Junior Magazine February 2004
Page 14

A disturbing survey of 89 childcare agencies has found that more than 60 per cent failed basic safety tests and were bypassing security checks. Despite the current climate and rising fears for child safety, the survey found that, as childcare agencies are unregulated, little could be done to weed out unscrupulous operators.

It was found that some agencies were willing to send carers out on interviews having only spoken to them on the phone and without verifying essential references. Other agencies were found to have embellished the carer's experience to entice parents to sign on the dotted line, while many agencies didn't have a clue about necessary qualifications, such as the NNEB. Of all those surveyed, 338 childcare agencies failed the tests outright, and 298 had closed or gone out of business since they were last tested, leaving only 213 to pass safety tests.

The survey was commissioned by Best Bear Childcare, an umbrella agency for regional and national childcare agencies who want the industry regulated. For further information, visit http://www.bestbear.co.uk