A special report on: Childminding

Despite offering flexibility, high ratios and a home from home for thousands of children across the country, childminders have faced a devastating hit during the Covid-19 pandemic.

A survey by PACEY in March found that fewer than half of childminders that closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic planned to re-open within the year.

Ofsted’s most recent statistics found that the 36,600 childminders in the country on 31 August 2020 had reduced by 1,800 (5 per cent) to just 34,800 by 31 March 2021. This continues a longer-term downward trend, with 13,100 (27 per cent) fewer childminders than on 31 August 2015.

A decrease in the numbers of all types of childcare providers during these periods is overwhelmingly due to the declining numbers of childminders, who make up nearly half of all registered providers. In the past two years, a 5 per cent (2019–20) and 6 per cent (2020–21) decrease in their numbers has been noted, while the number of providers on non-domestic premises has remained fairly stable.

With the closure of educational and childcare settings to all but the children of key workers, or vulnerable children, most providers either closed or saw significant reductions in the number of children attending, meaning their income was drastically reduced.

Early Years Alliance chief executive Neil Leitch explains, ‘Given the limited scope for flexibility in staffing, childminders had a particularly difficult time during the pandemic, as they may have stayed open for just one or two key workers, making it difficult to pay themselves.

‘Many childminders are self-employed and, as a result, had no access to furlough. Many qualified for very little under the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme, since four of the five instalments were based on profit, and the majority of a childminder’s income goes to pay their own wages. Some continue to do the job, even where their earnings fall well below the minimum wage, but the situation has put further pressure on childminders to close.’

LOW PROFILE

During Covid, as new policies were being announced left, right and centre, childminders often seemed to be left at the bottom of the list for consideration.

Leitch adds, ‘Childminders are a vital part of our early education and care system – but when conversations in Parliament and the media focus on nurseries and pre-schools, the public would be forgiven for not understanding that these are high-quality, Ofsted-registered early care and education providers, and experts in child development, just like the rest of the early years sector workforce.’

Ofsted registered childminder Rebecca Martland agrees. ‘The Government talks about valuing us, but they don’t put their money where their mouth is. We’re often the add-on to a policy. Whenever something new is issued, the Early Years Alliance or PACEY have to go back and ask specifically about childminders. We’re constantly having to remind Government of our unique qualities and why you can’t just apply a blanket policy, because it doesn’t work.’

Liz Bayram, chief executive at PACEY, says a targeted Government campaign is needed to raise the profile of childminders. ‘We need urgent Government action to support current childminders to remain in the sector, and a focused campaign to persuade more people that becoming a childminder is a valued and rewarding career choice,’ she says.

‘NOT A BABYSITTER’

A 2018 campaign run by PACEY, PACEY Cymru, the Northern Ireland Childminding Association, Childminding Ireland and the Scottish Childminding Association aimed to raise awareness of the professionalism of childminding by myth-busting various views of the career and is often referred to as the ‘Not a Babysitter’ campaign.

However, dismissive views of the job persist. Martland explains, ‘I think there is still that perception of childminders at home putting children in front of the TV, not as professional educators. And actually, I think sometimes childminders perpetuate that, not by sitting children in front of the TV, but by failing to see themselves as professional educators, so not marketing themselves accordingly. I think we sometimes denigrate our own profession a little bit.’

Brett Wigdortz, founder of childminder agency Tiney, adds, ‘It’s a very old-fashioned sort of brand. It sounds like something your grandmother would do. It needs to be updated for the 2020s and be made much fresher.’

Tiney, therefore, offers a ‘tech-first’ approach.

‘There’s really no tech aspect to childminding usually, people still tend to do everything on a pad of paper,’ Wigdortz explains. ‘But people are used to using their smartphones for everything nowadays, and we want to help childminders use that too, so they’re not spending a lot of time doing administrative work.’

NEW MODELS

Other new childminding models are starting to surface in an attempt to ‘build back better’.

Martland says the childminding playbook is gradually being rewritten. ‘We are seeing new models emerging, like the idea of childcare on domestic premises, which is really mini nurseries but in a home environment,’ she says.

‘There are an increasing number of childminders who are working with assistants, which means they can expand and increase places. Garden cabins or garage conversions help childminders create more of a work-life balance.’

The pandemic has actively enabled some new ways of working for childminding businesses, such as Nursery World’s Childminding Business of the Year award winner Playhood in north London, which offers a workspace for parents alongside a Montessori ‘micro-nursery’. Founder Karen Partridge explains, ‘Covid transformed many parents’ working patterns and lifestyle. With a growing number able to work from home, it made sense to build a base for parents to work on site into our model.’

