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Childcare: Lorna Ernst and Virginia Cooper

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Has any research been done recently on the effects of childcare on pre-school children? I'm confused whether to try to find a nanny, childminder or nursery.

Lorna Ernst and Virginia Cooper are employed by a large Local Authority Inspection and Registration Unit. They became friends whilst studying for their degrees in Early Childhood Studies at the University of Hertfordshire. Their aim is to give parents the knowledge they need to enable them to choose appropriate and quality childcare. They regularly visit and inspect all types of registered daycare, (childminders, day nurseries, playgroups, creche facilities, after school care and play-schemes).

There has been lots of research undertaken about the effects of childcare on pre-school children but your real enquiry seems to be about which type of childcare you should choose. Research is interesting but does not always tell us what we want to know although it can help you make some initial decisions. For example if a study concentrated on a nursery where there were well qualified staff, a high ratio of staff to children and lots of resources the results are likely to be positive, however this would not prove that nursery care in general will always give such positive results.

Nobody knows and understands your child like you do. Look at lots of provision to help you make up your mind about the best kind of care for your child. The most important factor to take into account is the quality of the provision.

To help you begin your search I suggest you visit some websites and make some phone calls.

www.childcarelink.gov.uk will direct you to your local childcare information service. There is information on the website and they have booklets about the different types of care available.

The Daycare Trust is a charity that has a booklet about choosing daycare and lots of other useful information for parents. Tel: 02078403350

www.ioe.ac.uk/tcru You will find the Thomas Coram Research Unit on this website. They have undertaken lots of research in this field. Their current and past projects are listed on the site. Tel: 02076126957

Make sure that whoever is looking after your child has been checked out and is considered 'suitable' to work with children. Ask nanny and au-pair agencies how they check their staff. Ask nurseries the same. Ask childminders who has registered them and check with that authority that their registration is still current.

Visit all provision unannounced so that you can see exactly how they run, you can always make an appointment for a longer second visit.

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