the professional nanny conference
Press Release
Embargoed 0:01 midnight Saturday 19 September 2009
warning of baby p-type tragedy unless nannies are registered
A Baby P-type tragedy involving a nanny could happen unless the Government introduces a compulsory register of nannies.
The warning will be given tomorrow (Saturday) by James Tweed of Childcare Matters consultancy at the Professional Nanny conference at Chiltern College
In a speech, he will say that nannies want to be properly registered and regulated as they are the only form of high-quality professional childcare that is not fully regulated by the Government.
He is concerned that the Government wants to register parents for giving lifts to their children’s friends when playing football but does not want to register nannies.
Mr Tweed will say, “The Government wants to regulate parents who work in a voluntary capacity for a few hours a week with children and young people. Yet the Government will not properly regulate the nannies who work with children for whole days on a daily basis.
“Why is the Government so reluctant to implement a compulsory register of nannies who want to be regulated, and instead is trying to register and regulate parents?
“The Government says Every Child Matters. This phrase is the cornerstone of its policies for children and young people. But the reality is that Every Child Matters apart from those cared for by nannies.”
He will also say that a nanny registration scheme would mean reassurance for parents that all nannies would have to meet a clearly identifiable set of accepted competencies with minimum standards of training.
Concerns about a nanny could be properly investigated and if found proved the nanny would be struck off the register and no longer allowed to work as a nanny. At the moment, a nanny could move to another part of the country and parents would be none the wiser.
The Professional Nanny conference is at Chiltern College, a training college for nannies in Caversham, near Reading, Buckinghamshire.