She said she hoped the Kids' Clubs Network (now 4Children) would be involved in many local youth projects, while childminders may be brought into nurseries to link with the homeworker scheme. Then she added, 'When a parent works a 4pm to 10pm shift, the child could spend the afternoon at nursery before being taken home by a homeworker, fed, bathed and put to bed.'
For years, childminders have tried to get away from the 'glorified babysitter' image, preferring to portray themselves as serious childcare professionals who are on a par with other childcare practitioners. Many childminders are now Level 3-qualified and they have the highest satisfaction rating among parents.
The low uptake of the home carer scheme in England shows that most childminders are not interested in working in other people's homes. This is understandable, when more than 90 per cent of childminders in my area look after their own children at the same time as childminding others.
Although childminders currently offer a flexible service such as shift work and weekend work, the NDNA should not view us as being a service to be used by parents when all other forms of childcare have shut their doors for the day. Accommodating shift workers usually means working for less than the minimum wage - something other childcare providers are unwilling to do, as they would be making a loss.
Childminders are currently an alternative form of childcare that can be offered to parents, and not just a stopgap when no-one else wants to take on the unsociable hours.
Joanne Wheatley
Westcliff on Sea, Essex
