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

8. Conclusions

Parents who use childminders, and childminders themselves, have the same clear view of what good quality childminding looks like and on the features of childminding that a) support positive outcomes for children and b) support parents and families.

Benefits for children

Features that are perceived to benefit children include the homely setting where children feel comfortable and secure – which in turn supports their learning and development; the low numbers of children to care-givers which enables the childminder to provide more one-to-one, personalised care to each child and be more child-led and flexible, as well as providing a quieter and potentially less overwhelming environment than a nursery; and the mix of ages of children which supports learning and development as younger and older children learn from each other. The small numbers and continuity of care lead to very close relationships between children and childminders, which was often perceived as providing children with more comfort, affection and nurturing than they might receive in a nursery. The professional approach, expertise and qualifications of childminders, and the range of activities they provided, were linked by participants to better learning and development outcomes than might typically be achieved through informal care from grandparents or other relatives.

Benefits for parents and families

Parents’ primary concern is the wellbeing of their children, so the benefits for children listed above were seen by parents as the main benefits of childminding.

In addition, there are a number of features of childminding that are perceived to be beneficial for parents and families. Flexibility (in terms of the hours offered, whether that was early starts, late finishes, weekend care, or ad hoc and last minute arrangements) was seen as a key benefit by parents and often drove their decision to use a childminder. Childminders’ ability to provide a flexible service gave parents peace of mind – there is room for last minute changes and if something comes up a childminder will usually be able to accommodate that.

Parents also hugely valued the frequent contact and communication and chats at drop off/pick up time, which built a close yet professional relationship with their childminder. The closeness and trust meant parents could open up about parenting problems and seek advice and support and draw on their childminder’s professional knowledge and expertise. At the same time, the professional aspect of the relationship meant parents were comfortable being clear about their childcare requirements and this was contrasted with informal care from family members.

Parents also appreciated that childminders would often go ‘above and beyond’ what might be expected to provide families with an extra level of both practical and emotional support both when unexpected problems arose on a day (e.g. driving a child home if the parent could not make the pick up) or more longer-term support when families were going through difficulties (e.g. illness or separation). As such, childminding was viewed not just as a form of childcare, but also as a form of family support. Other practical benefits for parents include the fact that childminders are usually very local to them, and that siblings can be cared for together.

Combining childminding with other forms of care

Although there often were practical reasons for choosing combinations of care (e.g. childminding plus nursery, or childminding plus informal care) – a common reason was to cover all the primary carer’s work or study hours – when asked what their ideal childcare would look like, parents who were combining different settings commonly said they were happy with their current arrangement and saw it as ‘the best of both worlds’. They felt their child was benefiting from experiencing different settings and activities and mixing with different groups of children. Further reasons to combine different types of childcare given included avoiding full days or weeks at a nursery as they can be draining (and a childminding setting provides more ‘down time’ for a child); and it can help reduce the burden on grandparents who want to help with childcare.

The impact of the pandemic

While COVID-19 has had huge ramifications for childminders and families across Scotland, participants felt that a degree of normality had returned. Childminders experienced a range of very difficult challenges from March 2020 onwards, particularly because of the financial impact of restrictions in the first lockdown.

Childminders responded to these challenges by finding different ways to keep in touch with children, and once open again, by making more use of the outdoors and adjusting activities to reduce the risk of transmitting the virus. They also thought of ways to support children through the disruption and stress they were experiencing. Parents said the pandemic made them even more grateful for their childminders. Some highlighted the major role their childminder played in supporting their family through very stressful times.

Overall, childminders’ thoughts on their plans after the pandemic were mixed – ranging from being keen to reduce their hours, take a break or possibly retire – to those that are happy to be running their service again with no intention of cutting back their hours. Childminders did not feel that the pandemic had affected their ability to provide ELC funded hours, nor did it effect their decisions around whether to deliver ELC.

Encouraging uptake of childminding

An increase in the uptake of childminding would support delivery of the planned expansion of ELC to 1,140 hours. Childminders and parents agreed that there was a lack of awareness of childminding as an option and of what childminders can offer – and therefore a need for greater promotion of it.

The perceived benefits of childminding set out above should be the starting point for promotion. From the point of view of parents, the main selling points are the flexible hours, the one-to-one attention and the nurturing, home-from-home setting.

There are also some misconceptions to be tackled. There was a perception that parents who did not use childminders thought they were “like babysitters” or that the children are “just sitting watching TV”. A lack of knowledge about the training, qualifications and experience of many childminders, and the regulations they must adhere to, was thought to be at the root of these misconceptions. The child development aspects of childminding (including childminders’ training and qualifications, the development plans they produce and the records they keep) and the regulations, risk assessments and quality assurance mechanisms that apply to them as well as to nurseries.

When asked what might encourage a greater uptake of childminding, parents tended to suggest:

• More funding (including extending funded hours to younger children)
• Greater clarity about what funding/financial assistance is already available (including information on tax free childcare, tax credits for childcare and universal credit for childcare)
• More publicity / profile raising – so that parents and carers have heard of childminding as an option, and understand what it is and what it offers

Further research

One of the limitations of this research project was that it only included parents who are already using childminders. Exploring the perceptions of parents who are not using childminders, and may never have considered using a childminder, would be valuable in identifying further ways to promote childminding and to test and develop promotional materials.