Primary school becomes first childminder agency

Childminders are now able to register with St Bede Academy in Bolton, which took part in a government trial of the new policy last year.

The academy will add a childminding service to its existing childcare offer, which is comprised of six nurseries catering for children from birth to four years old.

Head teacher Jack Hatch said the progression to childminder agency will enable the academy to provide flexible care for more working families.

He said: “Achieving our goal of being the first childminder agency to be registered in the UK means a lot to our childcare organisation.

“It should help to provide more of our families with excellent quality affordable childcare and give even more flexibility than we can offer at the present time.

“Now we have to start recruiting our team of childminders – we’ve already had interest from some prospective people who want to train with us to offer great childcare.”

Childminder agencies were introduced in September under the Children and Families Act, with the aim of encouraging more individuals into the profession while making it easier for parents to access home-based childcare.

Childcare minister Sam Gyimah said: “Agencies will make life easier for parents by providing a one-stop shop to help them find the right early education and care for their child.

“That kind of umbrella role they play is something that neither a childminder nor a nursery can currently perform themselves.”

However, the policy has largely been rejected by the sector and, in September, early years organisations criticised the DfE’s childminder agency trial evaluation for failing to provide evidence of how the agencies work and what they mean for practitioners.