Buckie registered childminder shortage spotlighted
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THE lack of registered childminders in the Buckie has been highlighted by a local councillor.
Councillor Sonya Warren (Buckie, SNP) said many constituents have been flagging up the difficulty they have encountered getting childcare in the area, which in some cases is having a negative impact on their lives.
She said: "It's incredibly difficult to find a childminder in Buckie.
"The ones there are in the area are fully booked as a rule. What's worse is that some of the existing ones have stopped doing school drop-offs and collections. This is really restrictive to parents and it restricts opportunities to work beyond school hours.
"There is an absolute shortage of wraparound care in the Buckie area. There are few afterschool clubs that provide the much needed support service for families. I've asked the council what can can be done to attract new people to the role and what they are doing to provide support and training for our existing child minders.
"It's far more difficult for these mostly lone workers to keep up to date with skills and training. It's my understanding that its been exceptionally challenging for childminders during the pandemic and they deserve as much support as possible to provide a very valuable and much needed service to our families."
Councillor Warren raised the issue at full council and has also alerted the Community Monitoring Group of the Local Outcome Improvement Plan.
spokeswoman for Moray Council said the local authority stood ready to help wherever possible.
“We have a dedicated Childminding Development Officer in post who is able to offer local childminders training and support.
"The Childminding Development Officer is also currently supporting the Scottish Rural Childminding Partnership pilot project, led by the Scottish Childminding Association, which seeks to recruit more childminders into the profession in rural areas.
"We encourage anyone with an interest in childminding to contact us for details in how they can be supported in to the sector. This work all contributes to our efforts to help families gain access to registered childminders in their locality.”
