News

20th June 2005

Childminders are 'the hidden workforce' caring for children with special needs

National Childminding Week 18-25th June is launched today with the theme "Make Chatter Matter".

The week is highlighting the work registered childminders do to support children’s speech, language and communication development

A survey of 200 members of the National Childminding Association (NCMA) published today reveals that many childminders 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.

One in three surveyed were caring for children with a wide range of impairments with almost half caring for a child with an additional speech, language and communication need.

The survey also revealed that 45 per cent of those caring for children with impairments had undertaken additional specialist training to support the care they offered and 45 per cent were part of a quality assured childminding network.

Eighty two per cent that a disabled child’s parent is the key source of information and guidance but nearly half (41 per cent) also relied on the Internet to find appropriate information and advice.

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.

"This is 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."

Working in partnership with I CAN, the charity that helps children communicate, NCMA is encouraging its 48,000 childminder members to “Make Chatter Matter” by holding Chatterbox Challenge events. In these sponsored ‘chat-alongs,’ children are sponsored to tell a story, recite a poem, sing a song or tell a joke and achieve their own Chatterbox Challenge.

Gill Haynes says, "We are delighted to be working with I CAN on this important project this year. They have already recognised the major influence early years workers, including registered childminders, can have on speech, language and communication development, through their UK wide network of early years centres and such initiatives as their video training resource, I CAN Talk!"

She says that the NCMA report is only the tip of the iceberg and is urging the government to provide funding and training.

"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."

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