Wigan childminder reveals impact of pandemic on her business

A Wigan childminder says she is committed to caring for the youngsters of key workers - despite the impact the coronavirus pandemic is having on her business.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Claire Burrows has been looking after children at her home in Winstanley since 1996 and works alongside her daughter Lauren Sproat, who is also a registered childminder.

They can only care for the children of key workers during the Covid-19 crisis, meaning they have two or three children each day instead of the six they used to have.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

But they are determined to keep working so the parents can too. They can include healthcare staff, police officers and dental workers.

Childminders Claire Burrows and Lauren SproatChildminders Claire Burrows and Lauren Sproat
Childminders Claire Burrows and Lauren Sproat

Claire, 47, said: “I think we are doing a really important job, because if we don’t support them, they couldn’t go to work. They have no-one else to fall back on.

“They can’t go to grandparents, if they have them, because they are vulnerable people and can be at risk.

“I could have said I am not willing to put myself and my family at risk. We have taken as many precautions as we can. We are washing hands as often as we can and parents aren’t allowed in the setting - they are dropping off at the gates unless they are under 18 months.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Social distancing measures mean that Claire and Lauren, 23, each run the business for half of the week, so they are not working together.

Of course, a reduction in the number of children being cared for does mean the business has seen a drop in its income.

Around one-third of the money that Claire and Lauren receive is used to pay for things such as food for the children and craft supplies for activities.

Claire said: “We have asked parents to voluntarily contribute a retainer fee so we can keep our business open, because otherwise it will be a case of not being able to continue this in the future and getting jobs elsewhere. We have got no income other than what we are earning.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Quite a few of our parents have been open to that, but we have had some parents who have given notice and can’t pay anything.”

The mother and daughter are also waiting to find out what support they will receive from the Government’s scheme for self-employed workers.

Childcare platform Yoopies published a report outlining the impact of the pandemic on childcare providers, revealing the situation in the childcare sector.

It found that since the lockdown began, 50 per cent of childcare providers have been able to work, with 89 per cent of them working for families in which one or both parents were key workers.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Childminders were the only category of workers in which more than half of staff were still working. But they were the group least likely to be paid their full rate, with one-quarter receiving a partial salary and some even working for free.

Some were reported to say they felt “undervalued”, did not know if they would be eligible for Government funding and feared for their futures.

Despite the loss of income and risks posed by coronavirus, many childminders wanted to keep working to allow essential staff to remain on the frontline.

But Claire admits she is worried about her business and says others have left behind their profession.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“We will continue looking after children in the future,” she said, “but I know a lot of childminders are either saying they will not return to it in the future or others saying they won’t return until September when hopefully we will have returned to some kind of normality.

“There are some childminders who have said they can’t stay open. They can’t continue this profession because they have no money coming in.”

A message from the Editorial Director, Gillian Parkinson:

Thank you for reading this story on our website.

But I also have an urgent plea to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality local news on this free-to-read site and in print, please purchase a copy of our newspaper as well.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on our town centres and many of our valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you buying a copy when you pop out for your essential shop or subscribing for delivery.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Our journalists are highly trained by the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards anywhere in the world. Our content is universally trusted - as all independent research proves.

As Baroness Barran said in a House of Lords debate this week on the importance of journalists: "Not only are they a trusted source of facts, but they will have a role to play in rallying communities and getting the message across about how we can keep ourselves and our families safe, and protect our NHS. Undoubtedly, they have a critical role."

But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis. In return we will continue to forensically cover the local news - not only the impact of the virus but all the positive and uplifting news happening in these dark days.

We thank all our readers and advertisers for their understanding and support - and we wish YOU all the best in the coming weeks. Keep safe, and follow the Government advice. Thank you.

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE:

You can subscribe for delivery by contacting us at [email protected] or calling us on 0330 4033004 for details of a participating newsagent near you.