16 Jan 2023
Results of a large-scale survey conducted by the Scottish Childminding Association, (SCMA), to understand the extent that childminding businesses have recovered from the pandemic and their current cost pressures, show that 83% of all childminders who took part believe that cost of living increases are the greatest risk to their business sustainability. This has significant implications for childminding spaces for families, parental choice and Scottish Government policy commitments and requires a multi-faceted and targeted national response.
Worryingly, over 60% believe they will have to reduce heating their settings this winter when children are present and may also have to switch the heating off in their family home outwith their normal working hours just to be able to continue to heat their setting when it is open and children are attending. As sole practitioners working from home, the significant increases in energy, fuel and food costs is affecting childminders disproportionately and can be even more pronounced in remote and rural areas.
SCMA has today, (Monday, 16 January), published the final report from its #TellSCMA Childminding & You Survey 2022 focusing on Childminding Cost Pressures & Business Sustainability. The report captures key data on the extent to which childminders’ businesses have recovered after COVID-19; the impact of cost-of-living increases on childminding businesses; the extent to which childminders can pay themselves the Real Living Wage; the level of additional unpaid hours worked by childminders; childminders’ views on their business sustainability and where additional targeted support may be required.
Main findings:
SCMA has made a series of recommendations to the Scottish Government to strengthen the sustainability of childminding businesses and the wider childminding workforce for the benefit of children, families and communities around Scotland and in support of national policy commitments.
Graeme McAlister, Chief Executive, Scottish Childminding Association, said: “The findings of our survey and publication of this latest report on cost pressures and business sustainability add to ever-increasing evidence of the need for a range of targeted childminding-specific actions to create a more sustainable childminding workforce. We have recently reported that the childminding workforce has declined by 34% during the six years of Early Learning and Childcare expansion, resulting in a loss of 1926 childminding businesses and 11,363 childminding spaces for children and families. Without intervention, it is predicted this decline could reach 42% by July 2023, 50% by July 2024 and 64% by July 2026 - almost doubling the losses to date.
“The situation around Scotland is very mixed. In some parts of the country, childminding businesses are at full capacity, there is a high level of unmet demand for childminding places from families and a critical need to recruit more childminders and establish new childminding businesses to respond to this. In other communities some childminding businesses are doing less well and are concerned about how long they can continue operating. Increases in the cost of living are hitting childminding businesses very hard. In real terms, many childminders are having to turn off the heating in their homes outwith business hours, so they can afford to heat their settings when children are present. We also need to reduce the increase in paperwork and bureaucracy which has increased during ELC expansion and has resulted in 84% of childminders reporting they work an additional 3-4 hours or more every week unpaid.
“Urgent action is vital for the benefit of children, families and communities around Scotland, for parental choice and to support Scottish Government national policy commitments. This needs to take the form of a multi-faceted, targeted national response and SCMA has made a series of evidence-based recommendations to the Scottish Government to support this.”
The main SCMA recommendations include that the Scottish Government should:
Lianne Paton
lianne.paton@childminding.org
SCMA has previously highlighted the contributory causes to the decline in the childminding workforce during ELC expansion. The reasons for the decline are multi-factorial and include –