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Support for new childminders pays dividends

New childminders who receive peer mentoring from experienced childminders feel less isolated and are less likely to drop out during registration, an evaluation report of the Support Childminder Pathfinder Scheme has found. The National Childminding Association (NCMA) was contracted by the Sure Start Unit to run the 20m Government-funded scheme in seven pilot areas - Birmingham, Enfield, Leeds, Lewisham, Liverpool, Manchester and Medway.
New childminders who receive peer mentoring from experienced childminders feel less isolated and are less likely to drop out during registration, an evaluation report of the Support Childminder Pathfinder Scheme has found.

The National Childminding Association (NCMA) was contracted by the Sure Start Unit to run the 20m Government-funded scheme in seven pilot areas - Birmingham, Enfield, Leeds, Lewisham, Liverpool, Manchester and Medway.

The aim is to improve retention and recruitment through increasing support to new childminders.

Money was given to all local authorities to set up such schemes from April 2004. But while the NCMA has had enquiries from 127 authorities hoping to establish a scheme, some have not yet used the allocated money. The NCMA is now calling for all local authorities to set up a scheme as soon as possible.

In the pilot, new childminders were linked to a support childminder to help set up their business and provide support via phone calls and meetings for up to a year after registration.

Findings from the research carried out by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research show that half of the 111 childminders interviewed from the pilot areas found the support helpful.

Although one in five new childminders said they had considered dropping out, half of these said the support of the scheme encouraged them to continue. One childminder said, 'I found the help from my support childminder invaluable. I would otherwise have felt like quitting.'

Sue Sprott, the NCMA support childminding project co-ordinator, said, 'Although new childminders get lots of support from early years organisations, they often feel more comfortable talking to their support childminders and are more likely to approach them with the small, niggling things that concern them.

'The scheme has led to childminder drop-ins being better supported. We have heard that childminders in Medway are receiving better Ofsted reports.'

An NCMA seminar about the scheme is in London on 1 March and costs 70. For further details contact Erica Morgan on 01344 868 035 or e-mail erica.morgan@ncma.org.uk.

* Support Childminder Pathfinder Scheme: Evaluation Report September 2003 - November 2004 can be downloaded from www.surestart. gov.

uk/ensuringquality/research.