With just one month to go before 30 hours funded childcare for 3- and 4-year-olds is rolled out across the country, PACEY is asking childminders how they are planning to respond. A snap poll launched today asks childminders whether they are planning to offer funded hours, and about how they are planning to offer the hours.

When we asked childminders in our Building Blocks survey back at the end of last year, only 35 % told us they were planning to offer it, 34% said they were not going to offer it, and the remaining 31% said they were not sure.

We want to know, what has changed?

The recent independent evaluation of the pilots indicated that there was a low level of participation from childminders. Only seven per cent of funded places in the pilots were taken up with childminders, and the key barrier was limited parental demand for their involvement.

We are encouraging as many childminders as possible to join in the survey so do let your friends and colleagues know. We will be publishing the results later in the summer.

In the meantime, if you do have any queries about 30 hours and what it means for you, do have a look at our special 30 hours spotlight. Our new online toolkit Business Smart is also packed with information about different aspects of running a childminding business, including offering funded hours.