The_Current_Legislation_for_Homebased_Childcare

The current Legislation for Home Based Childcare Every Child matters green paper was presented to parliament in September 2003. It was published alongside Keeping Children Safe, a detailed response to the practice recommendations made from an inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbié The paper outlined the five outcomes that mattered most to children and young people, * Being Healthy * Staying Safe * Enjoying and Achieving * Making a Positive Contribution * Achieving Economic Well Being and was built on four main areas, * Supporting parents and carers * Early intervention and effective protection * Accountability and integration – locally, regionally and nationally * Workforce reform. A number of commitments from the Every Child Matters green paper have been taken forward through the Children Act 2004. The act provided the legislative spine on which the reform of children’s services is based. The success of local implementation is assessed by the Every Child Matters Outcomes. The Children Act 2006 states that you must apply for early year’s (under 5’s) registration and receive a certificate prescribing this, in order to be able to provide early year’s home based childcare (childminding) and for Later years childcare (under 8’s) you have to be registered in Part A of the General Childcare Register. As an early years provider you have a duty to implement the Learning and Development requirements along with the Welfare requirements. These requirements combined are known as the “Early Years Foundation Stage”. (Childcare Act 2006 (c.21) section 39 subsection 2) Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS): There are six areas of Learning and Development requirements that must be covered: * Personal, Social and Emotional Development * Communication, Language and Literacy * Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy * Knowledge and Understanding of the World * Physical Development * Creative Development Matters that may be dealt with by welfare regulations include— * the welfare of the children concerned; * the arrangements for safeguarding the children concerned; * suitability of persons to care for, or be in regular contact with, the children concerned; * qualifications and training; * the suitability of premises and equipment; * the manner in which the early years provision is organised; * procedures for dealing with complaints; * the keeping of records; * the provision of information. The areas of learning are all based on the four principles of the EYFS which are, * A Unique Child * Positive Relationships * Enabling Environments * Learning and Development Providers have an obligation to adhere to all legal requirements and should have regard to the statutory guidance that is laid out in the EYFS. Ofsed will base its inspections on this basis. The Special Educational Needs code of practice became effective from 1 January 2002. From then home based childcare providers, (amongst others) have been obliged to have regard to it. The code is designed to help make effective decisions regarding children with Special Educational Needs. It does not (and could not) tell them what to do. Each case should be assessed on the individual’s needs and the provider’s capabilities. The Role of Regulatory Bodies The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people and in education and skills for learners of all ages. Ofsted and their inspection partners carry out all the required employment checks for childcare providers as part of an inspection. This includes appropriate employment checks and an enhanced Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) disclosure. Ofsted inspectors work to government legislation and statutory guidance, which is based on the Department for Education's Safeguarding children and safer recruitment in education. Inspections are carried out by Ofsted under Sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006, on the quality and standards of an early year’s provision. Their Compliance, enforcement and investigation handbook sets out the legal background to their compliance and enforcement work, the approach to this work and the extent of Ofsted’s powers. The handbook is used in the regulation of early years and childcare providers and children’s social care services. It includes guidance for inspectors and others on: * Investigating complaints about registered providers * Investigating whether a provider is complying with standards and the law * Taking statutory enforcement action against a provider * Working with outside agencies – including those with child protection responsibilities – to protect children * Action they may take to safeguard children. The Compliance, enforcement and investigation handbook is reviewed regularly, so it remains up to date and in line with the law and government policies.The handbook has nine sections (which contain 28 documents. The full Handbook can be found on the Ofsted site. www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources). 1. Enforcement under the Childcare Act 2006 Policy 2. Powers, principles and making decisions 3. Complaints and notifications (safeguarding) 4. Investigations and surveillance 5. Offences and statutory enforcement actions 6. Disqualification 7. Objections, representations and appeals 8. Legal advice 9. Disclosure of information