The latest quarterly statistics from Ofsted show that at the end of March the number of registered childminders had dropped to 64,648. In March 2007 there were 69,925 and in March 2006 the figure stood at 71,600.
Nursery World spoke to many childminders who did not want to be named because they feared it could impact on their business, but said that the reason they were considering leaving childminding was directly related to the EYFS.
One childminder from Cheshire with 20 years' experience said that the parents of the children she cares for have offered to apply for an exemption to the EYFS.
The childminder said she wrote to her local MP about her concerns, which were passed on to children's minister Beverley Hughes. In reply, Ms Hughes said that individual parents would have the option of applying for an exemption for their child for some or all of the learning and development requirements.
'I showed Beverley Hughes' letter to one of my parents, who is a teacher, and she said she will apply to have her child exempt,' said the childminder.
She also said she objected to the amount of assessment that young children would be subjected to. 'I don't think children should have notes written about them at that age. Are the Government going to ask grandparents to do it next?'
One childminder from Middlesex said, 'I know a lot of childminders who are leaving. The EYFS is daunting. It's a big document to unscramble.'
She said she was supportive of the welfare requirements but concerned about the 'formal' nature of the EYFS for the youngest children and the increase in the amount of recording and assessment required.
She added, 'Not enough is known yet about how Ofsted will inspect against the EYFS.'
Another childminder of 15 years from Brentwood said he objected to the fact that he would be seen as breaking the law and deregistered if he did not implement the EYFS. He said, 'If you're an artist you don't all paint in the same way. Different childminders do things in different ways. I don't see anything wrong with using the EYFS as a tool, but it's wrong to impose it. If there are things I can pick out of it, then fair enough.'
He also objected to the fact that the local authority was charging childminders £10 to attend a course on the EYFS.
The National Childminding Association (NCMA) said it is taking the drop in numbers seriously and is monitoring the Ofsted figures. Over the next year the NCMA plans to research the number of childminders joining and leaving the profession, the impact of regulation on childminding and factors such as the EYFS, the rise in registration fees and the new childcare registers introduced from September.
Andrew Fletcher, director of communications at the NCMA, said it was crucial that local authorities offered training and support to childminders on how the EYFS could be implemented in a home setting.
He said, 'It may be that the planned introduction of the EYFS from September has had an impact on the number of childminders continuing to register. We also know that other factors, including increased regulation in areas such as food standards and vehicle registration, and the Government's proposals to increase registration fees significantly and relocate subsidy to local authorities, may also be having an impact.'
