The statistics released by Ofsted this week show that there were 61,929 childminders registered with the watchdog in December 2008, which is 1,671 fewer than in August 2008.
Andrew Fletcher, director of communications at the National Childminding Association, blamed the current economic climate for the fall in numbers. He urged local authorities to support childminders in their delivery of the new Early Years Foundation Stage as this may also be causing numbers to drop.
"NCMA is monitoring trends to ensure that registered childminders are supported to remain sustainable for the long-term and speaking to its members to establish what help they need," he said.
A spokeswoman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families, said: "The Early Years Foundation Stage is not a burden on childminders and most of them will be familiar with it because it's what they are already doing - helping children learn and develop through play."
She added: "Before the new registers were introduced (31 August 2008) there were 63,600 registered childminders offering 295,300 places. The new figures show there has been a slight fall of 1,671 in the number of childminders, though the number of places has risen to 299,569; a rise of 4,269 places."
