Archive for September, 2009:
Written on September 28th, 2009 by adminno shouts
Two female police officers who previously had an arrangement whereby each would babysit for the other when they were working has been stopped by Ofsted under the Childcare Act 2006.
Officers representing Ofsted knocked at the door of one of the women and informed her that they had become aware she might be running an illegal childcare service. She, as any normal person would, thought that this was clearly a misunderstanding and invited the officers in to explain. Even after fully explaining the situation she was told that to continue their arrangement they would both need to become registered childminders and pass all appropriate tests or face prosecution.
To become a registered childminder is not a simple process of simply checking you are a decent person. There are all sorts of rules and regulations to follow and I know personally one lady who gave up because she got fed up with being required to follow what seems like silly rules such as having enough black as well as white dolls and having to follow irritatingly complicated procedures with the ever present fear of an ofsted inspection at any time. I guess if you are running a childminding nursery looking after dozens of children it all makes sense but for one or two children it seems excessive.
The problem for the two police officers was that the exchange of service for each other has been considered to be a ‘reward’ by the Ofsted officers which is a reasonable thing to decide since there clearly is a reward in that they each help out the other.
The law was clearly never intended to stop people babyminding for close friends under such an arrangement and Vernon Coaker the Minister for Children, Schools and Families is speaking to Ofsted about the interpretation of the word ‘reward’. It is hard to see how they could interpret it any other way than that which they have done and all they are doing is enforcing the law as it stands.
This would seem to be another example of a law rushed through parliament with the best of intentions but without the appropriate time spent on it to ensure it does what it is supposed to do. In this case that was to protect children and parents from dodgy childminders but it was surely never intended to stop the practice of babyminding for friends now and again to earn a few pounds or in an exchange of service by friends.
It is a worrying thought that there may be dozens more laws that have been rushed through parliament in recent years that are full of careless errors such as this and that ordinary decent and honest people may well suffer for the lack of care taken.
Apparently this does not apply to anyone looking after the children in their parents home so employing a schoolgirl or friend to regularly babysit to allow the parents to have a break and earn a few pounds is not affected by this law.
Written on September 22nd, 2009 by adminno shouts
It has been announced that Baroness Scotland is to be fined £5,000 for failing to correctly follow the law in regard to establishing legal status before employing her (now ex) housekeeper. Apparently the Prime Minister continues to consider her a valuable asset to government even though as a presumably, great legal mind she failed to follow the law in a piece of legislation she was largely responsible for when it went through parliament.
The rest of us may have the excuse of ignorance of the law, though it is said to be no legal defence. Anyone who was involved in pushing a law through parliament can have no defence whatsoever and when it is the attorney general who advises government on the law it is simply astonishing that such a mistake can be considered acceptable and not require instant resignation.
I accept that we all make mistakes and I would much prefer an honest politician who admits to making mistakes and is prepared to apologise to the electorate. I would prefer that to the slimy weasel words we so often hear as MP’s and government ministers wriggle in their attempts to maintain an illusion that they are perfect.
However, we the electorate have these laws imposed on us without our agreement or request. Nobody asked me to give my opinion on immigration law before the last election and the law was enacted without any agreement from me. Yet, if I employ someone I am subject to this law and I am expected to understand it and should I fail I am subject to fines and even a possible jail sentence. I do not pretend to be an expert on the law yet my life could be destroyed by an innocent mistake through not knowing about, or not understanding laws such as this but I am legally required to know about it and understand it.
There can be absolutely no excuse for the Attorney General to not know about this law since she was a minister at the home office pushing the bill through Parliament. As a legal expert she has no excuse for not following the letter of the law. If she couldn’t manage to be aware of, or understand the law what chance have the rest of us.
If there is one lesson from this episode it is that we already have too many laws that are understood by too few people. If ordinary decent and honest people are turned into lawbreakers through ignorance there is something wrong with the system. The alternative would be that we all give up our jobs and spend our days studying the legislation pouring out of Parliament but that would clearly be ridiculous and hardly beneficial to the country.
Written on September 18th, 2009 by adminno shouts
A school in West Dunbartonshire has apparently invested £800 in hair straighteners because some of the pupils did not want to do PE because it messed up their hair.
The local authority were concerned about the falling numbers of female participents in sport and this action was taken to try to encourage more girls to take part in sports activities.
I can understand they might not like their hair getting messed up. I didn’t like being required to freeze my bits off because we were required to play football and do all sorts of other activities but I never knew I had the option to say that I didn’t like it so I wouldn’t do it.
The way I remember my schooldays and PE was of being given about two minutes to shower and get changed and ready for the next lesson so I can’t begin to understand how there can be enough spare time to enjoy the benefits of hair straighteners.
I am all for treating children with respect and taking account of their views but this seems to a step in the wrong direction. Childhood is such a special time and to encourage children to worry about adult concerns like appearance seems to be damaging something that is very special and that’s a pity.
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