The report, Assessing the operation and impact of the childminder sustainability grant, found that Early Years Development and Childcare Partnerships reported a low take-up of the grants, despite publicity.
However, childminders welcomed the scheme regardless of whether they had received the money or not, as they considered it a positive recognition of their value as childcare professionals.
The report said, 'Childminders who were interviewed commonly mentioned the low status of childminding. They had the sense that childminding was not always respected by the general public as a profession or business.'
The study also found tensions between childminders and early years partnerships. It said that childminders who were members of the National Childminding Association criticised some EYDCPs for not respecting their business status, while EYDCPs 'often argued that childminders themselves needed to be encouraged to treat their job more as a business before others would treat them as professionals' and that there were some childminders 'who still did not maintain a business mindset'.
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