Don't call childminders to plug gaps

I was very interested to read the views of Rosemary Murphy, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association, on where childminders fit into the proposed children's centres ('Striking out', 29 January). She said she hoped the Kids' Clubs Network (now 4Children) would be involved in many local youth projects, while childminders may be brought into nurseries to link with the homeworker scheme. Then she added, 'When a parent works a 4pm to 10pm shift, the child could spend the afternoon at nursery before being taken home by a homeworker, fed, bathed and put to bed.'