Ka Lai Brightley-Hodges, Head of Coram PACEY

The childminder decline in England

Last week, Ofsted released the latest data on registered childminders showing the loss of 1,001 childminders in England between August 2024 and August 2025 – a decline of 4%. Given their crucial role in supporting children and families, the continued decline from around 60,000 registered childminders in 2009 to just 24,990 in 2025 is devastating. 

While it’s promising that the decline has not accelerated, we know that this is purely down to the resilience and commitment of childminders, rather than any meaningful intervention from the Government. We are fortunate to have such dedicated professionals, but the sector is now at breaking point. This week’s Budget announcement is a vital opportunity for the Government to show real commitment through decisive action and investment in childminders. 

I hope that the support from organisations such as Coram PACEY and increased collaboration and engagement from other organisations across the sector – including the Early Education and Childcare Coalition – has gone some way to reassuring childminders that they are not alone. 

Why are so many childminders leaving the profession? 

There’s a long list of reasons behind the decline – none of them new. We continue to bring these issues to the forefront: 

• Feeling undervalued within the education sector by government, the wider sector and the general public. 

• Experienced childminders are leaving the sector for alternate employment or retirement.  

• Planning and property restrictions, including challenges with planning permissions and rental issues.  

• Low pay – some earning on or below minimum wage. Recent Department for Education (DfE) analysis highlighted childminders earn on average just 91p for every £1 spent.  

• Long working hours – Early starts and late finishes, with administrative tasks taking up time outside of childcare hours. 

• Frequent changes to government policy and local authority requirements, including strict regulation around the way funded hours should be delivered.  

• Increasing constraints on funding mechanisms, including late or irregular payments from local authorities.  

 More than ever, childcare funding has become the central challenge for childminders – especially following the recent expansion of funding for working parents. This expansion has resulted in a larger share of their income dependent on government funding. Today, an estimated 80% of childcare places are delivered through funded offers. 

 Childminder funding  

It is widely acknowledged that the three- and four-year-old funding rate is far too low to cover the cost of delivery. The Government constantly suggests that providers should use funds from the rates for children aged two and younger to make up the lower three- and four-year-old rate. This approach does not work for childminders in the same way it might for nurseries as they don’t have the large groups of children that nurseries often do.  

Our polling of almost 3,000 childminders in England outlines the impact of this:  

• Only 4% said the three- and four-year old rate is adequate to run their business sustainably (compared to 90% for the under two rate and 71% for the two-year-old rate). 

• 90% are in favour of a new approach that recognises they work differently to nurseries and pre-schools. 

In August, more than 4 in 10 childminders told us they had either restricted the number of funded places for three-and four-year-olds or stopped offering funded places for this group altogether, and this number has likely grown since then.  

What needs to change? We recognise that the idea of a new approach to childminder funding can seem daunting, and many of you are worried about the risk of further disadvantage. We want to reassure you that while we are exploring what a revised funding model could look like, we would not propose anything that could cause more harm. What we do know is that the current system is not working for childminders, and we are committed to finding a solution that better supports the majority of the sector. 

What impact has recent Government policy had? 

Flexibilities for childminders and a new category “without domestic premises”.  

In November 2024, the Government introduced new flexibilities for childminders including a new category of childminder (childminder without domestic premises) who work entirely from non-domestic premise and increasing the total number of people that can work together under a childminder’s registration from 3 to 4. 

As of August 2025, the new category has just 27 registrations. It is not clear whether these childminders have moved from other registration types or are new to the sector, but it appears this change has had little impact on overall childminder numbers. We have heard anecdotally that some of our childminder members are benefitting from employing an extra assistant to increase capacity and expand their business. However, it is difficult to assess accurate data on childminding assistants to measure this impact.  

Childminder start-up grants  

In 2023, the Government introduced a £600 start-up grant for newly registered Ofsted childminders available up until 31 March 2025. Between the period of 30 November 2023 – 31 August 2025 there were 4,162 applications to the childminder start-up grant scheme (2,677 from Ofsted-registered childminders, and 1,485 from agencies). While some local authorities continue to provide start-up funding from their own budgets, the national scheme has ended. £600 does not cover costs to start a childminding business from scratch and is not enough of an incentive to attract those not already thinking of becoming a childminder. It was therefore disappointing to see the Government’s larger incentive of £1,000 for new and returning early years workers in certain local authorities did not include childminders.   

