Childminder Inclusion Network Update: September 2022
*Guest post written by Dwayne Burke from Birmingham City Council Early Years and Childcare Inclusion Team. If you have any issues or questions arising from the content of this post please direct them to the author and not BEYN: EarlyYearsSeminars@birmingham.gov.uk
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The Early Years and Childcare Inclusion Team: Staff update
As part of the Birmingham Early Years and Childcare Service, the Early Years and Childcare Inclusion Team aim to support the delivery of quality inclusion support services for the early years workforce, children, and families.
In her previous role as the Early Years Consultant for Inclusion, Rachael Carr supported the establishment and operational responsibilities of the Childminder Inclusion Network project. Rachael has sadly now left our service after deciding to take up a new challenge with the council. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Rachael for her contributions to supporting Birmingham childminders over the years.
Rachael’s departure has led to a newly appointed Early Years Consultant for Inclusion, Safiaya Abowath-Tulloch, who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the team.
Dwayne Burke - Senior Inclusion Officer
Hi everyone! My name is Dwayne Burke and I’m the Senior Inclusion Officer for the Early Years and Childcare Service. After many years working in the out-of-school sector, I joined Birmingham Early Years in 2006 as a Development Worker, working as part of a team to support the city’s out-of-school sector. My role then changed to that of an Early Years Consultant, supporting a variety of early years and childcare settings to deliver high-quality provision to children, young people, and their families.
After being appointed as the Senior Inclusion Officer in 2019, my role now involves supporting the achievement of good outcomes for children aged 0-16 through promoting full access to high-quality childcare and early education. I am also responsible for supporting strategies to improve the social mobility of children and their families through the promotion of equality, valuing diversity, and actively challenging discrimination of all types in adherence to the Equalities Act 2010.
As the strategic lead for the Childminder Inclusion Network, I would like to publicly welcome Safiaya to our service and I am confident she will be a great asset to the network through her role in managing the operations of the project.
Safiaya Abowath-Tulloch - Early Years Consultant (EYC), Inclusion
Hi, I’m Safiaya Abowath-Tulloch and I’m the new Early Years Consultant (EYC) for Inclusion. A little background story about how my journey into education started…
My passion for education was ignited during a two-week work experience at a local nursery. At this point, I was certain the education sector was the career I wanted to embark upon and make a positive contribution to children’s development. My career began as a ‘Nursery Nurse’ in early years, moving onto successfully securing a job as a teaching assistant, supporting SEND children. I soon realised there was a gap in the education workforce, which led to working in Further Education as a Subject Leader in Health and Social Care, teaching on early years qualifications, and overseeing the internal quality processes.
I recently joined the Early Years and Childcare Service as the EYC for Inclusion to impart on the valuable experience. I look forward to working with you all and supporting the brilliant work you do!
What is the Childminder Inclusion Network?
The Childminder Inclusion Network (CIN) is a project that connects Birmingham Childminders together to offer support in delivering good outcomes for children through high-quality, inclusive provision and early intervention.
The project was initially funded through Innovate to Save; a programme designed to provide financial support to local authority services with a view to generating future savings.
The network is managed and coordinated by the Early Years and Childcare Inclusion Team and aims to provide Birmingham childminders with a framework of networking opportunities, support, advice, and guidance to help strengthen practice and improve outcomes for children with additional needs to take up their full Early Education Entitlement (EEE) funded place.
Following the end of the funding period in March 2022, the CIN project will no longer offer the funded training course and financial funding support to existing members and those that wish to join through the variety of inclusion projects, funding streams, and training opportunities available to early years setting and childminders.
What does CIN now consist of?
Previously members of the network were offered the following funded training:
Understanding Autism
Understanding Behaviour
Communication Methods
SEND – A Graduated Approach
Unfortunately, the funding for this programme of training has now come to an end.
Instead, childminders in Birmingham will now be signposted to access training and Continuous Professional Development (CPD) opportunities via other projects, such as Dingley’s Promise - Early Years Inclusion programme and BEYN’s own Developing Local Provision (DLP) initiative. These projects aim to support childcare providers in improving educational outcomes for children through early identification, intervention, and SEND support.
For more information about free and funded training opportunities, please attend your Early Years District Network meetings and/or check out BEYN’s CPD page where you can also download an up-to-date brochure of available CPD for the 2022/23 academic year.
The CIN also previously offered inclusion funding to support children with special education needs and disabilities (SEND) attending childminder settings. This funding has also now ended; going forward, childminders will be signposted to access alternative early years additional funding streams designed to support eligible children with additional needs in childminder settings.
Childcare Brokerage
For parents/carers, finding childcare for any child can be daunting; finding childcare for a child with SEND can be equally if not more challenging.
The brokerage service aims to support parents/carers to access a suitable childcare place in their chosen district with a network childminder who has the skills and knowledge to support that child, giving confidence to the parent/carer.
Parents or professionals who wish to seek support in finding a suitable place for a child can contact the EY Duty Team (eyduty@birmingham.gov.uk).
Tax-Free Childcare
Tax-free childcare (TFC) is for working families, including self-employed individuals, in the UK earning under £100k and at least £152 per week (equal to 16 hours at the National Minimum Living Wage) and who aren’t receiving Tax Credits, Universal Credit, or Childcare Vouchers. TFC is available for children aged 0-11 (or 0-16 if disabled).
How does TFC work?
For every £8 you pay into an online account, the government will add an extra £2, up to £2,000 per child per year.
Working families can get up to £500 every 3 months (up to £2,000 a year) per child per year to help with the costs of childcare. This goes up to £1,000 every 3 months if a child is disabled (up to £4,000 a year).
How can TFC be used?
Working families can use TFC all year round to spend on regulated childcare, for example:
Childminders
Nurseries
Nannies
Before and after school clubs
Holiday clubs
Useful links
Parents eligibility check: Tax-Free Childcare
Childcare choices for further information: Childcare Choices | Tax-Free Childcare
Share your Childminder Achievements
We all know how important childminders are to children, families, and the early years sector. Every month we would like to feature a childminder in our blog so that our partner colleagues, neighbouring services, and the whole sector can see the amazing work that childminders do!
If you would like to share your story and be featured in a future blog please email the following information, including a photograph of yourself, to Safiaya (safiaya.abowath@birmingham.gov.uk)
Name
How long have you been a childminder?
How would you describe yourself in three words?
What does your childminding setting offer?
What has been your biggest personal achievement?
Why did you decide to become a childminder?
What do you want parents and professionals to know about childminding?
What has been your biggest achievement as a childminder?
Who do you look up to and why?
What does Birmingham mean to you?
CIN Online Networking
Every two months there will be a virtual networking meeting for childminders (hosted via MS TEAMS).
These sessions are an opportunity for childminders across the city to meet up, offer peer support, and share ideas and information. The meetings will also have guest speakers from other sectors to share information and processes with the childminders.
For further information contact: EarlyYearsSeminars@birmingham.gov.uk
We look forward to seeing you at our next Childminder Inclusion Network meeting 😊
Dwayne Burke
Senior Inclusion Officer
Early Years and Childcare Inclusion Team, Birmingham City Council