September 2, 2022Billy Welsby, PACEY
You might have seen that PACEY members get 20% off our award-winning early years management software, Kinderly Together, and that we often support their work and campaigns, but who is PACEY and why does their work matter? In this blog post, we turn to Billy Welsby, Marketing Executive at PACEY for all the insights!
PACEY is the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years. Formed in 1977, they are a charity dedicated to supporting everyone working in childcare and early years, to provide high-quality care and early learning for children and families with over 40 years of experience and expertise.
They do this by providing membership, insurance, training, practical help, expert advice and more to practitioners working throughout England and Wales.
PACEY’s vision lies in wanting all children to experience high-quality childcare and early education, helping them to have a bright future. They hope to achieve this through supporting everyone involved in the childcare process and early education, providing high-quality services, information and advice for children, their families, and carers.
For childcare practitioners, they do this through exclusive membership benefits which include training and access to legal help that can power your practice. They’ve included membership details a bit further on in this blog, so read on to find out more about what PACEY can do for you!
They also understand that parents can benefit hugely from PACEY which is why they have a whole section of their website dedicated to helping them understand and find the right childcare options for them. This includes answering parents’ concerns about how to pay for childcare, what type of childcare is right for them and their little ones, what to expect in different settings and much more!
PACEY is here to support and provide advice for their members, through different aspects including insurance and resources and through being an active voice for childcare practitioners at a government level and getting involved in projects supporting families.
Representing you and fighting for your rights
They work hard to raise the profile of childminding and get it onto the political agenda alongside other types of early years and childcare provision – they now often hear politicians and stakeholders reference the important role of childminding during debates on childcare and early education – more than ever before.
During the Covid-19 pandemic they kept members informed and successfully lobbied the government in England for home testing kits for childminders, keeping practitioners and the children in their care as safe as possible. As the world opened up again, they also managed to facilitate a rule that would allow childminders to operate if someone in their house had COVID-19, after a previous decision which would prohibit this and leave practitioners at a loss financially.
In 2019, PACEY launched its Together for Twos project, funded by the Department for Education. The project provided national and direct local interventions to:
PACEY worked closely with several local authorities to help develop the program and recruited Childminding Development Workers to work in partnership with the local authority teams and support the existing work plans around the early years entitlement as well as working nationally with Job Centre Plus.
And that really is just a tiny taste of the work they do for the childcare and early years sector every day.
CPD opportunities
Lots! Earlier this month PACEY were very pleased to announce that September’s PACEY Live webinar will be a chat with legendary poet and author, Michael Rosen, who will be joining to talk about the importance of storytelling. This is following webinars which looked at safeguarding in July and a Masterclass with PACEY President, Penny Tassoni, about transitions in August.
Pushing the Government for a better early years strategy
Following the recent news that the government plans to make ‘becoming a childminder easier’, PACEY will be calling on Government to go further to commit to a long-term vision for the whole early years and childcare sector including an ambitious workforce strategy, more effective integration of children’s services and a reform of the early years and childcare funding system.
Improving anti-racism practices
In Wales, PACEY Cymru have been working closely with the Welsh government in their publication of the Anti-Racist Wales action plan. The plan aims to tackle the racism that can be faced in the childcare and early years sector and offer practitioners ant-racist policy and resources, including webinars and training which will focus on promoting diversity and inclusion in settings. Alongside this work will also be carried out to address under-representation in the sector.
This is only the tip of the iceberg, you can keep track of what PACEY is doing by visiting the news and blog sections on their website.
Being a PACEY member gives you access to a wealth of resources to power your practice; the reassurance that you are protected; and the opportunity to be part of this fantastic community so you’re never alone.
Currently, they offer three types of membership. If you’re not sure which is the right membership for you, take their quiz here. They are also excited to share that they will be launching a new membership for larger group settings and their staff soon. If you’re interested in knowing more, please email PACEY.
Benefits include:
You can explore their full membership here – PACEY membership benefits | PACEY
PACEY came together in partnership with Kinderly so they could give their members access to the best digital products out there to run their businesses.
PACEY members can access 20% off the Kinderly Together package which includes unlimited PACEY digital contracts (childminder and nanny) for you to sign, share and store at the click of a button. Practitioner Plus member, get FREE access to Kinderly Together.
