Written evidence submitted by National
Childminding Association
1. SUMMARY
1.1 Registered childminders provide flexible,
high quality, inclusive childcare in a home-based setting that
benefits both parents and children. The National Childminding
Association (NCMA) is the only national charity and membership
organisation that represents home-based childcare in England and
Wales.
1.2 NCMA believes it is vital that parents are
supported with the costs of childcare in order to help them back
into work and to ensure every child gets the best start in life.
In plans to reform the benefits system, Government should prioritise
improving children's life chances in order to prevent the intergenerational
cycle of poverty, particularly via the childcare element. This
should be considered in conjunction with other areas of policy,
and continuing to invest in improving the quality of the early
years will be of paramount importance to this.
1.3 NCMA members support a change to the childcare
element of the Working Tax Credit scheme so that parents are paid
by vouchers that can only be accepted by registered childcarers.
NCMA believes that a voucher system would prove effective alongside
the Universal Credit system, and should also be available to parents
not in work. This would allow the children in these families to
benefit from the developmental opportunities of formal childcare,
help their parents to access training, volunteering and job seeking
opportunities, and prevent disruption to families where parents
may work in short-term employment or varying hours each week.
1.4 NCMA would encourage Government to invest
in the home-based childcare workforce to maintain current numbers
of registered childminders and encourage more into the profession
to meet the demand for childcare places and create further employment
opportunities. Greater partnership working between childminders
and other local services is equally important to develop specialist
support for parents and children, particularly families with disabled
children or teen parents.
2. INTRODUCTION
2.1 NCMA welcomes the opportunity to contribute
to this inquiry.
2.2 NCMA is the only national charity and membership
organisation that represents home-based childcare in England and
Wales, delivered by registered childminders and nannies. It has
approximately 40,000 members, representing 68% of all childminders
in England, and a growing nanny membership. We promote quality
home-based childcare so that children, families and communities
can benefit from the best in childcare and education. We support
registered childminders and nannies to raise the quality of their
practice and ensure key stakeholders are aware of and integrate
registered childminders and nannies into national and local childcare
strategies.
2.3 To achieve our vision NCMA works in partnership
with:
- children and families, so they are aware of,
and have access to, high-quality, home-based childcare, play,
learning and family support;
- registered childminders and nannies to ensure
they have the information, support and training they need to provide
high-quality childcare; and
- Government, local authorities, regulators and
other organisations in England and Wales who influence the delivery
of children's services and childcare to ensure they take account
of home-based childcare and the views of the profession.
2.4 Registered childminders provide flexible,
high quality, inclusive childcare in a home-based setting. Childminders
can tailor childcare to fit in with the needs of each child and
their family. In the last year, approximately 264,000 children
every week in England benefitted from the consistent care of a
childminder in a small, family-focussed environment.[129]
Overall childminders represent 61% of all childcare settings,
providing just over a fifth of all childcare places.[130]
2.5 Registered childminders help to improve children's
life chances by contributing to their social and emotional development
through the provision of high quality childcare and early learning.
This provision can also help to prevent the intergenerational
cycle of disadvantage and underachievement by helping parents
to take up work or further education opportunities.
2.6 Registered childminders support parents returning
to work or study by providing flexible, affordable childcare at
a time to suit the families, especially those working atypical
hours or in shift patterns. This is invaluable, particularly in
areas of deprivation, where childminders can support parents returning
to work or study. The Department for Education's Childcare and
Early Years Providers Survey 2009 shows that almost a fifth of
childminders operate in the 30% most deprived areas in England,
with 17% of all childminding places offered in these areas.
2.7 Childminding also represents a clear career
option for those returning to employment. At present there are
approximately 56,710 childminders in England, although numbers
are declining. It is vital that local authorities support the
recruitment and retention of childminders to ensure families in
their area can access the benefits childminders provide for children
and parents, and also to help childminders to remain in employment
and provide those without work a further potential career option.
NCMA has experience working with local authorities, such as Cambridgeshire
County Council, to organise childminder recruitment campaigns
in identified areas of need and support all new childminders through
the registration process, including the delivery of induction
courses.
3. FURTHER
INFORMATION
NCMA welcomes the Government's move to develop a
system that will make it easier for families to access support,
including assistance with childcare. It is vital that all families
can access the help they need, particularly childcare opportunities,
to ensure their children get the best start in life. The most
recent figures from HMRC, published in 2008, suggested that 366,300
families in England were in receipt of the childcare element of
the working tax credit. This is nearly one in eight of all families
using some form of formal childcare in England. According to the
Daycare Trust, the average claimed for the childcare element of
Working Tax Credit in England is now £69.76.[131]
NCMA supports the overall administration of the new
benefit being managed by one Government department. This will
provide a clear contact point for both families and childcare
providers.
