Once upon a time, childminders were sometimes seen as the poor relation of the early years sector, offering little more than glorified babysitting, but like Cinderella their status has been transformed. They are now widely regarded as an increasingly professional part of the childcare workforce with a major role to play in delivering the Government's ambitious childcare and early education programme.
The vehicle for change has not been a fairytale coach, but the development of quality assured childminding networks which have raised the status of childminders within the sector, with parents, other agencies and crucially among childminders themselves.
The network scheme was launched by the National Childminding Association (NCMA) in 1998 and since then more than 140 networks have gained approval, while nearly 100 more are in the approval process. Networks are formal groups of registered childminders who are assessed, recruited and monitored by a paid co-ordinator. They work to the standards of the NCMA's Children Come First quality assurance scheme.
Any childminders wanting to claim a nursery education grant have to be members of approved networks and accredited as delivering the Foundation Stage curriculum. The co-ordinator pays home visits to each member every six to eight weeks to monitor practice.
'Being a network member is about achieving something, it is about professional development. Part of the commitment in joining a network is to undertake ongoing training and continuous professional development,' says Chris Evans, National Childminding Network officer.
'The great plus point about childminding is its flexibility. The care is based in the community and is home-based. I think there is still a parental preference, particularly with very young children, to opt for home-based care. One of the greatest advantages of childminding is that siblings can be together -which is not possible in a group setting where children are divided according to their age.'
Career option
'Childminders who are recruited now view it as a serious career option,' says Kay Holden, manager of the Bradford Childminding network 'I have seen how network childminders are regarded more seriously by other agencies. For example, senior managers from the local social services contacted us to explore how childminders can help with their project for providing respite care for the over-eights. It is a huge change in culture and a great compliment to the professionalism of our childminders.'
The impact networks have had on childminding practice is the subject of a research project led by Sue Owen, director of the National Children's Bureau's Early Childhood Unit. She says, 'Childminding has clearly become more professional, which has led to the formation of networks. These in turn offer more professional forms of service, if you define a profession as something which has a strict entry criteria, includes training and qualifications, and is controlled by your peers.'
Certainly, the 2002-2003 Childcare and Early Years Workforce Survey published by the Sure Start Unit in May, indicates an increased interest in professional development with 61 per cent of childminders reporting they had undertaken training in the previous 12 months compared with 41 per cent in 2001.
'For many of the families who do not use a registered childminder, a myth still prevails that childminders just look after a child in their own home, ensuring they are safe and cared for,' says NCMA chief executive Gill Haynes. 'This shows that the 72,000 registered childminders in England and Wales are an integral and committed part of the professional childcare workforce and are offering a quality childcare service, and when accredited, early years education in a home-based setting.'
The survey reports that nearly two thirds of childminders hold a relevant qualification and a fifth are studying for a relevant qualification.
Status symbol
'Childminders can't feel valued by the amount of money they are earning,' says Ms Evans. 'But networks are one of the best ways of showing them that they are valued because they have become part of a quality assured professional workforce.
'Childminders join networks partly for the status they have. It is a recognition that they are professional and the fact that they can say, "We are quality assured, our practice is monitored, we have to be self-reflective, so we can improve our services".
'If there is a particular issue that comes to the fore in an area, childminders in a network are much more likely to be able to get some specific training. In the past they often felt excluded from training offered by local authorities because they couldn't easily attend.'
Networks are very flexible and their members provide a range of services to meet local needs including care for children with additional needs, early education, out-of-school care, community childminding and support for teen parents so they can return to school or college.
'It is a real success story,' says Ms Holden. 'We have a lot of projects, and lots of budgets. We have a group of childminders who are enthusiastic and committed, and can provide all these different services from their own homes so they are cost effective too. Although the costs of running the network may sound quite high with the co-ordinator's salary it is actually very cost-effective.'
The success of networks depends upon the qualities of the co-ordinators says Rosemary Szyszkowski, childcare development manager at Westminster City Council. 'My feeling is that when a childminding network is supported by somebody qualified in childcare it can work well. The Westminster network has really become self-supporting.'
Geographic location can also have a bearing on how a network operates, she believes. 'We have now seen that a network does work well when there is a clutch of members using the same drop-in centre so they meet up regularly and can support and encourage each other.'
Childminders feel that they are well placed to play a role in what the Government in its five-year strategy calls 'educare'. As Ms Evans says, 'It is all very well to offer a parent a 2.5 hours free session of early education but it is no good if the parent is working and the education is not linked to some provision of care. What happens to the child?
'We are talking about free places for three-year-olds. For some three-year-olds it is too much for them to go directly into a group-based setting, but with networks, we have childminders who can provide support to these children and offer the early years education sessions.'
Career ladder
Networks have improved retention, a perennial problem in the sector, and created a career ladder. 'Previously people maybe came into childminding as a stop-gap while their child was at home,' says Ms Evans. 'But when childminders have access to a network, it is seen as a profession and something through which they can develop their skills and raise their professional status.'
Childminders join networks, progress to become co-ordinators and some have moved into local authority early years teams where they champion their former colleagues.
'When new projects come on board, I make sure I am there promoting childminding to see what role we can play along with the other agencies,' says Ms Holden. 'We have been able to make a strong case for using quality- assured childminders with the local children's centres.
'The proposal is that in some disadvantaged areas we would like childminders to provide the childcare element of the services at the local children's centres. In some areas you could have almost a virtual children's centre by getting agencies working together to provide the inter-linked services but not needing all the infrastructure and buildings.'
Funding problems
Sustainability is a major issue, as with many childcare initiatives, because the Government's funding programme ended this year. Ms Owen says, 'My gut instinct is that sustainability will be a challenge. Because the Department for Education and Skills has dropped its targets relating to networks and it is now more open to local authorities to decide how they increase and improve childminding services.
'Government policy is that if we want to get people back into work, we need to have childcare in place,' says Ms Evans. 'I think most networks have proved their worth and will cope with issues of sustainability by getting involved with big public employers - the NHS, local police forces.
'Some existing NHS networks have had problems where members have had to fill vacancies rather than hold a place open for an NHS worker.'
But Cinderella's future looks rosy for the time being. As Ms Holden says, 'Although funding is not ring-fenced for networks, as long as the childcare strategy remains high on the political agenda, it is likely to continue.
This is due to the cost effectiveness of services provided by network childminders.'