Ofsted-registered childcare app to find East Lancashire childcare (From Lancashire Telegraph)
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Ofsted-registered childcare app to find East Lancashire childcare
3:43pm Wednesday 4th July 2012 in News
PARENTS in East Lancashire can now find and choose Ofsted-registered childcare near their home by using an iPhone Choosing Childcare App that been produced by the charity the Pre-school Learning Alliance and is launched today.
Watch the demonstration video of the App on the Pre-school Learning Alliance’s YouTube page at www.youtube.com/preschoolla.
The free App, Choosing Childcare with the Pre-school Learning Alliance, ensures parents using childcare for the first time are as well informed as possible when choosing childcare for their child.
The App is simple to use. When parents click on the map it pinpoints all day nurseries and pre-schools registered and regulated by Ofsted in their area. Clicking on a red pinpoint brings up the setting’s contact details, its Ofsted report, and the best route to get to it from home.
There is also a Parent Zone giving advice on how to choose the right childcare, with a number of key questions parents should ask when they visit and information about the settling-in process when a young child starts daycare. The Parent Zone also gives tips and advice on healthy eating, courtesy of the Infant & Toddler Forum’s Ten Steps for Healthy Toddlers initiative.
Neil Leitch, Chief Executive of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, said, “Parents should be given every opportunity to make informed decisions when choosing childcare for their children. A large part of that relates to not just the location of the early years setting but also to its quality.
“We have developed this iPhone App to make it easier for parents to be better informed and use independent assessments of the quality of local childcare available.”
He added, “Last year the Coalition Government said it was keen for parents to make informed choices on childcare by using Ofsted reports. Our App achieves this by making independent childcare information available to parents in a simple visual manner.
“It allows any parent at any time to determine what childcare is available in their specific geographical area, giving them immediate and up-to-date detail about the quality of that setting and further information about what to ask when choosing their childcare.”
Daniel Ayeni, a father of two young children from south London, said, “This App is brilliant. It’s a valuable tool if you are looking for childcare or are moving into a new area as it provides up-to-date information at your fingertips.”
Dr Atul Singhal, Professor of Paediatric Nutrition at the UCL Institute of Child Health and Chair of the Infant & Toddler Forum, said, “We’ve been working closely with the Alliance to help implement positive changes to their settings’ mealtimes, using our Ten Steps for Healthy Toddlers.
“This app is the perfect extension of that work, putting expert advice on feeding the under threes straight into the hands of parents.”
Development of the iPhone App was sponsored by Danone Baby Nutrition. Helen Crichton, Head of Public Affairs at Danone UK, said, “Our work aims to address the lack of practical support for parents of pre-school children.
“Childcare settings and staff play an important role at this critical stage in children’s lives, and we’re therefore delighted to support this app, giving mums and dads simple information on things like Ofsted reports and healthy eating.”
The App is available to download free from the Apple App Store. Visit http://www.apple.com/uk/iphone/from-the-app-store, search for “Childcare” and look for the Alliance’s purple icon.
