Warning that childminders could be lost from sector without more financial support

It comes after the Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a new Coronavirus job retention scheme on Friday, which does not include the self-employed.

The letters sent by 7,000 childminders are part of the Early Years Alliance’s Childminder Action campaign, launched on Saturday, which provided childminders with a letter template they could personalise with their individual concerns and send directly to their local MP.

As of this week, many childminders are facing full or partial closures due to the Government’s call for childcare settings to close to all but vulnerable children and those of key workers to slow the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19).

On Friday, the Chancellor announced the Government will allow all businesses to apply for grants to cover up to 80 per cent of staff salaries who are not working but kept on payroll for three months during the outbreak of the virus.

The scheme does not, however, apply to the self-employed, which includes childminders, who instead received increased benefits. Self-employed workers who are out of work will now be able to claim Universal Credit, which has been increased to the same rate as statutory sick pay (£94.25 per week).

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The Early Years Alliance warned without additional financial support in place, the sector may lose childminders altogether.

Chief executive Neil Leitch said, ‘There's no doubt that the Chancellor's announcement was hugely welcomed by many nurseries and pre-schools, a significant proportion of whom were facing the prospect of having to lay off staff as a result of the upcoming partial closures of childcare settings.

‘But like many of those currently self-employed, for the thousands of childminders around the country, the announcement was a cause for deep concern, not celebration. With most childminders heavily reliant on private parental fees, many are facing a huge drop in income from today, and more and more are having to make incredibly difficult decisions about whether or not they can afford to stay open at all.

‘Childminders are an absolutely critical part of the early years and if more isn't done to ensure that they are able to remain financially viable during this crisis, we may lose them from the sector altogether.

‘The fact that several thousands of childminders have written to their local MPs in a matter of hours clearly shows the strength of feeling on this issue. The Treasury has been more generous than many would have anticipated in supporting workers - we urge them to stretch that generosity just a little further.’

Petition for full pay for self-employed 

During the weekend, a petition on Change.org was also launched calling for the self-employed to receive full pay if they are unable to work.

The petition, which has more than 403,000 signatures, argues that the rate paid through universal credit is not enough and that HMRC should pay self-employed workers a rate that reflects their normal monthly take home salary.

• The petition is here 

Childminders urged to share financial concerns

Meanwhile, the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years (PACEY) has reminded childminders to respond to the Commons Treasury Committee’s call for evidence on whether the Government’s financial response to Coronavirus is sufficient.

Childminders must send evidence to the Committee of their financial situations by 5pm today.

• Email: tsc@parliament.uk

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