NCMA believes that support for childcare costs should
be provided alongside the Universal Credit, rather than through
it. This would not replace an earnings disregard, such as the
current childcare voucher programme.
NCMA believes that all parents receiving the Universal
Credit should be entitled to support for childcare costs, regardless
of whether they are in work. This recognises the importance of
assisting parents who are actively seeking work who may need to
attend interviews, Job Centre or recruitment agency appointments,
as well as the more administrative side of job seeking such as
writing applications and job hunting online. It would also take
into consideration parents who may take up volunteering and education
opportunities as their first step back towards employment. Preventing
disruption for families would also be another key benefit in cases
where parents are employed for short-term periods but may experience
periods of unemployment in between, or may need to work varying
hours in their jobs from week to week. It could also help with
up-front childcare costs when parents move into work, which could
include a deposit to secure a child's place with a childminder,
and in some instances paying a month's fees in advance.[132]
For many parents settling their children into childcare where
they are happy may be the important first step to ensure they
are comfortable returning to work.
Most vital of all, however, is that this approach
would ensure that children in poverty whose parents are not working
could experience the same benefits of formal early years education
and care as those whose parents are in employment. Research has
shown that in disadvantaged families where the mother has a low
level of education, a child's participation in formal childcare
is associated with significantly better cognitive outcomes at
age 6 and 7 relative to children who have only attended informal
childcare settings.[133]
At present, many low income families tend to favour informal childcare,[134]
and the lack of funding may contribute to this.
NCMA is of course aware of the Government's free
entitlement to 15 hours of free early years education and care
for three and four-year-olds and the most disadvantaged two-year-olds.
However, this entitlement does not cover the full amount of time
that parents may need for job hunting, training or volunteering
opportunities.
NCMA would encourage the Government to offer 100%
of childcare costs for those accessing the Universal Credit who
wish to take this up. For those in work, this would help to provide
an incentive to further their career and economic opportunities
by not penalising them for taking on additional hours or responsibilities.
For those not in work, providing 100% of costs would be absolutely
vital in making it feasible for parents to access formal childcare
for their children, and to ensure they receive the best developmental
opportunities.
4. A SEPARATE
VOUCHER SYSTEM
TO PROVIDE
SUPPORT FOR
CHILDCARE
The Universal Credit White Paper opens a discussion
about the form that support for parents with childcare costs could
take. NCMA supports the proposal to separate childcare from the
Universal Credit by establishing a voucher system to provide support
for childcare, which would be available to all those accessing
the Universal Credit.
There has been substantial debate amongst childcare
providers and with organisations such as NCMA about the administration
of the childcare element of Working Tax Credit. This has been
fuelled by reports of incidents of, for example, childminders
promising a place to a parent, who then includes the childminder's
details in their application for the childcare element but does
not send their child to the childminder. The provider loses out
on anticipated revenue and has to go through the process of filling
the place for a second time.
To avoid such abuses of the system, NCMA's members
support the childcare element being provided in a different form,
such as a voucher, that can only be accepted by registered childcarers.
NCMA members believe this would be a significant
step to crackdown on error and fraud in the benefits. HMRC recently
reported that 4.5% of all tax credit awards in 2008-09 had errors
relating to childcare with a potential loss to the Exchequer of
£380 million.[135]
NCMA would support a system that is paid promptly.
With the focus of the new Universal Credit being online, NCMA
would urge caution in providing exclusive access to the proposed
childcare voucher system online. Whilst 77% of NCMA members report
using the internet several times per week, 8% of NCMA never use
the internet.[136]
Furthermore, NCMA would not support a system where
the payment is made directly to the childcare provider if this
meant the childcare provider was responsible for updating the
Government on changes in the family's personal circumstance.
5. GREATER PARTNERSHIP
WORKING WITH
CHILDCARE ORGANISATIONS
TO HELP
PARENTS BACK
INTO WORK
NCMA would like to see more partnership work between
childminders and local stakeholders to help parents in returning
to work, including engagement between childminders and children's
centres, which should be encouraged by local authorities. It is
also vital that bodies such as Jobcentre Plus have a broader understanding
of the role childminders can play in supporting families back
to work—especially acting as a mentor and offering support
to young parents. A system of matching demand for childminders
and opportunities to train for this could also help more people
to take up employment opportunities whilst ensuring there is sufficient
childcare available in the area.
