Families Thames Valley West – March/April 2004-03-05

61% of agencies fail Best Bear tests

When Best Bear Childcare (www.bestbear.co.uk) performed its annual review of 849 childcare agencies, 338 failed its test outright, 298 had closed or gone out of the business since the last review and only 213 passed the test. Anybody can set up a private childcare agency, without qualifications or police checks. The Best Bear Childcare survey found that some were willing to send nannies to interviews having only spoken to them briefly on the phone. You can find agencies that meet Best Bear’s approval on their website, but be aware that some which passed their tests have chosen not to be listed. You shouldn’t assume that an agency is disreputable just because it’s not on the site.

The site also has a new advertisement service for parents so you can post job vacancies for childcarers directly on to the website. The cost for a four week advertisement is £50.