‘Ridiculous childcare rules threaten our jobs’ (From Bournemouth Echo)
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‘Ridiculous childcare rules threaten our jobs’
8:00am Monday 5th October 2009 in News By Charlotte Flake
TWO mothers fear that they will have to give up their jobs and could even lose their homes if they are inspected by Ofsted for caring for each other’s children in the school holidays.
Both women, who do not want to be named, look after each other’s children for four hours a day over two days a week while each works during the holidays.
If this is interpreted by the children’s services watchdog to be illegal childminding, then both Poole parents will have to give up their jobs because they are not eligible for help with childcare costs from the government.
The worry among many parents in England comes after two police officers in Buckinghamshire were told they were breaking the law by caring for each other’s children without being registered.
One of the Poole women said: “For me, paying for childcare would defeat the object of going to work and me and my husband would actually be worse off.
“We would not qualify for childcare and so I would not be able to go to work. I don’t see how this can work when in the long term, there will be more people claiming either benefits for childcare or because they cannot work at all. It is ridiculous.”
The second mother added: “Without my job I could not pay my mortgage and would lose my home at the end of the day.
“Being a single parent, I do not have a lot of people to help me out, and this way, at least I know who my child is with and that she enjoys the company of the other kids.”
In the regulations under the Childcare Act, introduced three years ago, anyone who receives a reward, not necessarily monetary, for caring for children must undergo the relevant checks and registration or face a fine of up to £5,000.
The complex rules do not apply between the hours of 6pm and 2am as long as the child is in their own home and it is acceptable for family members to look after your children.
However, the regulations mean that it is illegal to look after someone else’s child for more than two hours, and is likely to be seen as a formal arrangement if it takes place on more than 14 days in a year and is done for a reward in the shape of free childcare.
A spokesperson from the Department for Children, Schools and Families said childcare rules were not intended to “interfere in informal arrangements” and it was trying to clear up the confusion over the interpretation of what constitutes a “reward”.
Comments(19)
ferret38
says...
9:07am Mon 5 Oct 09
2Much...again!
says...
9:38am Mon 5 Oct 09
Back off...we are not kids..and you are not our childminders!!
butlincat
says...
9:43am Mon 5 Oct 09
onsite.com/1/british
-single-parents-new-
laws = {copy and paste into ur address bar}..excerpt = "British Single Parents New Laws.. Target:British Prime Minister Mr Gordon BROWN.... Sponsored by: Mum2MPs....."We The Undersigned refuse the British new laws regarding Single Parents and their Children, with forced work and forced childcare.
From October 2010, Children as young as 7 years old will have to go to childcare to adapt to their parent's newly imposed working times, even during their school holidays or if they become temporarily ill.
This means that any STRANGER will have to be hastily found and trusted for childcare if nearby family isn't ready-available. We anticipate that this "New-Deal" will create HOME-ALONE and DELINQUENCY situations.
Please propose laws with little more consideration for single Families, with more flexible options. We are not lazy we simply do care.signature
goal: 1,000"----thank you...butlincat.
{2 words = "Johnny Gosch" - google it}...{ps...I am not nor ever have been a single parent,nor have ever been responsible for such.}
cantique
says...
9:46am Mon 5 Oct 09
[Chris]
says...
9:59am Mon 5 Oct 09
.
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Who is going to pay for the child care in these cases, who is going to pay the benefits to cover the lost wages, who is going to pay the mortgages, and communtiy taxes, yes, the taxpayer again.
.
.
This is the government once again late as usual showing they are doing something about it. As for Ofsted (Office of Standards in Education) and of course they have now thrown in the Childrens Services. Should stick to closing schools, and causing mayhem in the education system.
fedupwithjobsworths
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9:59am Mon 5 Oct 09
hamworthygirl
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10:40am Mon 5 Oct 09
Laurie H Marsh
says...
11:04am Mon 5 Oct 09
hamworthygirl wrote:Just one question.
Its a shame this goverment don't push a law through to allow working parents to claim to pay any members of their family or friends childmind as I do. After reading the horrible story in the paper this weekend of the so called "professional " people trained to care for our children, I felt physically sick. I still work part time and also childmind my 4 granchildren 2 days a week. If my daughter could claim for paying me it would help enourmously for her and me. What better people to care for our children than a "trusted" member of the family or a good friend. Wouldn't take long I'm sure to get this set up, come on Mr Brown you are a parent you should see this is a good idea surely. I feed and oversee the homework and don't get paid as I love doing it but could give my job up if she could pay me, my daughter is a single working mother who is now separated from her husband and wants to do more hours but cannot as I have to work.
For your daughter to pay you for looking after her children she would have to "claim" off of someone.
Who?
We would all like other people to take over OUR responsibilities.
hamworthygirl
says...