Furthermore, NCMA would support the introduction
of more childminding networks. Government support for childcare
is often vital in enabling parents to take up work. However, more
must be done to ensure parents can access this support and have
a full choice of childcare options. At present, families can only
access the Government's entitlement to 15 hours of free childcare
through childminders if the local authority provides an accredited
childminding network. It is important that Government enables
families to choose the form of childcare that best suits their
needs by ensuring all local authorities provide these networks.
This would enable more childminders to be accredited to deliver
Early Years Education.
NCMA has successfully worked with local employers
to establish childminding networks to offer and promote childcare
that will meet the specific needs of their employees. One notable
example of this is the Avon and Somerset Constabulary childminding
network, which links police officers and support staff with childminders.
In the East of England NCMA has worked with Anglia Support Partnership
(ASP), which provides support services to NHS organisations in
the region. As part of this, NCMA has assisted with the development
of a vacancy service to match parents and children with quality
assured childminders in the local area.
Childminding networks also play an important role
in driving up quality, with 15% of childminders who are members
of a childminding network being graded outstanding by Ofsted,
compared to 6% who are not on a network. This in turns helps to
ensure children have access to better development opportunities.
It is through childminding networks that registered childminders
are able to access additional training and support, and participate
in specialist programmes that meet the particular needs of families
with additional requirements and groups such as teenage parents.
Supporting parents of disabled children/children
with special educational needs (SEN)
In research undertaken on behalf of NCMA, more than
nine in 10 parents of disabled children/children with SEN reported
difficulties in finding childcare that was accessible to their
child and could provide the right kind of care to meet their needs.[137]
Significant barriers included difficulties obtaining information
about available childcare and meeting the cost of childcare provision,
particularly where providers—which included early years
group settings and after-school care—charged higher fees
to cover the additional costs of caring for a disabled child.[138]
Parents who struggled to find suitable childcare regretted not
only the income they lost from not working, but also the lack
of financial and social independence for themselves and the loss
of social opportunities for their children.
The lower use of childcare by parents of disabled
children is highlighted in the Childcare and Early Years Survey
of Parents 2009: in total, 38% of disabled/children with SEN
aged under-14 were receiving some form of formal childcare (including
before- and after-school clubs), compared with 43% of children
who were not disabled or had no special educational needs.[139]
Difficulties with securing appropriate childcare create problems
for parents of disabled children accessing employment and this
increases the risk of poverty. Only 16% of mothers of disabled
children are in paid employment, compared with 61% of all mothers.[140]
Research from the Department for Work and Pensions demonstrates
that rates of child poverty are higher in families where a child
is disabled. 56% of children in families with one or more disabled
children, and no disabled adult, are in the bottom two quintiles
of the income distribution, compared with 44% of children in families
with no disabled children or adults.[141]
NCMA would welcome greater investment to support
families with disabled children and those with additional requirements
to help their parents take up employment opportunities, as well
as ensuring their children benefit from the associated development
benefits. Childminders can help disabled children and those with
additional requirements to get ready for school through the provision
of high quality early years education and care. The smaller nature
of their settings enables them to give these children more one-to-one
attention and adapt to their needs, as well as ensuring they are
supported alongside other children. More than a third of childminders
are currently trained to provide support for disabled children
and those with additional needs.
Supporting teenage parents
Juggling the challenges of parenting, childcare and
returning to school or college is daunting for many young parents.
NCMA manages a number of teen parent projects across the country
to help young parents back into education and training with the
support of a registered childminder. Young parents come into the
scheme via Connexions, children's centres, Family Information
Services, or by making contact directly.
A successful teen parent project in Lincolnshire
is helping support young parents to return to school and education
through the provision of childminder childcare. The project is
delivered by NCMA in partnership with Tackling Teenage Pregnancy
(TTP). This project supports teenage parents in finding a registered
childminder by offering home visits to discuss childcare needs
and options, accompanied visits to up to three childminders locally
that match the needs of the parent concerned, and continued support
once the care is in place.
It is vital that local authorities provide support
for these projects and that Job Centres link with them effectively
to ensure both parents and children can benefit from them.
