Childcare.co.uk writes to BBC The One Show regarding portrayal of registered childminders

Childcare.co.uk has written to Charlotte Denton, Director of the BBC programme, The One Show, regarding the portrayal of registered childminders in a report broadcast on Tuesday 19th March 2024.

We received hundreds of concerns from our community regarding a report about the early years sector shown within the programme which inaccurately suggested that children in a childminding setting do not benefit from the same quality of care, social interactions and other opportunities afforded to children attending nursery settings.

The show broadcast comments from a parent of a SEND child who attends a childminder. The parent said that they had been told that 'nursery is the best place for them' but had been unsuccessful in finding one after a search of over 12 months. The One Show suggested that the parent was concerned that the child's development could be 'hampered' due to them not attending a nursery and implied that childminders were inferior to nurseries.

The report falsely implied that children attending a childminder could not sufficiently socialise with other children and that childminders were not suitable to deal with the requirements of children with additional needs.

The One Show failed to provide an opportunity for a registered childminder, or an organisation who represents childminders, to put forward an alternative viewpoint, resulting in the report being unbalanced.

Whilst we appreciate The One Show raising a number of challenging issues affecting the early years sector, including staff shortages and underfunding, the unfair and inaccurate representation of childminders is wholly unacceptable.

Registered childminders function in a similar fashion to nurseries, with providers having to adhere to an almost identical EYFS and early years curriculum.

We hope that the BBC will reflect on this matter and in future broadcasts will ensure that childminders receive the recognition that they deserve.