Birmingham And 15 Hour Entitlement

[Rea]

Has anyone fro Birmingham had any info yet regarding the delivery of the 15 hours?

We were told at a meeting in May/June that information would be coming out before the summer break, but so far nothing.

I can phone Shaz at the EY dept. but I thought I'd try here first.

[Guest]

By now you will have probably received your pack with the 101 forms that need to be completed.

 

I personally am taking some of the contents as an insult and one particular paragraph truly made my blood boil and showed how out of touch the people who decide on the entitlement really are. P16, paragraph 5.2.1. 'The provder/childminder is required to keep financial accounts of the receipt and use of funding. All funding should be accounted for as restricted funds and cannot be used for other purposes (outside of supporting the free entitlement children).

 

With the massive sum of £3.41 per child, I would definately be using the excess funds to book my next holiday in Florida.... The £3.41 doesn't even cover the provision of free entitlement and so therefore it would be difficult to understand how they could be used for other purposes.

 

I presume they were trying to tie us up in knots so that nobody can fleece the system, but there is so much red tape around this funding now and paperwork (which all costs Admin time for somebody to complete), that they are making it harder for providers.

 

I would seriously like to set up a steering comittee or providers around Birmingham so we can gather as one body and put our issues to Birmingham Early Years.

[Rea]

Well, NO would be the answer!! Still no forms. Our EY DW asked last week why we hadnt filled them in, we told her we hadnt received any but that we had expected them in the summer. She went on and on and on about how we should have filled them in and the playleader went on just as much telling her we hadnt received anything.

So we are still waiting. Funding forms will be out this week too, and still nothing. Birmingham, I have to say, are rubbish. I read on here about other LEAs and weep at our mismanagement of things, even when we bring things to their attention.

[Guest]

I received ours last Friday so had all week-end to digest 23 pages plus forms. It's a lot of extra admin work so be prepared as parents have to fill in forms every term, along with what the setting had to fill in. Do they not think that printing costs money.... especially in a small setting.

 

Birmingham mishandled the Capital Grant so hundreds of settings lost out, they mis manage how development workers carryout their jobs - I know they have been subject to lots of extra work with less of them.

 

I just read another paragraph on top of the insult I read earlier about ring fencing the funds so that we don't mis spend them, this one reads that if the amount of funding received from Birmingham City Council EXCEEDS the amount normally charged. At £3.41 I really don't see how it can exceed anything.....

 

And finally, as usual we can expect to be paid the remaining 20% of funds no later than 10 weeks into the term ie. nearly the end of the term in other words. Therefore for any setting that takes on children during the early part of the term after the first headcount, has to cover those children for up to 10 weeks before they are paid.

 

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh I am getting cross....

[Rea]

Birmingham mishandled the Capital Grant so hundreds of settings lost out, they mis manage how development workers carryout their jobs - I know they have been subject to lots of extra work with less of them.

 

Well, as to that, it was the City who came along and stole the jobs the PLA DWs had been doing. They dont routinely go out to settings anymore because the City took their roles, so really they only have themselves to blame at the sheer mess they make of things. We always knew where we stood with the PLA, they were good with info, resources, paperwork (well, our DW was ) Our present DW from the city, mumbles when she doesnt understand something and then we dont see hide nor hair of her for darn months at which point she arrives with demands for things she as obviously forgotten to tell us about in the first place.

 

I echo your scream sheila21