It comes as no surprise that Sandy Weller is passionate about childminding.
She has been doing the job for the past 37 years and as chair of the voluntary Wandsworth Childminders' Association in London is ideally placed to bring her expertise to a wide community of minders and parents.
Ms Weller runs the association from an upstairs office in her Putney home and receives modest funding from Wandsworth borough council.
One of her key aims is helping local childminders to promote their services and communicate to parents. This is vital in the face of increasing nursery provision which is often a more visible option.
Match making
'It is really important to provide a service whereby parents have access to a wide range of minders and can ultimately make the perfect match,' says Ms Weller. 'To find a childminder on your own can be a daunting prospect.'
One way of helping parents make face-to-face contact with carers in the borough is through 'Meet The Minder' sessions held on the second Saturday of every month.
These are run at various venues and over the course of a year play host to more than 200 sets of parents who are informed about the sessions when they contact the association.
All minders in the area are told about the meetings through a regular newsletter and up to 30 parents are reminded with a timely phone call.
'We have had the occasional disaster,' says Ms Weller. 'Once we had 20 parents turn up and no minders at all. Then at one other meeting there were only two parents in attendance and around 20 minders. There is an element of luck involved.'
The meetings have, however, been steadily gaining in popularity since their launch three years ago. All meetings provide a creche so that parents can relax and talk at length to different people.
Minders are grouped in the hall by their location in the borough so they can be easily identified by parents looking for a minder close to where they live or travel.
Informal approach
'A lot of it is about creating a friendly, informal environment where parents' minds can be put at rest,' says Ms Weller. 'We spend time going through the contractual side of childminding and explaining all the red tape which can be off-putting to a new mother whose primary concern is finding a carer who is right for her child.'
There are no structured question and answer sessions because Ms Weller finds that the meetings work better if people are given time to chat on a one-to-one basis.
'It is an opportunity for childminders to do their own PR and explain to parents their approach to childcare,' she says. 'Often a parent will have very set ideas about what they want, but this can change when they meet a variety of minders.'
Sonia Dowsett, who is seeking childcare for baby Miles, says the sessions have been invaluable for boosting her confidence in the service that carers provide. 'It is a leap of faith to hand your child over to someone else and parents need reassurance,' she says. 'The association and its meetings provide a lot of knowledge and support.'
Ms Dowsett found that attending a Meet the Minder session saved her time-consuming research: 'Trying to find a suitable childminder is a job in itself and can involve much trawling through lists,' she says. 'The meeting was clearly a great opportunity for the minders to meet people and tell them all about what they can do.'
Friendly face
Ms Weller believes that if childminders are to flourish they need to create a higher profile for themselves and a more positive image, which is exactly what the Meet the Minder sessions are designed to do.
'Many parents are not aware of the fact that childminders have to go through a very thorough vetting procedure and receive mandatory training,'
says Ms Weller. 'Not enough is said about the quality of care they can provide which is often particularly suitable for very young children.'
The sessions present the friendly face of childminding, not just for the parents but also for the minders.
'All our childminders are keen to be involved because they know the asssociation is attuned to their needs and can respond quickly to problems,' says Ms Weller. 'It is a personal service, and this is why it works so well.'
