Recent media reports have linked the downturn in registered childminder numbers to the imminent arrival of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). This is in sharp contrast with the feedback that the National Childminding Association (NCMA) has received from registered childminders in recent months.
These childminders are preparing for EYFS with enthusiasm, recognising how it builds on their existing practice and seeing it as a further opportunity to demonstrate that they are working to the same standards as other childcarers. Something, sadly, childminders still have to tell some parents and children's professionals.
So, bearing in mind that things are never as simple as they seem, it's important to start by considering if the EYFS is really the only reason that more than 6,000 childminders have left the profession in the past two years.
Ofsted's latest figures show that every type of childcare has seen a reduction in places in the past two years, with the exception of full-daycare. So once again we have the dual challenges of changing childcare markets and provider sustainability.
Most registered childminders are single-person businesses, working from home and turning over an average of ú7,000 a year. They are not making a profit, merely managing to make ends meet so they can stay in the profession they love. As the latest NCMA membership survey shows, 10 per cent of our members have vacancies for six months or more. Therefore, further action is needed to ensure that registered childminders' and other providers' services are fully utilised before new provision is developed.
Alongside sustainability issues, earlier this year all providers faced the prospect of an increase to the Ofsted registration fee. This is of concern to thousands of childminders, who worry that they will not be able to afford this proposed increase. The NCMA has campaigned against it and we are awaiting the decision. But it is clear that this increase, together with EYFS, has made some childminders question whether they should continue.
While Ofsted is still registering around 1,000 new childminders a month, some longer-serving childminders are leaving to pursue new careers; for example, as teaching assistants or in children centre teams. While that is good news for the children's sector in general, a key motivator to change role is a lack of fair reward.
The Government and the sector in general has yet to address how best to reward practitioners who are charged with the responsibility of caring for our children, required to take on new regulation and responsibility and ensure childcare that remains affordable. There are no quick fixes, but it is something we need to solve or we risk losing the individuals most needed to achieve the 10-year childcare strategy: registered childcare providers.
Support needed
Childminder worries about EYFS should not, however, be underestimated. Most of them are not on a quality improvement network, with the support it brings, and many do not have Birth to Three Matters training. For them, EYFS is a daunting prospect.
Local authorities and the Department for Children, Schools and Families still have a significant community of concerned childminders to reach with the information and support they need to understand EYFS and to be reassured that this weighty document can translate into their existing practice.
The NCMA is working hard to ensure information is available to its members, but the key remains access to EYFS training. And it is clear from some local authority workshops - when training is delivered well - that most childminders' concerns are allayed.
Many local authorities are being very innovative, running training at weekends and during the evenings, as well as in bite-size modules, to avoid information overload for practitioners. They are providing training for all providers and tailored sessions for different types of provider.
However, at the other end of the spectrum, some childminders have been trained alongside local college heads, who have extremely different information needs. It is quite clear that the most positive experience comes from childminders who are trained together, because this enables them to share experiences.
For example, the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham's Early Years and Childcare Service has already ensured that 140 registered childminders have attended EYFS awareness sessions run in partnership with the NCMA. They have then arranged follow-on workshops. Each workshop is run three times, in three areas of the borough and on different evenings to ensure that as many registered childminders as possible can attend.
In North Tyneside, an EYFS childminding conference was attended by 70 childminders. This is being followed up with six two-day workshops delivered in different locations, with the aim of reaching 150 childminders. The evaluations (below) from these workshops offer hope to any childminder worried about EYFS.
- 'I have a better understanding of EYFS and I am confident to link it to observations'
- 'I now have confidence to carry on childminding'
- 'I can capture EYFS evidence in a scrapbook I develop with the children'
Any childminder who is worried about EYFS should contact their local authority (if they have not heard from them already) to join the workshops. If they have already been held, contact the local authority anyway, as many are doing follow-up sessions or running more later in the year. These are aimed at reaching childminders whose first EYFS style inspection will be later (in 2009).
Not enough time?
Childminders have also voiced concerns that EYFS will mean more paperwork and that they will be required to record observations or complete the new Self Evaluation Form. The consequences would mean they have less time for the primary part of being a childminder - playing with the children.
The NCMA is currently working with Ofsted to produce Who Minds Extra - a magazine dedicated to what EYFS will mean for childminding. It will be sent free to every childminder in England in July and, among other things, will offer practical advice on dealing with paperwork. Plus, childminders who have already undergone a pilot EYFS inspection will share their experience (see case study).
Again, the awareness training can help, as childminders have the chance to explore how they can record observations. For example, most childminders keep weekly diaries of the activities they do with the children, so they can share them with parents and link them with the early learning goals. Others say they might develop a scrapbook they can create with each of the children and link this to the goals.
So, on balance, with information and training, most childminders should come to view the EYFS as an opportunity, not a threat. It should be an opportunity to build on their existing practice, support planning and observation and, through this, continue to provide child-led activities that respond to the individual needs of children.
The bonus is that they will be working in the same way as other registered providers, showing that while childminding may be different, it is equal to that of other registered childcare.
CASE STUDIES
Soraya Khan from Woking has been a childminder for 24 years. She says she is glad EYFS is compulsory for registered childminders. 'I think it is important to update and reflect on your practice, so you can offer the best possible service to children and their parents. EYFS will help you to do that. I like the way it takes the child's interests into account. You observe more and the planning is more spontaneous, according to the child's interest.'
Helen King from Felixstowe had a pilot inspection. 'My first reaction was that I did not have to do as much paperwork as I had anticipated. As an accredited childminder, it fitted in with what I already do. The Ofsted inspector made clear that a quick note or photo of an activity - a "wow" moment for a child - would be fine, no need to write a side of A4. So for me, this was a very positive move.
'I also completed the self-evaluation form (SEF), taking time to include lots of information about my setting, because I knew the inspector would be using this to plan her inspection. When she arrived, she didn't start by asking me for this file and that, she knew where it all was from my SEF. Instead, she spent time observing how I cared for the children.'
TOP TIPS
- Get a copy of the EYFS pack
- Take time to read it, preferably with other childminders
- Attend your local authority training or briefing session
- Make full use of the EYFS DVD and guidance booklet, it is full of useful advice on both planning and observation
- Use all of this information to consider how you can adapt what you already do to meet EYFS
- Most of all, don't panic - give EYFS a chance.