Sit tight, everyone
Don't be surprised if you're stopped by the police - or more gently, offered advice by a local council road safety officer - to check the restraints put on a child in the car you're driving. This week new laws come into force on baby and child car seats, boosters and seat belts, based on the age and height of the children using them. Getting it right is the responsibility of the driver and getting it wrong could land you with a 30 fixed penalty and three points on your licence. One example of the changes is that it's now illegal to use a rear-facing baby seat in a passenger seat equipped with an airbag; another is that all children aged between three and 12 or up to 135cm tall must use the correctly fitted child restraint, not an ordinary seat belt. Full details, plus advice on things like borrowing a friend's child seat, carrying a short but heavy child, or not having enough space for all the restraints needed, are on www.childcarseats.org.uk.
Watch out in Scotland
Nanny agencies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are being warned that if they are placing nannies in jobs in Scotland, they have to be registered with Scotland's independent regulator the Care Commission and comply with its rules for agencies, in place since 2001. Apparently the Scots take a dim view of the lack of regulations south of their border. Carron Hamilton, director of A & H Childcare Consultancy in Clydebank, says, 'We had to provide our aims and objectives, business plan, terms and conditions, a safe recruitment policy, copies of all our paperwork, and personal vetting of our staff, including medical references and enhanced Disclosures. We now undergo an annual inspection and a yearly fee of over 600.' In its warning the Care Commission notes the growing use of the internet to market nanny agency services UK-wide.
Training for babies
Childcarers who complete a course in non-medical maternity nursing can gain work experience straight away under a scheme run by Newborn Education Services and Training, based in Amersham, Bucks. It's offering new mothers a week's free services by one of its newly trained Post Natal Carers, or PNCs as it calls them. Founder Kate Cranston-Stephens says she set up the work experience scheme 'because employment agencies don't take on a PNC until she has had either six months experience or three newborn baby assignments' - and she sees it as a great way to provide help in the community. NEST can be contacted on 01494 431720 or at its website www.babyeducation.co.uk.
