Results of a large-scale survey conducted by 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 setting 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:
- Capacity: 46% of all childminders who responded reported they currently have vacancies in their settings (ranging from 39% of partner providers delivering funded Early Learning & Childcare (ELC) to 50% of those not involved in funded ELC); of those with vacancies, 69% reported they had 1-2 vacancies and 25% reported 3-4 vacancies. Conversely, it is also clear that in many areas where childminders are at capacity there are significant shortages of childminders and a high level of unmet demand for childminding;
- COVID-19 and Business Recovery: 23% of all who responded believed there has been no change to their business, as they remained open during the pandemic and are still at full capacity; a further 27% believe their businesses have returned to full capacity and 25% have returned to 75-100% capacity. While this is encouraging, one in four are doing less well - 15% of those who responded are still at 50-75% capacity and 10% at less than 50% capacity;
- Business Sustainability: While concerns about business sustainability have reduced in comparison to at the height of the pandemic, 35% of all childminders who responded are ‘very concerned’ or ‘concerned’ about their business sustainability (very concerned (14%), concerned (21%)); 83% of all childminders who responded believe that cost of living increases pose the greatest risk to their business sustainability, influenced heavily by the significant and unsustainable increases in energy, fuel and food costs experienced by childminders as predominantly sole practitioners/business owners and which can be even more pronounced in remote and rural areas;
- Cost of Living Increases: 47% of childminders who responded reported that their business expenditure has increased by £100+ per month since the beginning of last year, 26% by £150+ per month and 11% by £200+ per month; 61% of childminders who responded believe they will have to reduce the heating in their setting this winter when children are present AND also have to switch the heating off in their family home while their own family are present (outwith setting hours) to be able to continue to heat their setting when it is open and children for whom they provide childcare are present; 33% of childminders who responded have had to increase their childminding rates within this last year and 59% believe they may have no option but to increase their rates within 6-12 months.
- Real Living Wage and Unpaid Hours: only 13% of all childminders (including partner provider childminders who receive ‘sustainable rates’) believe they will be able to pay themselves the Real Living Wage (RLW) at the higher new rate of £10.90 per hour from September 2022; and 84% of childminders who responded are working an additional 3-4 hours or more, unpaid every week, with 40% working an additional 7-8 hours or more, unpaid every week.
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 of SCMA 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.
"Across the piece 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:
- establish an interim Childminding (or wider Childcare Sector, if the evidence supports this) Cost of Living Support Fund during 2023 to provide financial support to childminders with their energy, fuel and food costs - recognising that while inflation is forecast to gradually decrease, significant cost pressures already experienced during the last 12-18 months will continue throughout this year creating further risks to childminder business sustainability;
- take specific short, medium and long-term actions to reduce the level of bureaucracy, paperwork and duplicative quality assurance which has increased significantly during ELC expansion;
- implement temporary childminding-specific flexibilities to the National Standard for ELC in response to the acute declining trends in the childminding workforce – on the Real Living Wage (RLW) and the mandatory benchmark qualification for later career stage childminders;
- explore the potential to provide a financial subsidy to childminders to enable them to pay themselves and their assistants the RLW and participate equitably in providing current and future statutory childcare entitlements which are important to business sustainability;
- work with SCMA, Education Scotland, Care Inspectorate and local authorities to explore how childminders could be funded for some ‘time off the floor’ during the day to undertake training and quality assurance in line with other early years practitioners;
- work with SCMA and others to develop a national partnership to support, scale-up and extend our demographically-targeted and supported childminder recruitment model across Scotland; and
- contribute funding towards a national marketing campaign to promote childminding as a childcare option directly to parents to support the business sustainability of both existing and new childminding businesses around the country.
Watch this short video from Graeme McAlister explaining more about how cost of living pressures are affecting childminders in Scotland and how SCMA is working to influence urgent action and change.