Perceptions of the impact of childminding services on child, parent and family outcomes: research findings

Appendix 2 – Recruitment materials

A. Letter to Childminders

Dear Childminder,

Help us understand the benefits of childminding!

Ipsos MORI are carrying out research for the Scottish Government on the benefits of childminding for children and families. The aim is to better understand how people view childminding (including childminders and parents using childminding services), the benefits for families, and how childminding meets the needs of parents and children. The findings will then be used to increase understanding about the value of childminding and to support more parents to access it for their funded hours entitlement.

What’s involved?

We’re looking for childminders to take part in a telephone interview with a researcher from Ipsos MORI. We will ask about your views on the b enefits of childminding and the different ways in which childminders support children and families. The call would be at a time convenient for you (this can be daytime or evening) and would last around 45 minutes to an hour. To thank you for taking the time to talk to us, we would like to give you £30.

We will use information from these interviews to write a report for the Scottish Government that will be published but will not include anything that could identify you. Everything you say will be confidential and your data will be stored securely. With your permission, the discussion will be audio recorded. Only the research team will have access to the recording and all data will be securely destroyed after completion of the research. Taking part in the research is completely voluntary. If you agree to take part, you are free to change your mind at any time without giving us a reason. We have a privacy policy for the project which you can see here: https://ipsos.uk/childminding1

Parent / carer interviews

We would also like to ask for your help to recruit parents / carers of pre-school children, so we can hear why they chose to use a childminder and how it works for them. This would also involve a telephone interview at a time convenient for them, and they would also receive £30 as a thank you. If you think any of the parents of pre-school children you provide childminding for might be interested in taking part, please email them the attached message. Even if you do not want to take part in the research yourself, it would be very helpful if you could pass the information on to parents.

It would be great if you could speak to parents, encourage them to take part and pass this on – but if this is not possible it is fine to simply forward the email to them. In two parent families, please pass on this information to the parent who you think is the best placed to comment on the impact of childcare arrangements for their child and their family. This may be the parent you have the most contact with when they drop off/pick up their child(ren).

If you are delivering ELC funded hours, we are particularly keen to speak to you and the families you work with that are using the funding. However, if you are not delivering funded hours, we would still like to speak to you and your families.

We won’t be asking parents to feedback on or evaluate your childminding service, as that is not the aim of this research, instead we will be asking them to talk generally about childminding and why it works for their family.

Get in touch

If you are interested in taking part, or have further questions, please get in touch with me by emailing [Email Address] or phoning [Phone Number] by 26th February.

Many thanks,

[Name], Research Manager, Ipsos MORI Scotland

[End]

B. Letter to Parents

Dear Parent / Carer,

Share your experiences of childminding!

Ipsos MORI are carrying out research for the Scottish Government on the benefits of childminding for children and families. The aim is to better understand how people view childminding, the benefits for families, and how parents feel childminding meets the needs of them and their children. The findings will then be used to increase understanding about the value of childminding and to support more parents to access it for their funded hours entitlement.

We’re looking for parents who are currently using a childminder for their pre-school child or children to take part in a telephone interview with a researcher from Ipsos MORI. We will ask about why you choose to use a childminder and how it works for you and your family. There are no right or wrong answers, we are just interested in your views and experiences. The interview would be at a time convenient for you and would last around 45 minutes to an hour. To thank you for taking the time to talk to us, we would like to give you £30.

We will use information from these interviews to write a report for the Scottish Government that will be published but will not include anything that could identify you. Everything you say will be confidential and your data will be stored securely. We won’t be asking you for feedback on your childminder’s service, instead we will be asking you to talk generally about childminding and why it works for your family.

With your permission, the discussion will be audio recorded. Only the research team will have access to the recording and all data will be securely destroyed after completion of the research. Taking part in the research is completely voluntary. If you agree to take part, you are free to change your mind at any time without giving us a reason. We have a privacy policy for the project which you can see here: https://ipsos.uk/childminding2

If you are interested in taking part, or have further questions, please get in touch with me by emailing [Email Address] or phoning [Phone Number] by 26th February.

Many thanks,

[Name], Research Manager, Ipsos MORI Scotland

[End]

How to access background or source data

The data collected for this social research publication:

☐ are available in more detail through Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics

☐ are available via an alternative route

☒ may be made available on request, subject to consideration of legal and ethical factors. Please contact socialresearch@gov.scot Top of Form for further information.

☐ cannot be made available by Scottish Government for further analysis as Scottish Government is not the data controller.