Nursery World - Childminders drop out in advent of EYFS

The number of childminders has declined drastically in the past two years, amid fears that planned rises to Ofsted registration fees and the implementation of the Early Years Foundation Stage later this year could be driving many childminders out of the job.

The latest quarterly statistics from Ofsted show that at the end of March the number of registered childminders had dropped to 64,648. In March 2007 there were 69,925 and in March 2006 the figure stood at 71,600.

Nursery World spoke to many childminders who did not want to be named because they feared it could impact on their business, but said that the reason they were considering leaving childminding was directly related to the EYFS.

One childminder from Cheshire with 20 years' experience said that the parents of the children she cares for have offered to apply for an exemption to the EYFS.

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