11:11am Mon 5 Oct 09
Laurie H Marsh wrote:Vouchers that the goverment provide for all working parents which she has paid into our system since she started working at 16, and I guess you are drawing your pension in australia that YOU paid into like her. Or would it be better that she didn't work at all and claimed benefits from the tax payer, which would be me and my husband , can't win really can she? she would be damned if she didn't work, and beleive me she would be better off but a person who has been brought up to work for things she wants to work and provide for her children.
hamworthygirl wrote: Its a shame this goverment don't push a law through to allow working parents to claim to pay any members of their family or friends childmind as I do. After reading the horrible story in the paper this weekend of the so called "professional " people trained to care for our children, I felt physically sick. I still work part time and also childmind my 4 granchildren 2 days a week. If my daughter could claim for paying me it would help enourmously for her and me. What better people to care for our children than a "trusted" member of the family or a good friend. Wouldn't take long I'm sure to get this set up, come on Mr Brown you are a parent you should see this is a good idea surely. I feed and oversee the homework and don't get paid as I love doing it but could give my job up if she could pay me, my daughter is a single working mother who is now separated from her husband and wants to do more hours but cannot as I have to work.Just one question. For your daughter to pay you for looking after her children she would have to "claim" off of someone. Who? We would all like other people to take over OUR responsibilities.
Laurie H Marsh
says...
11:39am Mon 5 Oct 09
Your daughter (and her husband) are the parents of their children and as such are responsible for them.
The "vouchers" is just another way of saying "taxpayers money"!
I am a self-funded retiree because to rely on "the pension" either here or in the U.K. is akin to living (almost) on the bread line.
Good luck to your daughter.
hamworthygirl
says...
1:05pm Mon 5 Oct 09
Laurie H Marsh wrote:Yes we know you are self suficient we have read your posts before and good for you if are enjoing your retirement. What you are saying really is we should not pay tax and NI to fund either the NHS system or benefits and draw from them at some point in life, but I think that's a different argument. You maybe self funded but you still draw your UK pension don't you? and quite rightly so as you paid NI I take it all your life. My only point with this story is why pay profesionals to childmind people whothemselves have to work these days to self fund themselves and pensions . There is a sytem in this country that provides for working parents to pay childminders and all I am saying is why cannot the same be applied to families who babysit for their families as a help to thier incomes. Oh by the way daughter is managing fine with 4 children working, paying yet more NI and also now battling a shoulder tumour whilst working, self sucifficient and taking responsibility yes! I think she is.
Hamworthy girl, Your daughter (and her husband) are the parents of their children and as such are responsible for them. The "vouchers" is just another way of saying "taxpayers money"! I am a self-funded retiree because to rely on "the pension" either here or in the U.K. is akin to living (almost) on the bread line. Good luck to your daughter.
stupid stoat
says...
1:47pm Mon 5 Oct 09
easy-spot
hamworthygirl
says...
2:08pm Mon 5 Oct 09
stupid stoat wrote:Really is that right think you have that wrong lol don't mean to be rude but b******s you do not know me at all.
1.05; Whats the matter with you. your daughter is living in your largest property suggest you kick her out and rent it out to a stranger for 600 quid a week and please stop moaning. easy-spot
stupid stoat
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2:55pm Mon 5 Oct 09
gobzillas chops
says...
3:50pm Mon 5 Oct 09
souwest
says...
4:09pm Mon 5 Oct 09
Oh of course this would mean taking responsibility, not rutting like maniacs and having a sense of morality.
No chance then.
SW
hamworthygirl
says...
5:10pm Mon 5 Oct 09
souwest wrote:Again in an ideal world that would be lovely, questions
Of course all this would be solved quite simply - women should look after their children. Give up work and take care of them 24 hours a day. Husband works to earn the money. Oh of course this would mean taking responsibility, not rutting like maniacs and having a sense of morality. No chance then. SW
1, what if your are divorced , widiowed, not every lone parent is single?mother who breeds for a living
2 whatever job you have can you get my husband one so he can earn as much you do? so I can stay at home
3 Since when has it been a crime for woman or single men come to that to work for a living?
I put forward a suggestion for the government to help make it fair working parents and suddenly we are into a campaign to make women or men stay at home with thier kids, Oh hang they do that now but its called living on benefits which as someone has pointed out means living on the tax payer. Maybe we should all go to work to pay the taxes Oh hang on again we can't so that cos we should stay at home mmm sensing a pattern here maybe?
The Sage
says...
8:50pm Mon 5 Oct 09
it takes two wages to live.
Was Charlie says...
8:31am Mon 5 Oct 09
A spokesperson from the Department for Children, Schools and Families said, last week, on national news that this was not intended to apply to informal arangements such as the two women police officers, and therefore the two in this "story" as well.