Dear Members,
It was great to see so many of you at the AGM last month. I am delighted that four members joined the Board and I am looking forward to our Board meeting later this month. Our new Board members are, Anne Ryan, Cornelius Collins, Gillian Conway and Edel Quinn. I would like to thank Sharon Mc Gettigan for her time over the last year on the Board and she has now stepped down.
As you are all aware, we are in the midst of a challenging time for childminding. There are many Working Groups currently looking at all aspects of childminding in Ireland and they will be making recommendations to the Steering Group of NAPC. This work will determine what childminding will look like in the very near future. Changes are coming and it is very important that we use any opportunity to feedback our ideas and concerns that we have as working childminders. There is a limited consultation process and it is vital that members get involved when invited to take part in these sessions. If you are invited to take part in a consultation group, it would be helpful to keep the following in mind:
- Read the relevant part of the National Action Plan for Childminding, relating to the topic of the consultation session.
- Speak to other childminders, and parents and find out their concerns/questions relating to the issue being discussed.
- Start a discussion on our private Facebook members forum. Members then can put forward their thoughts on the topic and you can highlight this at the meeting.
There will be no chance to change things if we stand by silently. We have to make sure that our voices are heard and our concerns addressed. Any member who has put their name forward for these consultation groups must represent all childminders. Not everyone gets the opportunity to participate in these sessions. If you give up your personal time to take part, make it count.
A big thank you to all of you, who have been engaged in this process so far. And we look forward to your continued participation at this vital stage of consultation.
Mary Walsh,
Chairperson.