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As childminders gain professional respect, what must they do to ensure they are seen as central in the strategy for childcare? Mary Evans reports Childminders may often be seen as the cinderellas of the childcare sector, but they are determined to ensure they are not sidelined in the Government's push for a more professional workforce.

Childminders may often be seen as the cinderellas of the childcare sector, but they are determined to ensure they are not sidelined in the Government's push for a more professional workforce.

Campaigns spearheaded by the National Childminding Association (NCMA) are scoring some successes on the national stage, as the Government's recent response to the consultation on the Early Years Foundation Stage highlights (see box). And Ruth Pimentel, the national director of the Foundation Stage, says, 'Childminders will have a very important role in the EYFS as they are significant providers in supporting all children, but particularly the birth-to-three age group.'

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