Nursery World broke the story last week of how the two friends who went back to work part-time in a jobshare when their daughters were both one year old had been visited by Ofsted inspectors after a tip-off from a member of the public who believed they were running an illegal childminding business.
A petition was started on the Number 10 website in support of the women, calling for a change in the law to allow reciprocal childcare arrangements. By Monday it had been signed by 9,770 people.
The two women, who have now come forward and agreed to be named, are detective constables Leanne Shepherd from Milton Keynes and Lucy Jarrett from Birmingham, who work for Thames Valley Police.
Although money did not change hands, Ofsted said that the supply of services or goods and, in some cases, reciprocal arrangements can also constitute reward.
According to current legislation, a person must be registered as a childminder if care is provided for more than two hours a day or takes place for more than 14 days a year.
Children’s minister Dawn Primarolo said, ‘This law is designed to give parents peace of mind when choosing childcare by making sure the facilities are safe and good standards of care are met. However, our intention has never been to interfere in informal arrangements between friends and families, and we need to be sure that the legislation does not unnecessarily penalise hard-working families.
‘That is why the department is working with Ofsted on their interpretation of the word reward. We must ensure a commonsense and measured approach which does not penalise informal arrangements but retains a balance between over-regulation and protecting children.’
An Ofsted spokesperson said, ‘Ofsted applies the regulations for the registration of childcare as found in the 2006 Childcare Act. We are currently discussing with the DCSF the interpretation of the word reward in the legislation to establish if we might be able to make a change.’