future of Childminding

Childminders and parents who use childminding services are invited to contribute to shaping the future of childminding.  Dr Katherine Zappone, Minister for Children & Youth Affairs established a Working Group on Reforms and Supports for the Childminding Sector (Working Group).  In March, Minister Zappone launched the Working Group’s Report which proposes major reforms and supports for the childminding sector.

Childminding Ireland, the National Childminding Body are holding Childminding Consultation Workshops across Ireland during May and June with further workshops in the Autumn.

The proposals in the report will be discussed and the feedback gathered during these Workshops, will be submitted to the Department of Children & Youth Affairs. Bernadette Orbinski Burke, Chief Executive of Childminding Ireland commented, ‘these workshops are an important vehicle for childminders, and parents using their services, to influence the direction and timing of these reforms. Therefore, it is critical that childminders attend in order to have a say in the future of their sector.’

Childminders are self-employed childcare providers working in their own home often for several different families. The Report was commissioned in order to address the issues, challenges and failings of the current childminding system. Most childminders are working unsupported, without access to subsidies and outside a regulated system. There are an estimated 35,000 childminders in Ireland, however only 120 childminders are registered with Tusla.

The report contains proposals that include staffed local networks, access to training and a register for childminders.

Orbinski points out that, ‘it should be noted that no decisions have yet been made, so it is important to have an input.’

The following are the dates of the forthcoming workshops:

8th May 2018      Donegal        7.30pm
9th May 2018      Sligo              7.30pm
10th May 2018    Mayo             7.30pm
22nd May 2018   Wicklow       7.30pm
31st May 2018     Dublin           7.30pm
26th June 2018   Galway          7.30pm
27th June 2018   Westmeath   7.30pm

Attendees should book a place with Childminding Ireland on 01 287 8466 or email support@childminding.ie.

The post Childminding Consultation Workshops: Childminders to Shape the Future of Childminding appeared first on Childminding Ireland.

Dear Members,

I hope you have all been enjoying the wonderful weather for the last few weeks. Sun-hats and sun-cream, in the bag!! And the little one who just won’t leave the sun-hat on. Summer holidays around the corner, and the changes that brings. Children moving onto ECCE and primary school and new starters hopefully to take their place.

In early March, Bernie McNally, Department of Children & Youth Affairs (DCYA), addressed our AGM in Athlone and the Working Group’s Report was published by the Minister later that month. Childminding Ireland have been travelling round the country meeting childminders and will be feeding back our concerns to DCYA about possible changes to our sector in the future.

As we all know, childminding can be a very isolating profession. Our Facebook Members Forum is very active with members supporting each other on a daily basis. In January, we launched a new support service for our members. Our “Out Of Hours Support Line” operates every Wednesday and Thursday evening between 7.30 and 9.30 pm. This is manned by a group of volunteer childminders who have been childminding for over ten years. It is an extra support for our members who may not be in a position to ring the office during the day or are faced with an issue that they might not want to discuss on our Facebook Forum. Sometimes, we have a problem that only someone else working in the sector can understand. Our volunteers have undergone training and we will be reviewing the first six months to see what we can do to further enhance the provision. It is completely confidential and is a listening ear for members. A reminder of the “Out Of Hours Support Line” number will be included in the weekly updates.

I hope you all have a great summer and a nice break at some stage over the next two months.

Kind regards,

Mary Walsh,

Chairperson.

The post Chairpersons Note June 2018 appeared first on Childminding Ireland.

Please check out Irish Times article (3 July 2018) on childminding. Childminding Ireland members Aideen McCormack and Anna Syron were interviewed as part of this article together with CE Bernadette Orbinski Burke.

The post Read the Irish Times Article (3 July 2018) appeared first on Childminding Ireland.

Calling all budding young artists!

Let’s Get Creative…

Prizes

How to Enter

Announcing the Winners

Terms and Conditions

The post Childminding Ireland Autumn Art Competition 2018 appeared first on Childminding Ireland.

Child Safeguarding – Why it Matters

It is vital that childminders are aware of their responsibility to safeguard children in their care, can recognise abuse and have a knowledge of child protection procedures.   This year many members have completed the online Introduction to Children First eLearning programme or have taken part in Childminding Ireland’s one day Child Protection, Always Children First foundation training programme.

Always Children First foundation training programme is the current child protection and welfare training course for the Early Years sector and Childminding Ireland is running an expanded and tailored programme to meet the needs of childminders.

This is good news for children as this training supports childminders working with young children and families in the local communities.  Childminders care for the vast majority of the youngest children in paid childcare nationally.  Therefore it is vital that childminders are aware of child protection and welfare issues, how to safeguard children, and how reporting procedures work for child protection concerns, this ensures better protection for very young children.

It is also good news for childminders – knowing how to implement safe practices in your service is the best way to safeguard the children, and protect yourself as a caregiver working alone in your home.

Having this training tailored and adapted for childminders and other solo providers such as small preschools is a great step forward. It cuts out the unnecessary information that is meant for larger group based services, and gets to the information relevant to your daily practice straight away. All the feedback shows how much this is appreciated by course participants.