 Qualifications and training 

In January 2024, the Government updated the Early years foundation stage (EYFS) framework, removing the legal requirement for childminders to complete formal and specific pre-registration training to understand and implement the EYFS. Whilst the removal of this barrier was designed to ease the burden on newly registering childminders, it does nothing to enhance perceptions of high quality and standards. Meanwhile, the requirement for childminders joining the Childcare Register to undertake formal training remained creating a paradox in which the requirement to work with under-fives became less stringent than for older children.  

Local level – where a difference can be made 

The picture for childminders is not all negative. Recent Ofsted data highlighted 20 local authorities where childminder numbers are increasing, and a further 12 where numbers are stable. These are often areas where early years teams recognise the value and importance of childminders and the role they play in maintaining a balanced childcare market. In these areas, local authorities invest in supporting childminders through pre-registration and registration assistance, networking opportunities, and targeted training. 

How do we reverse the decline in childminder numbers?  

National action from Government  

The Government’s own Best Start in Life strategy highlights the decline in childminders and their important role. If they are serious, they must act now to halt the decline in childminder numbers. If the Government wants a balanced childcare market that offers parents improved access and greater choice and flexibility, we are urging them to prioritise childminders. 

 We are urgently calling for:  

1. A comprehensive national childminder strategy that includes a recruitment scheme with support from pre-registration all the way through a childminder’s career.  
2. Removal of the rule that prevents childminders from claiming funding for children related to them, to retain experienced and skilled childminders.  
3. Urgently increase funding rates for three- and four-year-olds to support viable and sustainable childminder businesses and enable children to remain in childminder settings through their early years and beyond.  
4. Explore a new approach for childminder funding that better reflects childminder ratios and recognises the unique way they work.  
5. Reinstate qualification requirements for childminders joining the Early Years Register to increase professionalism and align them with the wider sector 
6. A national campaign to improve perceptions around childminding, increasing recognition, value and support within the broader education sector.  

Childminder legacy 

Childminders offer something unique within the early years sector, offering a home-from-home environment which is especially valuable for children who struggle in larger settings including children with SEND and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Around 70% of childminders provide wraparound care, giving parents the flexibility they need to work. Childminders are known for caring for children from infancy all the way through to their school years, often supporting different generations of families. Policy tweaks have unintentionally diluted this distinctive offer without delivering meaningful benefits. The expansion of funded schemes – combined with persistent issues around underfunding – means many childminders are being pushed into workarounds. We are increasingly hearing of arrangements where childminders and other settings split the funded offer so that childminders can reserve time for privately-paid parents or younger children. Worryingly, some childminders are now having to stop offering funded places for three- and four-year-olds altogether. No one wants this outcome, but for some childminding businesses it has become necessary in order to remain financially viable. 

 Finally, my ask from childminders in England 

Whether we are lobbying forcefully or working constructively with the DfE, we are continuously focused on the issues that matter most to childminders – supporting our core mission to reverse the ongoing decline in childminder numbers. 

To strengthen this work, I have a few key asks of childminders: 

• Talk to us! Please continue to take our surveys and let us know what is happening on the ground. We want to highlight examples of effective local authority support where early years teams are doing excellent work with childminders. This will help us build case studies of best practice and inspire other areas to adopt similar practices.  

• Work with local authorities to provide sufficiency data promptly. I recognise that this is yet another administrative task, but it is vital. Supplying accurate data ensures that childminders are represented equally alongside other settings and that decisions are based on like-for-like information. 

• Be consistent when de-registering childminding assistants. At present, assistant data is not reliable enough to use. While we continue working with Ofsted to improve the registration process for childminders, having accurate information on assistants – our potential next generation of childminders – is essential for future planning and policy work. 

Thank you for your continued support and the work you do for families. If you would like to get in touch, please email policy@corampacey.org.uk. Remember that you can also contact our Coram PACEY Advisors for reassurance, advice and support.