Meeting family needs
Cornwall Community Childminding Network was formed in May 2009
and is one strand of the Disabled Children’s Access to Childcare
pilot in Cornwall.
A mother phoned the network coordinator one evening in a
panic, as her son had a pre-operative appointment at the
hospital the following day, and she needed the childminder to
provide care for her other son outside her contracted
hours so she could give her full attention and support at the
hospital. However, she had not given her childminder enough notice,
and the childminder had a prior appointment she couldn't
change.
The coordinatior reassured the parent and found out her
exact requirements for the next day and offered to try and
arrange an emergency placement with another Network
childminder who lived close to the hospital. With the mother's
agreement, the coordinator arranged this with the other childminder
and negotiated the fees for the emergency placement.
The time invested over previous weeks and months in gaining the
family's trust and establishing the Network as a professional body
paid dividends as the mother felt able to approach the coordinator
for help and a resolution in a crisis.
The family now has relationships with two childminders so they
should hopefully never experience this kind of crisis again.
NCMA and the Cornwall Community Childminding Network were
positively represented, as even though the call came through during
the evening, it was dealt with efficiently and the family were
supported and assisted to be able to give their son the time he
needed when attending the hospital.
Achieving Every Child Matters outcomes
This emergency placement allowed the child in question to ‘Enjoy
and achieve’, ‘Stay safe’ and ‘Be healthy’ whilst in the care of
another Network childminder. This in turn assured the parents of a
high quality service.
This is just one example of how NCMA childminders can support
families to manage complex needs. NCMA networks can work in
partnership with local authorities to help support childcare
provision, especially supporting families with additional needs,
for example disabled children or teen parents.
Contact NCMA fo
find out more about how we can support you.