I got funding for my NCMA Quality First - if they insist you should do it, then I strongly believe they ought to fund you! I'm also being funded for the Open University courses - I wouldn't do them otherwise.
I think whatever Ofsted throw at me money wise, I will probably have to pay it because I am a single mother who has to be at home for a disabled son. I find when tax credits top me up, I am actually better off than friends who work. I know that isn't the case if you have a husband who earns well though.
Jo, I'm sorry to hear about the disrespectful parent - that's just not right. I would suggest you terminate them and get advertising! In all my years, I've only had one set of parents who treated me badly and, even though the child was lovely, I did eventually ask them to leave... the day after they paid me for the month, but I didn't expect a termination fee... it was just a 'please don't come back..'!
I am trying to remain positive about the future, but I am also a realist and yes, I feel there is an element of Childminders being squeezed out, so I am taking every opportunity I can to go on training and courses and I am learning everything I can from websites about educational theories, working with parents etc etc as I am sure there will come a time when I will have to back into the work place - and, especially the older I get, the world will not owe me a living!!
|