Our vision is a society in which all children and young people are valued and their rights respected

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(No Transcript)
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Our vision is a society in which all children
and young people are valued and their rights
respected Our mission is to advance the
well-being of all children and young people
across every aspect of their lives

• ?

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The pedagogy of childminding developing a study
of family child care in the 21st century

• Sue Owen
• Becky Fauth
• IFDCO conference
• 24 July 2009

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What is childminding?

• Care in a home environment
• At least one child for more than 2 hours in any
  day to whom they are not related
• Early years childminders caring for children
  from birth to age 5 must register on the Early
  Years Register and deliver the Early Years
  Foundation Stage (EYFS)
• All registered childcare provision, including
  childminding, is inspected by Ofsted against the
  EYFS framework

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EYFS is a statutory framework that includes

• Welfare requirements
• safeguarding and promoting childrens welfare
  suitable people suitable premises environment
  and equipment and documents and procedures
  required for the safe and efficient management of
  settings
• Learning and development requirements
• personal, social and emotional development
  communication language and literacy problem
  solving reasoning and numeracy knowledge and
  understanding of the world physical development
  and creative development
• Inspections against the framework occur within 7
  months of registration and again at least once
  every 3-4 years depending on the standard assessed

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How many childminders are there?

• For the most part, the number of childminders in
  Britain rose steadily from 1949-1997
• In 1997 the number of places in private day
  nurseries nearly quadrupled
• Even with this increase, childminding remained
  the largest source of full childcare for children
  under the age of 8
• From 1998 the National Childcare Strategy has
  supported the provision of new centre-based
  placements
• The pre-eminent position of childminding as the
  main form of full childcare has been lost
• Now more than 3 times as many children in
  centre-based care vs. childminding

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The most recent Ofsted figures
2009 estimates based on first quarter only
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What does the research say about childminding?

• Research on childminders in Britain first
  appeared in the late 1960s
• These early studies were often focused on one or
  two localities
• Although not consistent across studies, findings
  included
• Childminders cared for large numbers of children
• Children tended to be very young
• Provision was often in deprived areas
• Childminders were isolated in their homes and had
  few supports
• Childminders practice was not easily visible
• Sector was unregulated
• Childminders lack formal training and
  qualifications
• Some of these unfavourable notions remain today

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More recent research on childminding

• TCRU study from 1999 found
• 2/3 of childminders chose childminding to earn
  money while being home with their young children
• Yet viewed themselves as professional childcare
  workers and saw childminding as a long-term
  career
• 2/3 undertook some training in preparation for
  childminding
• Yet only 25 felt it was very important to hold a
  childcare qualification
• 93 cited make children feel loved as a main
  goal 88 cited help children learn and develop
• Childminders recognised the low value of their
  work
• Yet they reported relatively high satisfaction

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More recent research on childminding

• NCB/NCMA study in 2005 examined childminding
  networks found
• Networks made a difference to childminders
  practice, made their work more professional and
  helped with retention
• The following elements were important
• Accessibility of training and qualifications
• Support of network coordinator
• Meeting other childminders
• Toy and equipment loans and resource libraries
• Regular support meetings and events
• Links with other community agencies to help with
  inspections and become more involved in local
  planning

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More recent research on childminding

• In the 1980s/90s quality came to the forefront of
  childcare research
• Development of the FDCRS in US, used with British
  childminders
• Development of self-assessment tools for
  monitoring quality
• Early evidence from FCCC found that childminders
  were more emotionally responsive than nursery
  workers when children were 10 and 18 months
• Review article of 40 studies reported that 42 of
  children were securely attached to their care
  providers, and secure attachments more common in
  childcare homes vs. centres
• Evidence from NICHD (US) quite mixed
• But, very little focus on practice

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Key gaps in our understanding

• Existing research provides little evidence on
• Childminding practice or pedagogy
• Parents reasons for choosing (or not choosing)
  childminders
• Childminders views of childrearing and important
  outcomes for children, and how their practice
  links to these outcomes
• Childminders perceptions of whether and how they
  are supported in their practice and what other
  supports they need

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The current state of childminding in Britain

• EYFS became mandatory for all registered early
  years practitioners in England in Sept 2008
  Ofsted inspections are now based on how well
  providers fulfill the requirements of this
  framework
• There are still no qualification requirements for
  childminders unless they are in accredited
  networks nevertheless, 36 of childminders have
  a level 3 qualification
• There are fewer children needing care as the
  number of places in group provision has grown,
  the entitlement to a free places has been
  extended to 2- and 3-year-olds, and the recession
  bites.

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Central Government views

• The Next Steps document from DCSF was published
  in 2008 to update the 2004 10 year Childcare
  Strategy, and includes a discussion on
  childminding
• It is unclear whether the single network model
  is the best organisational arrangement to provide
  institutional support to childminders, enable
  them to secure access to the free offer and
  ensure a level playing field across different
  types of providers.
• Furthermore, anecdotal evidence suggests that
  places on childminder networks are unavailable in
  certain areas, which restricts childminders with
  appropriate qualifications from delivering the
  free offer.
• And so we will work with stakeholders, such as
  the National Childminding Association, on
  developing new networking approaches and models
  for childminders to access free entitlement and
  other funding, to enhance their professional
  development and the quality of their provision.

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Moss questions the future for traditional
childminding

• Professionalization or steady attrition and
  increasing marginalization
• Professionalisation would include
• Improved employment conditions
• Rising levels of educational qualification
• Job-related training, both prior to entry and on
  the job
• Prospect of career progression
• Distinctive pedagogical approaches a
  recognition that pedagogical work with
  non-related children is not some form of
  mothering substitution that any woman can do due
  to innate qualities, but involves processes of
  learning, reflection and researching that cover
  theories, knowledges, practices, relationships
  and ethics.
• (Moss, 2003 p. 236)

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Questions for discussion

• Does the current state of childminding in Britain
  reflect what is going on in your countries?
• What other research is out there, particularly on
  childminding practice?
• Have you done any research on parental choice?
• Have you used standardised quality assessment
  measures in childminding homes?
• Have they been useful?
• What was missing?
• How much should childminders be educators vs.
  carers?
• Is this a helpful distinction or is it worth
  continuing to stress that providers do both?

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NCB 8 Wakley Street?London EC1V 7QE Tel
44(0)20 7843 6000sowen_at_ncb.org.ukbfauth_at_ncb.org
.ukWeb www.ncb.org.uk