Few childminders taking up grants
James Tweed
Wednesday, January 7, 2004
Asustainability grant scheme to help childminders living in deprived areas in England has been only a limited success, a report for the Department for Education and Skills has revealed. The report, Assessing the operation and impact of the childminder sustainability grant, found that Early Years Development and Childcare Partnerships reported a low take-up of the grants, despite publicity.
The report, Assessing the operation and impact of the childminder sustainability grant, found that Early Years Development and Childcare Partnerships reported a low take-up of the grants, despite publicity.
However, childminders welcomed the scheme regardless of whether they had received the money or not, as they considered it a positive recognition of their value as childcare professionals.
The report said, 'Childminders who were interviewed commonly mentioned the low status of childminding. They had the sense that childminding was not always respected by the general public as a profession or business.'
The study also found tensions between childminders and early years partnerships. It said that childminders who were members of the National Childminding Association criticised some EYDCPs for not respecting their business status, while EYDCPs 'often argued that childminders themselves needed to be encouraged to treat their job more as a business before others would treat them as professionals' and that there were some childminders 'who still did not maintain a business mindset'.
The sustainability grant was introduced in April 2001, offering childminders in disadvantaged areas up to 100 a week for up to five weeks if they had an unfilled vacancy for more than two weeks. EYDCPs can also use the money to support childminders in a number of ways, including facilities for marketing childminders and their vacancies, buying new toys for local toy libraries, and using business support officers to help childminders develop business skills, which would have a 'long-term effect on their ability to remain in business'.
The report was based on nine case studies in the north and south of England and the Midlands, consisting of interviews with National Childminding Association and EYDCP members.
* Figures published by Ofsted show the number of registered childminders in England rose last year by 200 to 70,200 from June to the end of September.
There are also now 10,300 day nurseries, 11,500 pre-schools and playgroups, and 8,700 out-of-school providers.