Ensuring a strong childcare sector is available
to help parents take up work
The Government has stated its commitment to ensuring
that parents continue to receive financial support with the costs
of childcare, as this is crucial if they are to have an incentive
to work. It is vital that there is a vibrant childcare sector
to meet the increased demand for places following the changes
to requirements for Sure Start Children's Centres to offer full
day care, and the introduction of Government policy to move lone
parents who are capable of work and whose youngest child is seven
or older onto Jobseeker's Allowance. This is an interim measure
before the Government extends the scheme further to lone parents
with children of school age.
To maintain current numbers and encourage more into
the profession, registered childminders need to be supported to
remain sustainable businesses. The majority of childminders are
individuals who have set up their own businesses. In order to
provide a high quality, successful childminding setting, it is
important that providers are given support and advice on running
a sustainable business, particularly in the current economic climate,
through initiatives such as the Ofsted registration fee subsidy
and sufficiency assessment by local authorities. Research illustrates
the working environment for childminders - nearly half (46%) of
NCMA's members have a turnover of less than £10,000 per annum,
with 30% of the total membership turning over less than £7,000
per annum. Coupled with this low income are long hours, often
working as a sole provider - on average, childminders work 37.5
hours per week, with 55% working for more than 40 hours per week.
With such a low income, even minor changes to the childcare or
local business environment can have a major impact on their ability
to remain sustainable.
As well as ensuring a sufficient number of childcare
places are readily available, it is important all families have
a chance to access the highest quality childcare and early learning
experiences. NCMA would urge the Government to ensure that funding
is allocated to support childminders to access professional development
pathways, as research shows the higher qualified the practitioner,
the higher quality the experience for the child. In turn, this
results in children being better prepared for school and achieving
higher attainment levels. NCMA believes that all registered childminders
should be qualified to level 3 or above because recent research
shows that NCMA registered childminder members holding a level
3 or above qualification were significantly more likely to be
graded outstanding at their Ofsted inspection than those with
a lower level qualification. At present 51% of childminders do
not have a level 3 qualification.
In addition, there is the need for continued investment
and support for childminders to undertake the new Level 3 Diploma
for the Children's and Young People's Workforce (the qualification
level for those working unsupervised with children). Any training
must be available in a format that is accessible to all, including
evening and weekend sessions and e-learning. This investment and
support is also vital to ensure they are able to join quality
improvement childminding network and, if they wish, then to become
accredited to deliver the free entitlement.
6. RECOMMENDATIONS
FOR ACTION
NCMA makes the following recommendations to the
Select Committee for consideration:
- support for childcare costs should be provided
alongside the Universal Credit, rather than through it, and should
be available to parents regardless of their current employment
status;
- Government should offer 100% of childcare costs
for families who are accessing the Universal Credit;
- the benefit should take the form of a voucher
that can only be accepted by registered childcarers;
- the childcare provider should not be responsible
for updating the Government on changes in the family's personal
circumstance; and
- the development of the Universal Credit should
be considered in conjunction with other areas of policy development
including supporting childminding businesses to remain sustainable,
the development of childminding networks in every local authority
and access to continued professional development for the home
based childcare workforce.
December 2010
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130
Ofsted (2010). Registered Childcare Places in England 2008
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131
Daycare Trust (2010). London Childcare Facts and Figures: Briefing
Sheet 3. London: Daycare Trust. Back
132
Bartholemeou et al (2009) Childcare Advance: scoping the need
for help with up-front. London: Daycare Trust. Back
133 Geoffroy
et al (2010). "Closing the gap in academic readiness and
achievement: the role of early childcare." Journal of
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134 Speight,
S, Smith, R With Coshall, C (2010) Towards universal early year's
provision: analysis of take-up by disadvantaged families from
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London:DfE. Back
135
HMRC News Release (30 November 2010) Tax credits claimants reminded
to report changes in childcare
http://nds.coi.gov.uk/clientmicrosite/Content/Detail.aspx?ClientId=257&NewsAreaId=2&ReleaseID=416832&SubjectId=36 Back
136
Qa Research (2010). NCMA Annual Membership Survey. Bromley:
NCMA. Back
137
Melyn Consulting (2009). Childcare for Disabled Children and
Young People. Bromley and Cardiff: NCMA. Back
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Melyn Consulting (2009). Back
139
Smith et al (2010). Back
140
Equality and Human Rights Commission (2010). How fair is Britain?
Available at:
http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/uploaded_files/triennial_review/how_fair_is_britain_-_complete_report.pdf Back
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Income 2008-2009
[online] Available at: http://campaigns.dwp.gov.uk/asd/hbai/hbai_2009. Back
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