Co-ordinating links

* As the childminding network co-ordinator, Micky Waters is at the heart of the process of integrating children's and families' services at the St Albans children's centre in Hertfordshire. Under an arrangement involving the local childcare partnership and the National Childminding Association (NCMA), her post is funded and she is part of the centre's management team. 'When any policies or events come up, I am in a position to put the case for the childminders. We have a childminding group which meets here - most of them are part of a childminding network - and I can assess and monitor...