Childminding workforce trends qualitative research report

Appendix 3: Depth discussion guides

Group 1 – prospective childminders

Note for reviewers:

This topic guide is designed to serve as an aide memoir to the researchers, while also remaining flexible to allow for issues to be raised spontaneously.

Obvious probing and follow-up questions like 'why?', 'why not?', etc. are not included but there is no need to suggest adding these - there will be plenty of these and the researchers will automatically probe, ask for explanation/clarification, and sum up at appropriate points.

Although the guide is generally written in the form of questions or explanations that could be read out exactly as written, in reality, the researcher will amend the wording, rephrase and reorder as appropriate and to make it feel more like a natural discussion rather than a questionnaire.

Introduction

• Introduce self and Ipsos MORI
• Remind them of the purpose of the research: looking at the reasons for the decline in the childminding workforce and how to address it. The workforce has declined 22% between 2014 and 2019 and initial assessments point to more childminders leaving than new practitioners coming into the sector.
• Explain that the interview will last around 1 hour and we will give participant £30 as a thank you for taking part.
• Provide reassurances of anonymity and confidentiality. Explain that no identifying information about individuals will be used in the reporting of the research.
• Explain that participation in the research in entirely voluntary, they don't have to answer any questions they are uncomfortable with and can stop at any point without having to give a reason.
• Check if they have any questions about the purpose of the research or how what they say will be used.
• Request permission to record interview [ask permission then ask them to confirm that once the recording has started]

Background

I understand that you considered becoming a childminder at one point but haven't become one.

When did you first start thinking about it?

What prompted you to think about it?

Can you tell me a bit about your career background and qualifications? Have you worked in childcare before?

What are you doing now instead of childminding?

Exploring Childminding

I'd like to discuss your consideration of childminding in a bit more detail.

What initially appealed to you about childminding?

Prompt If Not Mentioned:

Did you consider any other kinds of childcare careers (e.g. nursery)

How did you find out about childminding as a career opportunity?

Where did you go to find out information about what it would be like to be a childminder?

Did you look into what steps you needed to take to become a registered childminder? Where did you go for information?

Who, if anyone, did you speak to about it?

Why they didn't become a childminder

I'd now like to focus on why you decided not to become a childminder.

What are the main reasons you haven't decided to become a childminder? What concerns did you have?

Did your initial thoughts about becoming a childminder change after you looked into it? How?

Did the cost of establishing your own childminding business influence your decision?

Did the Scottish Government's ELC expansion and funded hours have an impact on your thinking in any way?

Prompt If Not Mentioned:

Did you think about the qualifications and training needed to deliver funded hours? And if so, how did that affect your decision?

Did the COVID-19 pandemic have any impact on your thinking?

What might have made a difference to your decision?

Would additional support in establishing a childminding business, such as through business advice and/or a mentoring/support network have made a difference?

Future

Compared with other childcare providers, how to do you think childminding is viewed by others?

Probe On:

• by government and policy makers?
• by the general public?

Do you think you might consider becoming a childminder again in the future?

If Not: why not? What would need to change?

If Yes: what factors would influence your decision?

Do you have any thoughts on what could encourage people to become childminders?

What do you think might encourage people from a wider range of backgrounds to consider childminding? (e.g. more men, more ethnic monitories and more people in deprived areas)

Wrap up

We're just coming to the end of the discussion now, but before we do, is there anything else you would like to say about your experiences or encouraging people to become childminders?

That's everything I wanted to ask you today, thank you very much for taking the time to speak to me.

Group 2 - New childminders

Note for reviewers:

This topic guide is designed to serve as an aide memoir to the researchers, while also remaining flexible to allow for issues to be raised spontaneously.

Obvious probing and follow-up questions like 'why?', 'why not?', etc. are not included but there is no need to suggest adding these - there will be plenty of these and the researchers will automatically probe, ask for explanation/clarification, and sum up at appropriate points.

Although the guide is generally written in the form of questions or explanations that could be read out exactly as written, in reality, the researcher will amend the wording, rephrase and reorder as appropriate and to make it feel more like a natural discussion rather than a questionnaire.

