Registered Childminding
the Hidden Workforce caring for Children
with Additional Needs

National Childminding Week this year highlighted the work registered childminders do to support children’s speech, language and communication development.

A report published by the National Childminding Association (NCMA) revealed how many in the childminding workforce are caring for children with additional needs (including speech, language and communication) but are often left to their own devices to identify the information, resources and training they need to support this care. This article, prepared by NCMA, describes the report.

The report (1), based on the results of a survey of 200 of NCMA’s registered childminder members in England and Wales, shows that almost one in three (29%) of respondents were caring for children with a range of impairments, at the time the survey was conducted. Almost half of these respondents were caring for a child with an additional speech, language and communication need. The survey also revealed that 45% of those caring for children with impairments had undertaken additional specialist training to support the care they offered and 45% were part of a quality assured childminding network. (2)

The majority (82%) of childminders who responded to the survey stated that a disabled child’s parent is the key source of information and guidance but nearly half (41%) also relied on the Internet to find appropriate information and advice. Only a third saw their local Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership as a source of information, with NCMA, relevant charities and the local GP, hospital or health visitor stated as other sources of information.

Gill Haynes OBE, NCMA Chief Executive sees this as a missed opportunity, “A workforce of 72,500 committed individuals at the frontline of delivering children’s services should be supported in how they access information, training and support to care for children with additional needs. NCMA is working with some local authorities to integrate registered childminding into the services they offer for disabled children using Children Come First approved childminding networks, and our goal is that this should become the norm.

“In practice, however, it is still rare, and too often professionals working with children – in education, social and health services – view registered childminders as little more than regulated babysitters, despite the continued increase in the professionalism of registered childminding, childminders’ own investment in their training and development, regulation and increasing investment on childminding by Government.”

Gill Haynes concludes, “This report really only reveals the tip of the iceberg on this issue, and we strongly believe that a far larger proportion of registered childminders in England and Wales are providing a much needed but hidden childcare service for disabled children. We are keen to work with the Government, local authorities and other children’s professionals to ensure more is done to acknowledge and support the work registered childminders do to give all the children they care for get the best start in life.

“NCMA wants local authorities to ensure funding is available for quality assured Children Come First childminding networks to be linked to all children’s centres, so more registered childminders can receive support and training in this way; Government to fund research into registered childminders’ role in caring for disabled children and disseminate this to Children’s Trusts and other professionals and for greater recognition to be given to childminder’s work in this area in Government’s childcare strategy and other relevant policies.”