The UK Government continues to make huge public investments supporting working families with their childcare needs. Childminders are seen as a vital part of meeting the need for more childcare places. At a recent Department for Education roadshow with childminders, early years minister Stephen Morgan said childminders ‘nurture and kindle those first interests and curiosity to start a lifelong love of learning’.
Currently childminders represent 48 per cent of providers, which sounds substantive. However, this equates to 12 per cent of all childcare places in England. Additionally, there has been a steady decline in childminders over the last decade.
Understanding what is currently happening with childminders is essential for meeting sufficiency in the sector. Recent figures from Ofsted show the attrition is caused by more childminders leaving the role than those choosing to register. Only 880 joined the sector in 2022, compared with 1,265 in 2021. Between March 2022 and 2023, numbers fell by 3,500 (11 per cent).
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