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==Campaigns==
==Campaigns==
In 2001 NCMA campaigned for a reversal of new government regulations which allowed childminders to smoke in the presence of children with parents' consent.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-50239/Parents-ignorant-risks-passive-smoking.html#ixzz1u84rx7bc|title=Parents 'ignorant of risks of passive smoking'|publisher= ''[[Daily Mail]]''|date=31 May 2001|accessdate= 6 May 2012}}</ref>

In April 2012 the Association launched a campaign, Individual Inspection Matters, calling on the Government to retain individual registration and inspection of childminders in England. The campaign was launched in response to concerns that the Government is planning to take childminding out of the current inspection and regulation system and that this could lead to deregulation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/news/1130256/Campaign-stop-childminder-deregulation/|title=Campaign to stop childminder deregulation|author=Gaunt, Catherine|publisher= ''[[Nursery World]]''|date= 3 May 2012 |accessdate= 6 May 2012}}</ref>
In April 2012 the Association launched a campaign, Individual Inspection Matters, calling on the Government to retain individual registration and inspection of childminders in England. The campaign was launched in response to concerns that the Government is planning to take childminding out of the current inspection and regulation system and that this could lead to deregulation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/news/1130256/Campaign-stop-childminder-deregulation/|title=Campaign to stop childminder deregulation|author=Gaunt, Catherine|publisher= ''[[Nursery World]]''|date= 3 May 2012 |accessdate= 6 May 2012}}</ref>


Revision as of 22:04, 6 May 2012

National Childminding Association
AbbreviationNCMA
Formation1977[1]
Legal statuscharity and membership organisation
HeadquartersLondon
Location
Region served
England and Wales
Membership
40,000 registered childminders and nannies
Official language
English; Welsh
Chief Executive
Liz Bayram and Catherine Farrell (jointly)[2]
Main organ
Who Minds? (magazine, published every two months)
Budget
£16 million[3]
Staff
210[4]
Websitehttp://www.ncma.org.uk/

The National Childminding Association (NCMA) is a charity and membership organisation based in London. It works with registered childminders, nannies as well as other individuals and organisations, such as local and national government, to ensure that families in every community in England and Wales have access to high quality home-based childcare, play, learning and family support so they can help their children reach their full potential.[5]

History

NCMA was founded in 1977 by a small group of registered childminders, local authority staff and parents.[1] Originally the Association covered the UK, but the Scottish Childminding Association (SCMA) and the Northern Ireland Childminding Association (NICMA) now support childminding in Scotland and Northern Ireland.[1]

Organisation

The Association's President (since April 2009) is Dame Gillian Pugh DBE, previously Chair of the National Children's Bureau and Chief Executive of Coram Family.[6]

The Chair, since 24 September 2011,[7] is Sue Davis CBE, the first non-childminder in this role.[8] She was previously chair of Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust.[9]

Liz Bayram, who has been the Association's Chief Executive since 2006,[10][11] now holds this post jointly with Catherine Farrell.

Registered childminders and Nannies

Registered childminders care for one or more children under the age of eight for more than a total of two hours a day, usually in the childminder's home, for payment. They are usually self-employed and are inspected by Ofsted in England,[12] or the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW),[13] to ensure they are providing a safe and stimulating environment for these children.

Unlike registered childminders, nannies are employed by parents, and work in the family home. They are not required to register with Ofsted in England or with CSSIW in Wales. However, to reassure parents that they have had an enhanced Criminal Records Bureau check, first-aid and basic childcare training, nannies can join the voluntary Ofsted register or CSSIW's Voluntary Approval Scheme.[14]

The Association has campaigned against misuse of the term "childminder" in the media. In a letter to The Sun newspaper, Susanna Dawson, who was then the Association's Chair, said: "Registered childminders are not babysitters casually employed by parents. They are regulated and inspected by Ofsted against the same stringent criteria as other childcare providers."[15]

Research and publications

At its 2005 annual conference, NCMA's then-President, British childcare expert Dr Penelope Leach, outlined details of the findings of the longest and most detailed studies of UK childcare, which concluded that young children who are looked after by their mothers do significantly better in developmental tests than those cared for in nurseries, by childminders or relatives.

It found babies and toddlers fared worst when they were given group nursery care. Those cared for by friends or grandparents or other relatives did a little better while those looked after by nannies or childminders were rated second only to those cared for by mothers.

The study, by researchers led by Leach and colleagues Kathy Sylva and Alan Stein, began in 1998 and involved 1,200 children and their families from north London and Oxfordshire. Mothers were interviewed when their babies were three months old and again when they were 10, 18, 36 and 51 months.[16]

The Association's magazine, Who Minds?, is published every two months.

Campaigns

In 2001 NCMA campaigned for a reversal of new government regulations which allowed childminders to smoke in the presence of children with parents' consent.[17]

In April 2012 the Association launched a campaign, Individual Inspection Matters, calling on the Government to retain individual registration and inspection of childminders in England. The campaign was launched in response to concerns that the Government is planning to take childminding out of the current inspection and regulation system and that this could lead to deregulation.[18]

External links

References

  1. ^ a b c "History of NCMA". National Childminding Association. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  2. ^ "Joint Chief Executives". National Childminding Association. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
  3. ^ "Trustees' Annual Report and Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2011" (PDF). National Childminding Association. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
  4. ^ "Key staff". National Childminding Association. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
  5. ^ "Vision and Mission". National Childminding Association. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  6. ^ "President: Dame Gillian Pugh". National Childminding Association. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  7. ^ "Chair". National Childminding Association. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
  8. ^ "NMCA selects new Chair". National Childminding Association. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
  9. ^ "Sue Davis CBE". Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust website. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
  10. ^ "Making vision a reality". Children Webmag. www.davidlane.org. December 2005. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  11. ^ Hofkins, Diane (17 June 2008). "A thorny transition". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 16 March 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  12. ^ "How we inspect childminders". Ofsted. Retrieved 3 May 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  13. ^ "Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales". CSSIW. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  14. ^ "Voluntary Approval Scheme". CSSIW. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  15. ^ Dawson, Susanna (13 May 2010). "Letter to the Sun". National Childminding Association. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  16. ^ Roberts, Yvonne (2 October 2006). "Official: babies do best with mother". London: The Observer. Retrieved 16 March 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  17. ^ "Parents 'ignorant of risks of passive smoking'". Daily Mail. 31 May 2001. Retrieved 6 May 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  18. ^ Gaunt, Catherine (3 May 2012). "Campaign to stop childminder deregulation". Nursery World. Retrieved 6 May 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  19. ^ Morton, Katy (17 February 2010). "NCMA film markets the childminding choice". Nursery World. Retrieved 22 June 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

See also

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