Childcare@home Dundee (formerly Dundee Sitter Service) was established in 1999 by One Parent Families Scotland, in partnership with Dundee City Council. It is funded through Dundee City Council Social Work Department, Dundee Childcare Partnership, Working for Families Fund, and the New Opportunities Fund.

As 61% of working families consist of parents who work out with regular 9-5 hours (Department of Education and Employment) there has been an increasing demand for childcare flexible enough to meet their needs. childcare@home has been addressing this particular problem in Dundee by providing childcare, within the family’s own home, 7 days a week, from 7am until 10.30pm.

The project is managed by One Parent Families Scotland, in conjunction with a steering group consisting of representatives of relevant organizations. The service is managed through an office-based team, and delivered by a team of experienced childcare workers (sitters).

What We Do

The service is primarily for low-income families (lone, and two, parent) who are working at times they do not have access to other forms of childcare. It is also possible to assist some student parents. It is available 7.00am -10.30pm, 7 days a week, 50 weeks of the year.

Childcare workers are all checked through Disclosure Scotland, undertake First Aid training and Child Protection training, and are supervised and employed by the service.

The childcare worker and your child:

• The worker will provide high quality care for your child, or children, in your own home. One worker can care for up to 4 children depending on the children’s ages and specific needs.
• Workers will be introduced through contact visits, to you and your child / children, before the first sit takes place. The number of visits depends on the age of the child / children.
• They will take part in activities your child enjoys such as drawing, playing games, or going to the park.
• They can collect your child from school or nursery when necessary, and look after them until you return. By using the childcare@home service, your child will have quality care, in your own home, with a suitably experienced, screened, and trained childcare worker.
• As far as possible, a member of the same small team of workers will be allocated to your family for each booking made.

(Childcare workers do not carry out household tasks e.g. cleaning, laundry, etc.)

What The Service Costs

Families using the service are charged on a sliding scale according to household income. As the Service is registered through the Care Commission, families receiving Working Families Tax Credit may qualify for additional payments to help with childcare costs.

(Families using the service are charged on a sliding scale according to family income to try to make the service more accessible for low-income families. However, in common with other childcare services we have to maximize the income that we obtain from parental fees. This means that it may take longer to provide a service to low-income families, and some existing users may be asked to reduce their use of the service, especially whenever there are alternative kinds of childcare available.)

Families phone in bookings before Wednesday noon for shifts they require the following week, allowing for flexibility for shift workers. Families only pay for the hours they need each week. However, once a booking is made, all cancellations less than 48 hour notice require that staff must be paid.

All information supplied by registered families is confidential, and all workers sign and adhere to our confidentiality policy. All members of staff within the service are required to adhere to a number of regulatory policies that are available for parents inspection. The service is regulated through the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care (Care Commission), and a copy of the latest inspection report, is displayed within, and available from, the service office. Any compliments / complaints regarding the service should be made in the first instance to the service management team, and can also be forwarded to the Care Commission, Compass House, Riverside Drive, Dundee, DD1 4NY.

For further details / registration form for the service – Contact

Childcare@home Dundee
101 Whitfield Drive
Dundee
DD4 0DX
Tel: 01382 502 504
Fax: (01382) 507755
Email: info@opfsdundee.org.uk

Project Manager: Teresa Donaldson
Assistant Manager: Claire Bain
Project Worker: Jennifer Glass
Administrators: Dorothy Barr, Margaret Clark, Clare Young

Further Information & Updates

Update: 01 May 2002
Update: 12 September 2001

Click here to download Childcare @ Home Dundee's Annual Report 2003 (PDF; 626kb)
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