Introduction

• Introduce self and Ipsos MORI
• Remind them of the purpose of the research: looking at the reasons for the decline in the childminding workforce and how to address it. The workforce has declined 22% between 2014 and 2019 and initial assessments point to more childminders leaving than new practitioners coming into the sector.
• Explain that the interview will last around 1 hour and we will give participant £30 as a thank you for taking part.
• Provide reassurances of anonymity and confidentiality. Explain that no identifying information about individuals will be used in the reporting of the research.
• Explain that participation in the research in entirely voluntary, they don't have to answer any questions they are uncomfortable with and can stop at any point without having to give a reason.
• Check if they have any questions about the purpose of the research or how what they say will be used
• Request permission to record interview [ask permission then ask them to confirm that once the recording has started]

Background

I understand that you've become a childminder within the last few years. When did you start childminding?

Had you worked in childcare before?

How many children are you currently providing childcare for?

What is the age range of the children?

Do you have any assistants working with you?

Journey into childminding

I'd like to discuss your how you became a childminder in a bit more detail.

When did you first start looking into childminding? How did you find out about it?

What was it that particularly appealed to you about being a childminder?

Did you have any concerns? What were they?

Where did you go for information about what it would be like to be a childminder?

Did you speak to anyone about it?

Where did you got for information about how to become a childminder?

What would have made the process of becoming a childminder easier?

Experiences so far

How have you found the experience of being a childminder so far?

What hours would you say you work on a typical day/week (if it varies) Is this similar to what you anticipated?

And have you found that the factors that initially appealed to you turned out to be the case?

Has anything been better or easier than you expected?

Are there any negative sides to it? Anything that you didn't expect?

Are you happy with your decision to become a childminder or do you have any regrets?

How could the day to day experience of being a childminder be improved?

Would you have found any additional support (such as business advice and/or access to a mentoring/support network) within your first few years/since you started helpful? If so, what?

Do you have any thoughts, at this point, on how long you are likely to stay in childminding?

Prompt If Not Mentioned:

Is there anything that would make you more likely to leave childminding? (e.g. changes to the profession or your circumstances)

Do you think bureaucracy/paperwork is an issue affecting childminders? How could that be improved?

Prompt: what proportion of your time is spent on paperwork? How do you feel about that?

Views on ELC Expansion

I'm now going to ask about the Scottish Government's ELC expansion and funded hours.

How has funded hours impacted your service, if at all?

Are you delivering any ELC funded hours?

If Yes: How have you found that?

Prompt If Not Mentioned: How have you found completing the qualifications and training needed to deliver funded hours?

If Yes And Started Them: How have you found the process of undertaking the qualifications and training needed to meet the National Standard requirements for delivering the funded ELC hours?

If Not: Have you considered delivering funded hours?

What are the reasons you do not deliver funded hours?

Prompt If Not Mentioned: Did the qualifications and training needed to deliver funded hours affect your thinking?

Have you been able to access any professional support you might have needed?

Views on the impact of Covid-19

I'm going to move on to ask about the Covid-19 pandemic. Do let me know if there's anything you would prefer not to talk about and we can move on.

Has the pandemic affected your service, and how you support children and families? In what ways?

Have you been able to access any professional support you might have needed?

Encouraging childminding

I'd now like to ask you about encouraging more people to consider childminding.

Compared with other childcare providers, how to do you think childminding is viewed by others?

Probe On:

• by government and policy makers?
• by the general public?

What would you say to people who are considering becoming a childminder? What are the positive aspects, what are the negative aspects?

Do you have any thoughts on what could encourage people to stay in childminding for longer?

What would encourage people to enter the profession?

What do you think might encourage people from a wider range of backgrounds to consider childminding? (e.g. more men, more ethnic monitories and more people in deprived areas)

Wrap up

We're just coming to the end of the discussion now, but before we do, is there anything else you would like to say about your experiences of childminding or the decline in the childminding workforce and how to address it.

That's everything I wanted to ask you today, thank you very much for taking the time to speak to me.

Group 3 – Childminders considering leaving the profession

Note for reviewers:

This topic guide is designed to serve as an aide memoir to the researchers, while also remaining flexible to allow for issues to be raised spontaneously.

