Childminder decline sends families 'back to the 1950s'

Hana Foltynova operates in Central Bedfordshire, where there has been a 21% fall in the number of childminders since 2020

A childminder has said a decline in people choosing the career has caused a shortage of childcare places that could see families "reversing back to the 1950s".

Hana Foltynova from Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, said women in particular could be "forced to stay at home" because they cannot find childcare.

The number of childminders in England fell by 50% between 2013 and 2023.

The government said it is supporting thousands of people to join the sector.

Ms Foltynova, who has been a childminder for seven years, said pay rates were the main reason for the decline.

She said people pay "£10 an hour" to have their dog walked, but only "£5 or £6 an hour" for childcare.

"Yet that is our child, our future," she added.

Hana Foltynova works with an assistant and cares for six children

From April most working parents of two-year-olds in England will become eligible for 15 hours a week of funded childcare in term time.

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Ms Foltynova said there was "nervousness" from childminders over how much they would be paid for the government-funded hours.

While the government provides the funding, the exact amount childminders receive will be set by local authorities.

'A win-win'

Yet Mandy Shaw, who is from south Norfolk and has worked as a childminder for more than 23 years, said the funded-hours scheme is "excellent" and has led to more business.

She said it was a "win-win" for the childminder and the parent.

Ioana Apostu works for the NHS and has a daughter who is cared for by a childminder

Ioana Apostu is a paediatrician whose daughter is looked after by Ms Foltynova.

She said finding a childcare place was "tricky" because most providers were full when she started her search, six months before her required start date for work.

The Department for Education has offered people who register as childminders start-up grants of £600 or £1,200.

Richard Conway, from Milton Keynes, is the founder of the online directory childcare.co.uk.

He said once childminders pay for resource and training the money from the grant gets "eaten up quickly".

A Department for Education spokesperson said: "We are taking action to increase the number of childminders, supporting thousands of people to join the sector with the childminder start-up grant and removing unnecessary training costs.

"More widely, we are investing hundreds of millions of pounds to increase the rates we pay for the free government hours, with new rates available to childminders taking part in the offer."