Childminders: the road to professionalism Quality Employment in Care Work with Young Children European conference, Brussels April 21 st - 22 nd 2008 Sue Owen Director, Early Childhood Unit, National Children’s Bureau, England

The growth of professionalism in childminding “Developing a sense of professional identity was not about being absorbed by existing professions or even emulating them. It was a grassroots process of connecting to other caregivers and building a unique sense of identity from the ground up” Taylor, Dunster and Pollard, 1999

What are the elements of professionalism for childminding? To quote Moss (2003):  Improved employment conditions  Rising levels of educational qualifications  Job related training  The prospect of career progression  Distinctive pedagogical approaches

traditionally recognised elements of professionalism  Training and qualifications  Recognised approach to practice (distinct pedagogy)  Entry criteria  Improved pay and conditions of work  Emotional distance and limit setting  Self-regulation

What does the history of childminding in Britain tell us about these?  There has been a persistent opposition to characterising it as a profession  Only the organisation and participation of childminders themselves has changed this  This has culminated in the development of a system of quality assured networks which act as forums for this dialogue and for changing practice and offer possibilities for a strong profession in the future

Low status and unprofessional…  In the 16th century vagrancy legislation (1536) noted the growth of a class of women who took care of other people's children and the poor conditions in which they were brought up. This was attributed to a lack of, or irregularity in, adequate payment for the service.  In Victorian literature: “ Left to be minded, Sir. I keep a minding school. I can only take three, but I love children, and fourpence a week is fourpence a week.” Charles Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865)

Confusion between childminding and baby farming Mrs. Dyer the Baby Farmer The old baby farmer 'as been executed, It's quite time she was put out of the way She was a bad women, it isn't disputed, Not a word in her favour can anyone say. 19th century rhyme.

The Infant Life Protection Act 1870  Daily minding was excluded because of what was described as its "unobjectionable character".  The committee imagined what a childminder might say: “I shall not subject myself to be obliged to pay a sum of money to take a license out; I shall not subject myself to be visited by an inspector who is to inspect my house, and my children, and all my arrangements, for the small sum of 4s a week.”

20 th Century legislation  by the end of the War, 1,400 day nurseries and 15 supervised daily minding schemes were in operation, mostly run by local authorities. But…..  "the proper place for a child under two is at home with his mother“ Ministry of Health Circular 221/45

Nurseries and Childminders Regulation Act 1948 Childminders had to register with the local health authority if they cared for more than two children under five, from different families, for the day or a "substantial" part of it “We do not want in any way to interfere with the kindly relative or friend who looks after one or two children while the mother is at work...we do not think that much harm can come to children looked after by friends and relatives in this way. We want to distinguish here between the good neighbourliness, the kind of services that relatives provide, and the people that are going into childminding as a business.”

Fines reduced from £25 to £5 “...the announcement of these penalties may deter a certain number of harmless old ladies who are in the habit of minding children and who, when they see these penalties, may discontinue their good work.”

After the 2 nd World War the profile of childminding continued to change  In 1949 day nurseries took 11.6 children per thousand, by 1968 this had fallen to 5 per thousand. Registered childminders took 0.5 children in every thousand in 1949 and 11.3 in  The Health Service and Public Health Act 1968 brought more categories of childminder under the law. It became necessary to register with the local authority if you cared for any children, other than those of a close relative, for two hours or more a day and if you received a "reward" for doing so.

The Childminders Brian Jackson, New Society 1973  “Too many children, especially West Indians start life in Dickensian squalor. If we don’t tackle illegal childminding imaginatively, how shall we ever help them?”  “I suspect, the biggest group of all are what we might call maternal minders. They half see minding as a career. They are not grasping for money…they are not cruel….They see the “good” child as the quiet, undemanding, physically static child. The talking, playing, exploratory creature is the “naughty” child.”

The Jackson campaigns and the increase in childminding led to lots of training initiatives in the 1970s

Childminders “undergoing” training….

National Childminding Association  Established in 1977, following publicity on the Other People’s Children TV show  Controlled by working childminders although others could join (hence childminding association)  Formed of local group meetings (many set up as viewing groups for the programmes)

This began to lead to: “connecting to other caregivers and building a unique sense of identity?”  1970s: attempts by childminders themselves and by childminding workers to develop groups in which childminders could work together for mutual support and the development of improved practice  1980s:Informal local groups, meeting regularly, with toy and equipment loans or playgroups attached, were available in most areas and were usually members of NCMA

More formal networks were developed as a means of quality assurance  More organised networks: often run by social services departments or voluntary organisations which trained and supported childminders to provide services for specific groups of children e.g. of a particular employer or with disabilities.  National Childcare Strategy:The success of networks led to them being copied for childminders in general, as a way of ensuring quality for the delivery of free nursery education  Childminding In Business! set up by NCMA to provide employer-supported childminding

Children Come First  A quality assurance scheme for childminders networked together in groups  Some accredited to provide free nursery education  Every local authority was given funding to establish networks with paid co- ordinators and training  An expectation that childminders would be qualified to the level which allows them to work unsupervised

The contribution of networks There is research evidence to show that involvement in professional organisations and organised networks are factors leading to higher quality of care for children (Owen 2000, Mooney and Munton 1998). networks were designed to address professionalisation:  the drive for recruitment and retention of childminders (status, pay and conditions, career progression)  improved standards of care and education for children (pedagogy, training and qualifications)  improvements in parents’ confidence in childminding (self-regulation, status)

“I’ve always thought childminding was a good job but it’s very responsible, hard work and there isn’t much appreciation for it. I think networks try to help with those problems, I suppose they try to make the best of a good job!” (network childminder in discussion group)

In NCMA did a study on the effectiveness of childminding networks  To find out more about how childminding networks have affected the role of childminders: which features matter most?  To find out what can be learnt about quality issues from network co- ordinators’ reports.  To make recommendations on the administration of networks and on how best to support childminders.

Many things hadn’t changed: 98% female :

97% white:

77% over 30:

But… 51% had the required level of qualifications and 22% were working towards these (compares with 16% in the Childcare Workforce Survey)

Access to training was also the most important aspect of networks for childminders

Training and qualifications “The training teaches me how much I already know and how much I still have to learn”  77% in the survey said training was one of the most important aspects of the network  91% said that network membership increased their motivation to do training and qualifications

Training should be:  on-going, not one-off  leading to recognised qualifications  accessible in terms of finance and timings  arising from their own debates and situations  linked to improved pay and conditions (career progression and status)

Beyond training…….  “the most important part of the network is the support from the co- ordinator.”  “The network toy library is great as I can hire things I wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford, including multi-cultural resources and wooden toys”  “the best thing about the network is the human contact, I am getting better at sharing and, therefore, at relating to parents”  “I have gained more confidence and self-esteem, feel valued for the service I provide.”  “It has definitely made the job more interesting so I am less likely to give up”

What isn’t changing? “parents don't seem to understand or be interested, I would really like to develop this area”  Pay: A large majority (68%) felt that network membership had not affected what they could charge for their services.  Filling vacancies: A similar number said that network membership had made no difference to the number of requests they received for places  But…it is the more experienced and higher quality childminders who are being recruited into networks, now they need to be accepted practice for all if they are to address issues of professionalisation

Contacts and more information: Sue Owen (NCB) NCMA