“My Childminder makes my child feel welcome, at ease, happy and secure in my absence. She provides excellent continuity of care and helps my child develop
important skills through play. She has also helped develop her social skills.”
Parent
There are a number of unique features of Childminding which support children’s learning and development.
Children’s individual needs can be met – through individual attention from the Childminder and interaction with other children of all ages. Babies, particularly,
benefit from the individual, family type care provided by Childminders.
Low adult/child ratio – Childminders can be registered to care for up to 3 children of pre-school age and 3 children of school
Family friendly – Childminding offers parents the opportunity for all of their children to be cared for in the same setting regardless of age. Childminded children are not segregated because of age or stage. This encourages siblings to bond and so encourages family relationships to fully develop.
Part of the community – Children are cared for in their own community, enabling them to build and develop their own local connections and providing opportunities for close links with community based services and with local schools.
Real life learning – Children looked after by a Childminder enjoy real life experiences like cooking, shopping, gardening, mealtimes, etc. From these everyday activities the children can learn basic science, maths, social skills and language skills.
Support and back up – Childminders can provide support to parents by offering homework supervision, back up and emergency care where required.
Equality of Opportunity – Childminding offers all children equality of access to opportunities to learn and develop, taking account of the child’s age and stage of development, gender, ethnicity, special educational needs and any disability. It also offers children with special needs or disabilities the opportunity to be cared for in an inclusive setting with children of differing abilities, ages and backgrounds.
