LONG READ: Closure of childminder agencies sparks doubts about the future of the model

• One childminder agency has announced its closure, while another has 'paused' its service, leaving hundreds of childminders having to re-register with one of the remaining five agencies – two of which have no members – or register with Ofsted.
• The sector has criticised the childminder agency model, questioning its financial viability.

The viability of the childminder agency model has been called into question following the news that one childminder agencies is to close and another is no longer taking on members, leaving just six remaining, some of which have no members.

Rutland Early Years Agency announced earlier this month that it will close at the end of November following a second ‘ineffective’ Ofsted grade. One criticism by the inspectorate was that the agency had failed to carry out yearly quality assurance visits to all of its 700-plus childminders.

The assurance visits, which are a requirement expected of childminder agencies, have now been heavily criticised by those involved with agencies and the wider sector for being out of step with Ofsted’s inspection regime, which sees it inspecting independent childminders every four to six years unless a concern is raised.

However, the Department for Education (DfE) told Nursery World that Ofsted inspections and childminder agencies’ quality assurance visits are ‘very different’, with the latter being ‘less detailed’.

DfE advice

Koru Kids’ childminder agency is 'suspending' its service due to the ‘regulations for childminder agencies not being set up to ensure agencies can become financially sustainable’.

The news has left hundreds of childminders who were members of the agencies in a situation where they are forced to register with one of the remaining agencies or independently with Ofsted, which could take weeks, or leave the profession altogether.

At the time of the announced closure of Rutland, the DfE, which is keen to boost the number of childminders within the sector, said it was ‘doing everything it can to support those affected by the closure and wanted to make sure everyone who wants to is able to stay in the profession’.

It added that it had written to local authorities to encourage them to continue to fund Rutland’s childminders until the agency’s closure and encourage them, along with Ofsted, to process the necessary checks for childminders re-registering.

The DfE has now published advice for members who want to register independently with Ofsted.

‘Financially unsustainable’

Koru Kids’ childminder agency, also known as Rua Kids, came under fire after it was revealed that the Prime Minister’s wife holds shares in the business, following an announcement that new childminders joining agencies will receive larger financial incentives than those who register independently.

A thread on Mumsnet suggests that Koru Kids stopped accepting new childminders in May.

One user said that she had completed her childminder training with the company after two months only to be told that it is no longer accepting any more applicants.

In June, the chief executive of Koru Kids, Rachel Carrell, told Grazia magazine it had made the decision to suspend its childminding ‘support service’.

She said the reason behind the move was because the ‘regulations are not currently set up to support childminding agencies becoming financially sustainable’, and that the financial incentive for new childminders ‘didn’t make much difference’.

Carrell added, ‘Childminding agencies have to do everything Ofsted does and more, but without anywhere near the funding Ofsted gets for the task. Our childminding service is a very small part of the Koru Kids business – only 87 out of thousands of childcarers – but it’s near to my heart.’

Rachel Carrell told Nursery World, 'Despite pausing our Home Nursery service, Koru Kids is still a huge supporter of the childminding agency model. The system right now clearly doesn't work, but we're hopeful that the current Government review of childminding agency regulations will lead to changes that will make it possible for us to support childminders again in the future.'

Rutland Early Years Agency

Following two consecutive ‘ineffective’ grades from Ofsted, Rutland Early Years Agency, which claims to be the biggest childminder agency with 728 members, has decided to shut at the end of November.

Rutland said it had lodged an appeal with Ofsted, but the grade was upheld, suggesting, it said, that the inspection process may have been ‘flawed’.

A spokesperson for the agency went on to say it had made the ‘heartbreaking’ decision to close because the ‘grading brings ongoing uncertainty to its community and financial pressures to Rutland as a business’.

‘These factors, along with a lack of urgency from Government to address the regulatory blockers stopping agencies from operating on a level playing field, meant we had no choice but to shut,’ the spokesperson added.

Ofsted report

Ofsted’s report for Rutland, published on 6 September, states, ‘Leaders have not ensured that all childminders registered with them have received a statutory annual quality assurance visit. The agency’s records indicate that this affects around 10 per cent of their childminders.

‘The length of time these visits are overdue varies between a few weeks to more than two years. This demonstrates a lack of oversight by leaders into how quality assurance visits have been prioritised.’

