The Government is considering encouraging childminders to work together in non-domestic premises such as village halls in a bid to tackle loneliness in the profession.
Speaking during a live question and answer session on Instagram with the charity Pregnant Then Screwed, children’s minister Claire Coutinho said she has been impressed by a scheme in France where childminders work together in this way.
She is looking at how this can be replicated in the UK in a bid to halt an exodus of childminders. Higher salaries being offered by supermarkets and loneliness are cited by Coutinho as key challenges facing childminder recruitment.
'If you think about people who have left the sector a big group by far is childminders,' said Coutinho.
