Research by the SCMA reveals that the sector has lost 1,457 childminders in the last five years, during which time local authority nursery provision was expanded in the country to deliver the increase in funded childcare for three- and four-year-olds and eligible two-year-olds.
The SCMA warns that the decline in childminders has ‘significant’ implications for parental choice.
The SCMA’s findings are based on an audit of childcare providers in August and surveys of childminders and parents.
The association was commissioned by the Scottish Government in 2016, when plans to expand the funded hours were announced, to undertake an annual audit charting progress of all Scottish local authorities, including childminders, in the delivery of the 1,140 hours.
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