By July 2019, all Childminding Ireland members are required to have completed a child protection course.  Here are the options:

1. The minimum requirement will be to have completed the online eLearning programme ‘Introduction to Children First’ available here.
2. Alternatively, Childminding Ireland members can complete the one-day Always Children First foundation-training programme. This training will take place at a number of locations around the country during 2019.  To participate in this training, a deposit of €15 will be required to secure a place. On completion of the training, you will receive a certificate, which is valid for three years and a refund of your deposit of €15.

If you would like to take part in this Childminding Ireland training programme please email training@childminding.ie or telephone 01 2878466 to register your interest.  For more information on this course click here.

Come along for a relevant, inspiring day of training that will equip you to better safeguard the children in your care.

The post Child Safeguarding – Why it Matters appeared first on Childminding Ireland.

It is widely recognised that childminding by its nature can be an isolating career and does not lend itself to meeting other adults particularly those working in the same field.  As a result, Childminding Ireland have started to develop local support groups for childminders to meet other childminders in a social environment by setting up local Childminding Get-togethers (Network Groups).

The purpose of these get-togethers is to enable childminders who live and work close to each other to support one another in an informal way. They are purely a social get-together and are not official meetings or workshops. Our hope is that childminders will meet other childminders in their local area for a chat, get to know each over time and build supportive relationships with each other.

Our vision is that these support networks will be part of the building blocks for a new structure for childminding.  In our recent meeting with the Department of Children & Youth Affairs (DCYA), we discussed the need for local supports and the development of networks.  While the DCYA’s Childminding Action Plan is yet to be created, they were very interested in the potential of these get-togethers to provide supports and longer term they may evolve into becoming a more formal two-way communication channel between the DCYA and childminders.

To date we have held initial Childminding get-togethers in Donegal, Sligo, Mayo, Wicklow, Dublin, Galway and Westmeath. Those that attended these get-togethers were delighted they did and really enjoyed the evening – here are some of their comments:

“Brilliant night”
“Great mix of childminders, rural/ urban, new/experienced”
“very relaxed, general chat”
“Great to chat with someone that understands”

Shh…it’s not too early to talk about Christmas!!  This year Childminding Ireland would like to invite childminders to kick start the festive season at the Childminders Christmas Get-together in your area. Childminding Ireland has booked the venues below for you to have tea/coffee and a mince pie with other childminders on Thursday 29th November at 8pm! Please encourage other childminding friends to come along – and they don’t have to be members!

For further information, please email support@childminding.ie

The post Childminding Get-togethers appeared first on Childminding Ireland.

Dear Members,

Autumn newsletter already!! I’m sure by now, most of you have had an opportunity to attend one of our Childminding Consultation Workshops which have been taking place all over the country since last Spring. Members who have attended some of those Workshops expressed a desire to meet up again in their particular areas. Childminding Ireland organised 10 network meetings in various venues throughout the country on Tuesday 18th September. They were very well attended and from the feedback received, members are interested in meeting up again.

As the dark nights of late Autumn and early winter are creeping in, it’s nice to get out for a cup of coffee and a chat with fellow childminders. Network meetings are a great opportunity to support each other, exchange information and make new friends. Childminding Ireland is organising a Christmas Get-together on Thursday 29th November at 8pm in every county in Ireland, click here for details.  The Network meetings are informal and open to members and non-members of Childminding Ireland, so if you know anyone who is childminding and would be interested in coming along please do invite them.  Please contact us at support@childminding.ie for more information. As a working childminder, I know how much I rely on the support and advice of my local group. Sometimes, only another childminder really understands the issues that crop up from day to day.

I would also like to remind you of our confidential Out of Hours Service (Service) for after hours (1890 917 008) which is manned by experienced working childminders. This Service is available on a Wednesday and Thursday night between 7.30 p.m. and 9.30 p.m.  It doesn’t have to be an emergency, if you want to have a confidential chat with another childminder, the service is there for you.  The childminders operating the Service all have more than 10 years childminding experience and may have had to deal with the issue you are facing.  The Service hopes to provide a friendly, supportive, non-judgemental listening ear from a fellow childminder.

I will sign off now, but I hope you will give some thought to getting together in your local area on 29th November.

Mary Walsh,
Chairperson

The post Chairpersons Note October 2018 appeared first on Childminding Ireland.

Seeking Child Stars!

Childminding Ireland, the National Childminding Body, are developing a new advertising campaign, but it’s lacking just one thing – a bunch of stars.

We are seeking mindee children to simply talk about their childminders in our brand new series of ads.

The format of the ads is still under review but we are seeking a geographical and social mix of mindee children.

The ads are likely to be on social media (eg Facebook/Twitter) but there is a possibility that they may be used in other media.

So if you are one of our childminders, or a parent with a child in the care of one of our childminders and are interested in your children being part of a new, exciting campaign, we want to hear from you.

To find out more about how you can help your mindee(s) be part of something special, contact us on support@childminding.ie or call us on 01 287 8466.

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