Childcare Defined
What is childcare?
Childcare describes any arrangement the parents make for their children to be looked after. Perhaps once they're working or training. It can include arrangements they make with family or friends, but more commonly we think of nurseries, preschools, child minders and nannies. Also arrangements the parents may make for before or after school.
Who needs childcare?
All families will need childcare at some time or another, whether it's to care for their child before they start school, or maybe before or after school, or over the school's holidays. We find from our work that roughly 75% of parents will need childcare at some time or other before their child is five, and most parents will need some arrangements for childcare when their children are school age.
What different childcare services are available?
There are a wide range of choices of childcare for parents in this country. They include child minders, nannies, preschools, and nurseries. Also for school-age children there's out-of-school childcare and holding playschemes. There's quite a wide range of options available and parents need to decide what suits their circumstances and their children the best.
What is a nanny?
A nanny is somebody employed by a family to look after their children, usually in their own home. These days nanny shares are used quite often, where nannies look after children from more than one family. Nannies are not required by law to have certain qualifications, but most of them will be well qualified, and agencies that you might use to find a nanny can usually provide full information about the nanny's qualifications and credentials.
What is an au pair?
An au pair is usually someone eighteen to thirty years of age coming from overseas to live with a family. An au pair will usually help with childcare and some chores and tasks around the house, in return for their board and lodging. Au pairs also come to learn to speak another language and find something out about a different culture, so they're not a formally qualified childcarer or solely to provide childcare. You need to make sure arrangements will be made clear with them.
What is a childminder?
A registered childminder will be self-employed, and usually look after children in their own home. They will have carried out some pre-registration training, and have a health and safety certificate and a Criminal Records Bureau check. They will normally look after up to six children, often from more than one family. They provide an environment very similar to a child's own home, in that they will go out for trips and visits, and often meet with other childminders as part of the routines of the week.
What is the difference between a childminder a nanny and an au pair?
A childminder is registered and has several formal checks carried out. The childminder will look after the child in the childminder's own home. The important difference is that a nanny and an au pair will usually look after children in the family's own home and a nanny and an au pair are not subject to formal registration requirements though many will have experience of child care.
Can childcare workers be male and female?
Childcare workers certainly can be both male and female. There are more men working with children of school age and in the play sector, but there's an increasing interest in men working as nannies as well, and I think for a lot of families, having access to a man who can provide some particular input for the children is often very valuable.
Is childcare good for children?
Childcare is good for children where it's of a good quality and the childcare workers involved have good qualifications and good experience. There's a lot of evidence that suggests, where this is in place, the benefits of childcare can last throughout the child's life, in terms of their education achievement, their social skills and their prospects for the future.
