Reaching childminders
Once you've decided that childminders need to be part of your
provision, how do you find them? Unlike nurseries or pre-schools,
childminders work in their own homes and are therefore sometimes
not as visible. However, there are a number of ways you can get in
touch with nearby childminders:
-
Family Information Service - every local authority holds lists
of childminders in their area.
- Local NCMA
contact - NCMA staff can liaise with local childminders and
suggest those with specific skillsets or experience in caring, for
example, for the children of teenage parents or disabled
children.
- Early years teams in your local authority may already have a
number of childminders they can recommend.
- Use online childcare finders - parents who are looking for
childcare often search online directories of childminders.
Visit DirectGov's Childcare
Finder and run an advanced search,
selecting "childminder" as a filter. You can limit your search
to your catchment area as well, returning more meaningful
results.