Partridge set up the business after a career in community innovation and the public and charity sectors. ‘I’m a parent, I had this space and was willing to make some investment. What I tried to do was use the childminder vehicle to bring in trained early years teachers and develop a completely new, hybrid model, more akin to a nursery in its space, expertise and management style, but with the scale and homeliness of childminding.

‘I partnered with a phenomenal Montessori teacher with years of nursery experience who was looking for a leadership role. Playhood is essentially her micro-nursery, a place where she can experiment and adapt, without financial risk or the business burden. In return, I’m relishing running a profitable and innovative business, while enjoying my son’s early years.’

CHILDMINDING AGENCIES

It is no surprise to anyone in the sector that pay, funding and prestige represent a challenge, but for childminders there can be particular pressure as they are a one-man band, responsible for their own resources, registration, premises, policies, finances and marketing, as well as of course ensuring quality care and education. This can lead to feelings of isolation and a lack of support.

Childminder agencies (CMAs) are in part set up to help with that, taking over the Ofsted registration themselves and providing a community of other childminders.

Martland explains, ‘We now have more and more childminder agencies, which when launched were an incredibly unpopular idea, but an increasing number of childminders who are dissatisfied with Ofsted are migrating to them.’

Rachel Carrell, chief executive of agency Koru Kids, adds, ‘Childminders should be respected and paid as professionals, get strong community and social support, excellent quality training, not have to worry about paperwork and back office, and spend their time focused on children.’

Ofsted is keen to note that although the number of childminders registered with it has been falling steadily, they can now register with CMAs too. However, as yet, there are just seven agencies registered with the inspectorate.

Wigdortz predicts the pool of CMAs will grow, but admits the area is not an obvious sell for entrepreneurs looking to invest.

‘Early years is often seen as the least sexy part of education, and childminding as particularly old-fashioned, so that might be why it hasn’t drawn as many entrepreneurs as other parts of the sector,’ he says.

‘To me, though, childminding is the most exciting part because it’s the most scalable. Childminding is the one area where parents can pay an affordable rate and practitioners can earn a good salary. It’s the only sweet spot in the early years market.’

Carrell is similarly optimistic about the financial benefits of the childminding market. ‘You can earn a lot more as a childminder. People can make up to £50,000 a year, which you are not going to get working in nurseries. And you can be your own boss.’

GROWING INTEREST?

Like Tiney, which reported 2,000 enquiries from prospective childminders in six weeks during lockdown, Koru is actually seeing large numbers of keen new recruits.

‘Although many people are exiting the sector, fundamentally a lot of people are reassessing their relationship to work and home,’ says Carrell.

And with plenty of people now looking to redefine the childminding brand, the success of new models could help the profession reimagine itself and blossom.

At Playhood, Partridge says it can now afford to look at how to go even further. ‘A year in and the model is thriving. We have a long waiting list and are interested in supporting others to build similar models,’ she says.

CASE STUDY: Jessica Hussey, childminder with Koru Kids

‘My youngest child was about to start school and I was thinking of something I could do that I could fit around my family, because not many places will hire a mum who can only commit to a certain number of hours a day. I love working with children, and I feel very strongly about outdoor learning and the Montessori approach, so I stumbled across childminding. Childminders are so unique for the time and attention they can provide, and for me that’s everything, because when a child feels seen and heard, they can really blossom.

‘I was actually setting up prior to Covid, but I’m glad I didn’t manage to set up then, because everything shut down. I wanted to go back to it after lockdown, but decided to find an agency because I was more aware that I didn’t want to be alone in the process.

‘When you run your own business, you’re on your own anyway, but with childminding, you’re completely isolated; it’s just you and the children. I wanted to know that someone had my back if I had questions. With Koru, we have a group chat with lots of other childminders where we can talk to other people who are going through the same thing.

‘I also found the whole idea of registering with Ofsted really complicated, stressful and overwhelming. The whole idea freaked me out. But because Koru are registered, they’re allowed to conduct their own assessments, and when they did, it was so friendly and supportive, it felt like we were two friends having a chat. They also visit your house to visualise how you can improve it, making suggestions about little areas you can use that you might not have thought of. Of course, Ofsted don’t want you to fail, but you don’t know them, and they almost have a police vibe about them.

‘It’s totally different with an agency because they handle everything for you, and you get to just focus on the children.’