It goes on to say, ‘The agency’s revised quality assurance framework is not yet precise enough to support childminders to plan and deliver an appropriate curriculum for early years children. Additionally, it does not support the early years consultants to make accurate assessments of the quality of care and early education children are receiving.’

It also criticises the ‘oversight of consultants’ written evidence and reports that lack challenge and scrutiny’, and says ‘leaders are placing too much confidence in the assessments made of [a] childminder’s practice under their previous framework, which was judged not to be effective at the prior inspection’.

Rutland Early Years Agency is run by Sam Hearth and Melanie Pitkeathly and shares a director in common, Brett Wigdortz, with another childminding agency, Tiney, which is still operational.

Wigdortz became a director of Rutland last November, around a month after the two childminder agencies partnered together and Rutland received its first ‘ineffective’ rating from Ofsted.

In February, Tiney said it had partnered with Rutland to ‘offer both communities the best bits of each agency’.

A spokesperson for Tiney said it won’t be affected by the closure of Rutland and that it had ‘welcomed hundreds of new childminders over the last few months’.

‘As a strategic partner, we stand ready to support Rutland however we can’

They added, ‘It’s heartbreaking that Rutland is closing. As a strategic partner, we stand ready to support Rutland however we can. Should any of their childminders want to, we are ready to welcome them into the Tiney community so they can continue to run their businesses without disruption.’

Tiney told Nursery World it is waiving its joining fee for any Rutland members to ‘help reduce any barriers to transition they may face’.

The spokesperson added, ‘We do believe this should be a wake-up call for the Government, however. Childminding agencies, who are responsible for their own regulatory costs, are not operating on a level playing field with Ofsted. This is stymying growth in what could be a thriving market. We desperately need more childminders in this country, but the Government has been too slow to remove barriers and boost innovation.’

Helen Donohoe, chief executive of PACEY, commented, ‘We know it has been an incredibly worrying time for childminders at Rutland, given the outcome of the latest Ofsted inspection, and we are doing all we can to support those that have contacted us. Childminders need to know that their business will not be adversely affected by the closure of agencies, and more importantly the children in their care should not lose out on their education, so we are calling for continuity and swiftness so childminders can re-register and keep delivering their service.’

Just six childminder agencies will now remain – however, three of these have no members. The six agencies are:

• Tiney.
• Koru Kids - the agency has suspended its service and is taking on no new members.
• Suffolk Childcare Agency.
• City Childcare – the agency, established in June 2015, has no members.
• Orange Moon Childcare Community Interest Company t/a @Home Childcare.
• Daryel Care – established in December 2014, it has no members.

Consulting on ways to make it easier to become a childminder

A DfE spokesperson said, ‘Ofsted’s inspections and childminder agencies’ (CMA) quality assurance visits are very different. CMAs have a close relationship with their providers, and this allows for an annual process that is more frequent, but less detailed than Ofsted’s less frequent visits.

‘More widely we are focused on increasing the number of childminders operating in this rewarding career, through whichever route they choose, which is why we will soon be opening our start-up grant of £600 to those who register with Ofsted and £1,200 to those who register with CMAs. Alongside this, we will consult on ways to make it easier to become and operate as a childminder, including reducing registration times to around ten weeks.’

CASE STUDY: member of Rutland childminder agency

A member of Rutland childminder agency who is now going through the process of registering directly with Ofsted said she believes it was an ‘arguably impossible task’ for Rutland to visit all 728 childminder members in a year’. Also, that it is a ‘ridiculous measure’ expected of agencies when Ofsted goes ‘several years, nearing on a decade in some cases, without visiting a childminder, and that is accepted’.

She went on to highlight how Ofsted registration fees are ‘highly subsidised as the £35 a year would not even cover the cost of one phone call to the inspectorate, yet childminding agencies are designed to be self-funding.’

The childminder added, ‘There is far too much emphasis on what might happen and absolutely no focus on what has actually been achieved in the past eight years. Rutland was a beacon of hope for childminders, many of whom had been allegedly misjudged by Ofsted.

‘This whole situation since January 2023 has called into question the validity of the childminder agency model. If it is at the mercy of Ofsted, then why would anyone continue to be registered with an agency, especially when they can take their chances every three to ten years with Ofsted and at a fraction of the cost of being with an agency. What protection and support does belonging to an agency bring?’

• This story was updated on Friday 29 September at 12:15pm following a response from Koru Kids.