Scheme offers range of childminder benefits

Home

Sections

Living

Written by Avril Horan

Wednesday, 08 August 2007

The Galway City and County Childcare Committee has insisted that childminders adopt a more formal approach to their business and sign up to the Voluntary Notification Scheme. Under the scheme, childminders can avail of a range of benefits including grants, tax relief, referrals and training.

The childcare committee was established in 2000 to coordinate, support and assist in the development of a range of quality childcare services in Galway; to coordinate the implementation of the National Childcare Investment Programme at local level, on behalf of the office of the Minister for Children and to work with other agencies in developing and implementing special initiatives to support children and families.

Childminders who can benefit from the Galway Childcare Committee Voluntary Notification Scheme include: childminders minding three or fewer pre-school children; pre-school children who are all from the same family or who are relatives of the childminder and childminders minding school age children.

This year, they launched a number of new supports for parents and childminders during National Childminders Week. Their guide 'A Parent's Guide to Choosing a Childminder' assists parents when seeking a good quality childminding service. The guide explains the regulations affecting childminding, suggests what parents should look for in the home based service, and provides a list of questions to ask.

For childminders, the supports help develop quality childminding services and include a start-up pack, national guidelines for childminders and a support pack for Voluntary Notification.

Sheila Garrity, Childminder Advisory Officer with the Galway Childcare Committee, said: "One of the things we'd like to see this year is more childminders notifying us about their services. For the childminders who contact us under the Voluntary Notification Scheme, there are lots of benefits including grants, tax relief, referrals and training."

Alex MacLean, Chairman of the Galway Childcare Committee said: "Our committee plays a key role in developing quality childcare throughout Galway and we are delighted that so many childminders have adopted such a professional approach. More and more childminders are moving from the informal to the formal economy a trend we support as it is better for children, better for parents and better for childminders."

Comments (0) »