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Title: CHILDMINDING ASSOCIATION RESPOND TO CHILDCARE COSTS STUDY
Date: 31st January 2007
News Details:
NICMA - the Childminding Association, the lead agency representing over 2,600 Registered Childminders across Northern Ireland, today responded to the recent study on childcare costs carried out by the Daycare Trust in Great Britain. Irene Bell, NICMA’s Information & Advice Officer says: “Registered Childminders in Northern Ireland charge the lowest fees across the United Kingdom. Current recommended charges are from £92 per child for a full time 40 hour place [or £115 for a 50 hour week] with a childminder. This equates to a minimum charge of £2.30 per hour, per child which is not a high fee bearing in mind the responsibility involved in caring for a child. Fortunately a Registered Childminder can care for more than 1 child although there are restrictions placed on the numbers so that children are provided with appropriate care and activities.
The increase in fees charged has not risen by the same percentage as in GB; in Northern Ireland, childminders fees have increased by 4% as opposed to the rise of almost 6% quoted by Daycare Trust. Many families will also be able to make use of the Tax Credit system to pay for a proportion of their childcare costs, as long as they use registered childcare”.
In Northern Ireland we have not had the investment in childcare that Great Britain has benefited from – the £17 billion spent on childcare by the Labour Government has not made its way to Northern Ireland and therefore our families and our childminders are missing out. Childminding is a very under resourced sector and yet provides 76% of full daycare provision with more than 22,000 places for pre-school and after-school children. More children across Northern Ireland are cared for by registered Childminders – the most popular form of daycare for working parents.
Childminding provides care and education for children aged between 0 – 14 years and supports the effective learning of children by providing opportunities for individual attention as well as the rich learning environment of the home and local community.
Childminding is unique, affordable and flexible to meet families’ individual needs offering:-
•One-to-one attention - low adult/child ratios allow for a level of individual attention that is rarely matched in centre based care
•Real life learning - Children looked after by a Childminder enjoy real life experiences like cooking, shopping, gardening, mealtimes etc.
•Family friendly - brothers and sisters of different ages can be cared for together regardless of age, stage and ability.
End
Notes to Editors
•NICMA is a registered charity and provides a range of services to promote the development of children through home based registered childminding.
•Registered childminders currently care for 22,000+ children between the ages of 0 – 12 years in a family setting.
•Registered Childminding is one of the forms of daycare eligible for the childcare element of the Working Tax Credit for parents.
•NICMA currently hold a database of 2,500 childminding members Northern Ireland wide to which we offer a range of services to support them in their childcare business.
•NICMA operate a Childminding Information and Vacancy helpline (028 91 811015) to help parents and childminders.
Company Limited by Guarantee Registered Company No. NI 25861 Charity No. XO549
Contact Name: Bridget Nodder
Contact Number: 028 9181 1015 or 07850 102561
Email: bridget.nodder@nicma.org
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