Obvious probing and follow-up questions like 'why?', 'why not?', etc. are not included but there is no need to suggest adding these - there will be plenty of these and the researchers will automatically probe, ask for explanation/clarification, and sum up at appropriate points.

Although the guide is generally written in the form of questions or explanations that could be read out exactly as written, in reality, the researcher will amend the wording, rephrase and reorder as appropriate and to make it feel more like a natural discussion rather than a questionnaire.

Introduction

• Introduce self and Ipsos MORI
• Remind them of the purpose of the research: looking at the reasons for the decline in the childminding workforce and how to address it. The workforce has declined 22% between 2014 and 2019 and initial assessments point to more childminders leaving than new practitioners coming into the sector.
• Explain that the interview will last around 1 hour and we will give participant £30 as a thank you for taking part.
• Provide reassurances of anonymity and confidentiality. Explain that no identifying information about individuals will be used in the reporting of the research.
• Explain that participation in the research in entirely voluntary, they don't have to answer any questions they are uncomfortable with and can stop at any point without having to give a reason.
• Explain that participation in the research in entirely voluntary, they don't have to answer any questions they are uncomfortable with and can stop at any point without having to give a reason.
• Request permission to record interview [ask permission then ask them to confirm that once the recording has started]

Background

How long have you been a childminder?

How did you get into childminding?

What appealed to you about it?

And did you find that [the factors that appealed] turned out to be the case?

What are the negative sides to it? Anything that you didn't expect?

Had you worked in childcare before becoming a childminder?

How many children are you currently providing childcare for?

What is the age range of the children?

What hours would you say you work on a typical day/week (if it varies)

Do you have any assistants working with you?

Why they are considering leaving

I understand that you are considering leaving childminding in the next three years, is that correct?

How long have you been thinking about leaving childminding?

Was there anything in particular that prompted you to think about leaving?

What are the main reasons for you wanting to leave childminding?

We discussed your working hours earlier. Has that had an impact on you considering leaving childminding?

Is there something you are thinking about doing instead of childminding?

Is there anything that would change your mind about leaving childminding?

Vies on ELC expansion

I'm now going to ask about the Scottish Government's ELC expansion and funded hours.

How have funded hours impacted your service, if at all?

Are you delivering any ELC funded hours?

If Yes: How have you found that?

Has the experience of delivering funded hours affected your thinking about leaving childminding?

If Not: Have you ever considered registering for funded hours?

What are the reasons you are not delivering funded hours?

Have you been able to access any professional support you might have needed to deliver funded ELC hours?

Has the ELC expansion and funded hours affected your thinking about leaving childminding at all?

Prompt If Not Mentioned:

Has the qualifications and training needed to deliver funded hours affected your thinking about leaving?

Views on the impact of Covid-19

I'm going to move on to ask about the Covid-19 pandemic. Do let me know if there's anything you would prefer not to talk about and we can move on.

Did the pandemic affect your service, and how you support children and families? In what ways?

Did the pandemic affect your thinking about leaving childminding? In what ways?

Views on everyday experiences

How do you think the day to day experience of being a childminder has changed in recent years?

How could the day to day experience of being a childminder be improved?

Prompt If Not Mentioned:

Do you think bureaucracy/paperwork is an issue affecting childminders? How could that be improved?

Prompt: what proportion of your time is spent on paperwork? How do you feel about that?

Compared with other childcare providers, how to do you think childminding is viewed by others?

Probe On:

• by government and policy makers?
• by the general public?

Do you have any thoughts on what could encourage people to stay in childminding for longer? To become a childminder?

Prompt If Not Mentioned:

What do you think could encourage people from a wide range of backgrounds to consider childminding?

Wrap up

We're just coming to the end of the discussion now, but before we do, is there anything else you would like to say about your experiences of childminding or the decline in the childminding workforce and how to address it.

That's everything I wanted to ask you today, thank you very much for taking the time to speak to me.

Group 4 - Former childminders

Note for reviewers:

This topic guide is designed to serve as an aide memoir to the researchers, while also remaining flexible to allow for issues to be raised spontaneously.

