'Mum, I've had the most terrifying nightmare. I dreamed that Sandra told me she was moving out of the village so there would be no-one to look after Bea and Flo. What would I do?' My daughter was distraught at the mere thought that her childminder might no longer be available. Her family, like six others, depend on the amazing Sandra to maintain that tricky balance of work and family life.
And this is true of childminders the length and breadth of the land. I have seen so much change in the 20 years that I have been involved in childminding, but still parents sing the praises of childminders, children adore childminders - and childminders find their job rewarding.
Parents' choices
Parents make childminding their childcare choice because of the continuity it offers. They appreciate childminders' flexibility and the way they accommodate siblings together. Another appealing factor is that their child can become part of the local community, getting to know the children they will later go to school with.
Having adults in your life who are stable and reliable is the foundation of children's emotional well-being. For many children, their childminder is one of their significant adults who provide that stability.
Observation and planning are the basis of quality provision, and in home-based childcare each child gets individual attention. Working with a small group of children means that childminders can appreciate thoroughly the details of where each child is in their development, and what interests them. They are able to offer experiences and activities that help each child to learn while having fun. Their flexibility means they can readily adapt their plans.
Being a childminder may not be the way to making your first million, but it brings rewards of a different kind. Childminders become very special people to the children they care for - and to their entire families. They help to provide children with secure, healthy and enjoyable childhoods and they make a key contribution to the foundations of children's future lives.
Childminders talk about their joy in watching babies grow into confident children and how the relationship can continue into the child's school years.
Some childminders find themselves offering support of many kinds to parents - from simple information like 'that rash looks like chicken pox', to practical and sympathetic support through difficult times in life.
Changing status
In the mid-1980s, childminding had low status and little respect from the public at large and within the childcare field. Today it is well regarded by fellow professionals and the Government. The changes and developments of the past 20 years have driven up the quality of childminding provision and highlighted its value.
Perhaps the most significant change has been in the availability of training. Work between the National Childminding Association and the Open University in the early 1980s highlighted the particular training needs of childminders, and led eventually to the development of the CACHE level 3 Certificate in Childminding Practice (now revised as the Diploma in Home-based Childcare). The courses, run across England and Wales, help childminders to reflect on the way they work and develop their knowledge and understanding of what high-quality childcare should be like.
The other major development has been in childminding networks, which give members the support and leadership of the network co-ordinator and access to relevant training. A breakthrough in the rising status for childminding was when accredited child- minders became eligible for the Government's nursery education grant.
Childminding today is poised for new challenges and opportunities to go on building a quality childcare service this country can be proud of. May it continue to flourish! NW
Sue Griffin was formerly National Training and Quality Assurance Manager for the National Childminding Association, and is the author of Getting Started in Home-based Childcare for childminders and nannies
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