**Change to ratios**

In the revised EYFS released on Monday the changes to the Statutory Framework mean that childminders who care for (or have their own children) in reception class will have to count them as an under 5 until September 2009, unless they apply & receive a variation. I have confirmed with Ofsted that this is there intention and it not just a badly worded paragraph.

EYFS Statutory Framework page 51:
Each childminder may care for:
"a maximum of six children under the age of eight; of these six children, a maximum of three may be young children, however
where four- and five-year-old children only attend the childminding setting before and/or after a normal school
day, they may be classed as children over the age of five for the purposes of the adult:child ratio;

http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/_doc/12...May%202008.pdf

This will make it very hard for parents to find a childminder for a reception aged child as they will have to keep an under 5's place open all term. Also, childminders whose own children are starting in the reception class this September will not be able to offer a place to another child until Sept 09.

If enough people complain maybe they will change this.
info@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk

Sorry but i think you got that wrong when a child starts school Full time there are classed as over five children.

it says in your post where four- and five-year-old children only attend the childminding setting before and/or after a normal school day, they may be classed as children over the age of five for the purposes of the adult:child ratio; which means four year olds who go t school full time are classed as over five children

[cabin]

not sure, as I'm not a childminder, but I think some are worried about the implications of this during the 'school holiday' period when you may be caring for the child allday- therefore you'd have to keep a place 'open' as the ratios change during holiday time.

Not my area - but something childminders need to keep an eye on I recon. Hope someone comes along soon that can clarify this issue.

xxx

well it wont really affect me and mum(who has been doing it 19 years) many ways as alot dont come in the hoildays anyways.

if you read the who minds magazine the bit about school hoildays

it says that all childre nwho attend school full time are classed as over 5 children

What has happened is that the wording on Page 51 of the Statutory Framework for the EYFS we all have already have states that "Each childminder may care for: a maximum of six children under the age of eight; of these six children, a maximum of three may be young children, however where four- and five-year-old children ONLY attend the childminding setting before and/or after a normal school day, they may be classed as children over the age of five for the purposes of the adult:child ratio;

The NCMA were expecting the revised EYFS (released last Monday) to have this wording changed to include holidays too... but it wasn't!! The Who Minds? article was written BEFORE last Monday's revisions.

Ofsted have been instructed to send all minders at letter in July, confirming the changes. If you ring them to ask about rising 5's they will tell you that they are only classed as over 5's during term time!

Lucy

[watgem]

Thank you for clarifying this Lucy-Locket. Does this mean that childminders will be able to charge a retainer for such children as they will be essentially taking an under 5's space still?

[sarahnev707]

Originally Posted by watgem

Thank you for clarifying this Lucy-Locket. Does this mean that childminders will be able to charge a retainer for such children as they will be essentially taking an under 5's space still?

I would imagine so Gem, though I suppose that's for individual minders depending on whether the families get help / tax credits etc.

I think the more pressing problem is what to do about ratios - Ofsted are going to be bombarded with requests for variations.

One of the main problems is not going to be the usual holidays but inset days, closures for bad weather etc which will catch minders and parents unawares ... I'm not sure how Ofsted will work these out when there are thousands of different requests during the year.

As Lucy says, now is the time to complain, before eyfs is ratified for Sept... someone told me today, it's less than 90 days away !

[Buzzybees]

it never ends does it! My dd is 4 in Aug, starting school full time in Sept, when I phoned about this issue in March they said she would go up!

I have no idea what I would do if I had school run children, I tend to only have under 3's due to being on RAF camp a big turn around. BUT this is how the ratios are in scotland until they start primary school, but then they start school later does that make any sense?

holding on for the new, new changes to say they are rising 5's

[SomeoneSpecial]

it also says in a childminders there can only be one child under 1 year per adult.

i heard theres suppost to be another change to the ratios in august along with a few other things such as you know the standards have been put into the eyfs? well they used to be for birth to 8 but now the eyfs is only birth to 5 so from 5-8 theres no day care standards. another thing thats possibly going to change is the quolifications needed-in school nurserys they are thinking of saying that there needs to be a nursery teacher with TQS rather than just a level 3 or 4...