UNFAIR OFSTED FEES
One of the reasons that has been stated for the rise in Ofsted registration fees is to make registration fairer for childminders. I can understand this, but should not the size of a setting be taken into consideration as well?
Our small pre-school nursery has 12 places per session. We are going to find it much harder to pay this extra cost without having to pass it on to the parents. But larger settings may find it easier to absorb the cost.
Also, isn't it about time we all had a level playing field as far as registration and funding is concerned? For example, why shouldn't local authority schools that have pre-schools and nurseries have to pay their own registration fees like the rest of us, and also pay their own overheads like PVI providers have to, instead of getting it all from Government funding?
If this was the case, maybe they would operate like everyone else and not take children from their third birthday free of charge until their funding comes through. By making them stand-alone like the rest of us, maybe registration fees would not need to go up as much as stated, because they would be getting more money from school settings as well.
The Government stated that Ofsted needs to cover costs and at present registration fees only covered about 5 per cent. The Government keeps telling us that it is putting more and more money into childcare. Maybe it is, but by forcing Ofsted to increase fees to cover its costs, the Government is taking money back, resulting in higher childcare costs for us and the parents.
Let's see fairness all round.
John Brookes, chairman, Applejacks Pre-School Nursery, Boroughbridge, North Yorkshire
AN ASPECT OF EYP
Early Years Professionals are an important new development in the emerging world of care and education for children from nought to five years. From September this year they take the lead as the curriculum leaders in the Early Years Foundation Stage.
It is because there exists, as yet, no national pay framework and no negotiating machinery that this first cohort of graduate Early Years Professionals has established a new section in the Association of Professionals in Education and Children's Trusts (Aspect) to represent their professional and trade union interests.
One of the first acts of the section was to call for a national pay framework. Aspect is also actively lobbying the Government for guarantees that their status is genuinely equivalent to Qualified Teacher Status.
In the letters page (3 April) a Unison representative suggests - somewhat oddly, given the absence of a national pay framework for EYPs - that Aspect 'is not able to negotiate over pay and conditions for these staff'.
Neither is Unison. And EYPs, like any group of workers, can join which union they like. That is why EYPs has established a section in Aspect - a TUC-affiliated union that regularly meets with the DCSF and the Children's Workforce Development Council nationally, both directly and via the Children's Service Professionals network which Aspect leads.
John Chowcat, general secretary, Association of Professionals in Education and Children's Trusts
ABOUT THE SIZE OF IT
I originally sent an e-mail to say that while I liked Nursery World's new format, the larger size was difficult to use successfully with colleagues and parents. Now I am pleased that you have reverted to the former A4-size pages, although I do still like the new format. Thank you.
Sue Stanford, by e-mail
NOT SO RIGOROUS
Having watched BBC's 'Whistleblower' programme about nurseries, our senior management decided to reassure the parents about our good practice and asked all staff to sign a memo stating that rigorous vetting and recruitment procedures were in place.
Ironically, an internal audit two hours later showed that 90 per cent of staff throughout all levels had not had references taken up.
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