Objectives and accessibility

Although participation in early years is voluntary, most children attend some form of pre-school or nursery education, either full- or part-time.

All parents have access to childminders, however, they are usually required to fund the childminding themselves. For children that do remain at home, or are put in the care of a childminder, there are no requirements for them to follow any type of learning curriculum. The provision of learning is down to parental choice, or at the discretion of the childminder.

Requirements for childminders and child ratios

A registered childminder is a self-employed carer who looks after children in their own home. If the carer is paid to look after children they aren’t closely related to for more than two hours in the day they must be registered with the local Health and Social Care Trust. Further information can be found here.

Under the 'National Minimum Standards for Regulated Childcare for children up to the age of 12 years' childminders in Wales may care for no more than 10 children under 12.