Obvious probing and follow-up questions like 'why?', 'why not?', etc. are not included but there is no need to suggest adding these - there will be plenty of these and the researchers will automatically probe, ask for explanation/clarification, and sum up at appropriate points.

Although the guide is generally written in the form of questions or explanations that could be read out exactly as written, in reality, the researcher will amend the wording, rephrase and reorder as appropriate and to make it feel more like a natural discussion rather than a questionnaire.

Introduction

• Introduce self and Ipsos MORI
• Remind them of the purpose of the research: looking at the reasons for the decline in the childminding workforce and how to address it. The workforce has declined 22% between 2014 and 2019 and initial assessments point to more childminders leaving than new practitioners coming into the sector.
• Explain that the interview will last around 1 hour and we will give participant £30 as a thank you for taking part.
• Provide reassurances of anonymity and confidentiality. Explain that no identifying information about individuals will be used in the reporting of the research.
• Explain that participation in the research in entirely voluntary, they don't have to answer any questions they are uncomfortable with and can stop at any point without having to give a reason.
• Check if they have any questions about the purpose of the research or how what they say will be used
• Request permission to record interview [ask permission then ask them to confirm that once the recording has started]

Background

I understand that you've left childminding in the past few years. When was that?

How long had you been a childminder?

How did you get into childminding? What appealed to you about it?

And did you find that [the factors that appealed] turned out to be the case?

What were the negative sides to it? Anything that you didn't expect?

Had you worked in childcare before becoming a childminder?

How many children were you most recently providing childcare for before you left childminding?

What was the age range of the children?

What hours would you say you were working on a typical day/week (if it varies) before you left childminding?

Did you have any assistants working with you?

Why they left

I'd like to move on to discuss your decision to leave in childminding in a bit more detail. Do let me know if there's anything you would prefer not to talk about and we can move on.

How long had you been thinking about leaving childminding before you left?

Was there anything in particular that prompted you to start thinking about leaving?

What were the main reasons for you deciding to leave?

Did you feel like you needed any specific professional support while you were childminding? And were you able to access any support you might have needed?

We discussed your working hours earlier. How did you feel about the hours you were working? Prompt: did that affect your decision to stop childminding?

What are you doing now instead of childminding?

What, if anything, might have changed your mind about leaving?

How do you feel about your decision looking back now?

Views on the ELC expansion

I'm now going to ask about the Scottish Government's ELC expansion and funded hours.

How did funded hours impact your service, if at all?

Were you delivering any ELC funded hours before you left childminding?

If Yes: How did you find that?

Did the experience of delivering funded hours influence your decision to leave?

If Not: Did you ever consider registering for funded hours?

What are the reasons you did not deliver funded hours?

Did the ELC expansion and funded hours influence your decision to leave childminding at all?

Prompt If Not Mentioned:

Did the qualifications and training needed to deliver funded hours affect your thinking about leaving? And in what way?

Views on the impact of Covid-19

If Working As A Childminder Since March 2020

I'm going to move on to ask about the Covid-19 pandemic. Do let me know if there's anything you would prefer not to talk about and we can move on.

Did the pandemic affect your service, and how you supported children and families? In what ways?

Did the impact of the pandemic influence your decision to leave childminding? In what ways?

Views on everyday experiences

Did the day to day experience of being a childminder change in the years before you left? In what ways?

How do you think the day to day experience of being a childminder could be improved?

Prompt If Not Mentioned:

Do you think bureaucracy/paperwork is an issue affecting childminders? How could that be improved?

Prompt: what proportion of your time is spent on paperwork? How do you feel about that?

Compared with other childcare providers, how to do you think childminding is viewed by others?

Probe On:

• by government and policy makers?
• by the general public?

Do you have any thoughts on what could encourage people to stay in childminding for longer?

What would encourage people to enter the profession?

What do you think might encourage people from a wider range of backgrounds to consider childminding? (e.g. more men, more ethnic monitories and more people in deprived areas)

Wrap up

We're just coming to the end of the discussion now, but before we do, is there anything else you would like to say about your experiences of childminding or decline in the childminding workforce and how to address it.

That's everything I wanted to ask you today, thank you very much for taking the time to speak to me.