Positive Relationships: Engaging childminders - Vital links

It's a win-win situation when children's centres work in partnership with their local registered childminders.

Children's centres can give valuable support to childminders' businesses and, in return, they can help increase the childcare choices on offer to parents, including disadvantaged and vulnerable families. This could be a valuable asset as children's centres prove their worth to the coalition Government and stave off funding cuts.

'Being strongly involved with childminders means that we can offer another dimension and another childcare option for parents,' says Joanne Smith, co-ordinator at Stoneycroft Children's Centre, Liverpool. 'We already offer on-site daycare, but childminders can help fill the gaps in provision, because they are able to offer more flexibility.

'They can provide wraparound care for older children and in the school holidays, and some even offer evening and weekend care, which can suit the needs of some families much better than a nursery.

'Also, not all children are suited to daycare; they benefit more from having the home base that a childminder offers. We know which childminders have vacancies and can explain their work, and put parents in touch with them through the centre's Childcare Chat sessions.'

PLUS POINTS

A survey by the National Childminding Association (NCMA) last year found that nine out of ten children's centres offer some level of engagement with childminders, but that this was often only a superficial relationship that gave childminders no real say in the organisation.

Only 15 per cent involved childminders in meetings with centre staff, while 20 per cent of centres invited childminders to meetings with other stakeholders. Childminders were given a role on the management board in 17 per cent of centres.

At Stoneycroft Children's Centre, an NCMA 'Children Come First' childminding network is integrated into its services, and the childminding network co-ordinator, Sue Farmer, is a member of the centre's team. Childminders also sit on Stoneycroft's board to represent the PVI sector. They have a say on how the children's centre budget is spent and how best to engage with the community.

'The services offered by the children's centre and childminders all link up to help one another,' she says. 'For example, some of the childminders look after the children of parents who are undertaking work placements at the centre. Childminders can also access services that the children's centre offers, such as parent and toddler groups, stay and play sessions, and help with financial matters. There is also a drop-in for childminders one day a week, where they can do activities with the children and receive EYFS support.'

As well as offering childcare places, network childminders can work towards early years accreditation to provide children's centres with home-based early years education places.

IN PARTNERSHIP

NCMA project manager Maureen Harwood says engagement between children's centres and childminders in Doncaster has 'come a long way' in the past five years since the early years service commissioned the association to provide a supporting childminders' scheme.

'At the outset, children's centre staff did not understand childminders or the principles behind childminding. Five years ago, there was an old- fashioned view of childminders; they did not realise what qualifications and training they hold and what they do for the children,' she explains.

Ms Harwood picked up on this lack of knowledge and held a presentation evening to outline what services children's centres can offer childminders and vice versa. She compiled information files for each children's centre in her area explaining registered childminders' qualifications, the Ofsted inspection process and what care they could offer. The files have helped to educate children's centre staff and are also shown to parents.

'It was a real eye-opener for many,' says Ms Harwood. 'There are some very high quality childminders in Doncaster. One children's centre manager saw the portfolio and was amazed at what they do.'

Now, all Doncaster's children's centres work in partnership with local registered childminders, and it's a similar story in Kent (see box above). NCMA project manager Marice Cass says, 'Initially, people in children's centres thought of childminders as parents, not as childcare professionals. It's been hard to get over, but they now understand the training, qualifications and registration process.

'Some centre managers expected that childminders would want to base themselves at the centres, but that would never work, because they offer a home-based service with a cosy atmosphere. We took managers out to visit childminders at home to see how they work.'

Encouraged by Kent County Council, childminders now enjoy good links with children's centres. 'There is a high level of childminders rated outstanding and good in Kent,' says Ms Cass. 'I think that linking with children's centres has had a strong part to play in this.'

CASE STUDIES

Doncaster

Doncaster children's centres offer childminders a range of services, including a mentor scheme that provides a hub for advice, training and support. A linked mentor at every children's centre can support new childminders through their training and registration. Ofsted refers childminders in need of additional support to the service, or they can self-refer.

The children's centres hold childminder drop-in sessions at which children can engage in activities and childminders can network. This has proved a successful way of disseminating good practice, local information and legislation changes.

Consultant teachers provide training sessions for childminders too, and some centres ask childminders to attend specialised training along with their staff.

Children's centres pay childminders to care for children while their parents access training or support services for a few hours, whether in the children's centre or at home. Some families have gone on to employ the childminder themselves. Some centres also work with the childminding network and recommend minders to care for children with disabilities who are considered better placed in a home setting.

Doncaster has the highest concentration of Travellers in England. Children's centres and childminders are working in partnership with the Ethnic Minority Traveller Achievement Service (EMTAS) to help engage the Traveller community with early years provision. Travellers have previously been hostile to early years services, so childminders visit the sites with the EMTAS children's services representatives and explain their work. Some are now caring for Traveller children because the childminders have made that link and helped to bridge the gap between the families and children's centres.

Kent

A strong relationship has developed between children's centres and childminders through NCMA visits to new centres by project managers and regular focus meetings with centre managers.

All 97 children's centres across Kent run childminding portfolios and most also host childminder groups.

'Traditionally, groups for childminders were held in community centres or church halls, where they had to set up and put away,' says NCMA project manager Marice Cass. 'Through the children's centres, they now have wonderful equipment that is all laid out in play link rooms. They do not have to worry about saving up for resources.'

Qualified teachers attend the groups to provide practical training, while development workers help with the business and legal side of their practice.

Childminders are now considered part of the children's centre childcare offer. Network minders are linked to each centre and offer places for under-threes at centres where there is only pre-school provision, provide free nursery education places or help families in crisis by offering short-term, short-notice care.

In some centres, childminders now organise parent and toddler groups when they are not minding children.

ON OFFER

Services that children's centres can offer childminders include:

• a toy library service
• a vacancy-matching service, giving parents an increased choice of childcare
• the use of centre facilities, such as a room for drop-in sessions or photocopying
• training tailored to the needs of childminders, or places at training on offer through the centre
• a childminder representative at centre staff meetings.

Services that childminders can offer children's centres include:

• provision of additional linked childcare places, including places for older children and those with special education needs, and free nursery education places
• flexible hours in a home environment
• dissemination of information to the wider community
• developing partnership working and playing an active role on a management board.

FURTHER INFORMATION

The Children's Centre Engagement Tool has been developed by the NCMA to highlight how children's centres and registered childminders can best work together: www.ncma.org.uk/partnerships/childrens_centres.aspx.