Auntie JJ's Childcare

Happy Mothers Day to all you lovely Mum’s🩷💙

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Costume swaps help reduce cost, waste, and pressure around dressing-up, while making it easier for more children to take part.
Bring along outgrown, gently used book-themed costumes and swap them for a new-to-you costume of your choice.

Starting our valentines crafts early 🩷💛

There’s something happening quietly in the UK that should be making every single person stop and pay attention.

We are losing childminders.

Not slowly. Not “a few here and there”.

In England, registered childminders have dropped to around 25,000.
That’s 1,000 fewer in the last year alone.
And the long-term picture is even worse - we’ve gone from around 60,000 childminders in 2009 to under 25,000 today.

That isn’t a “shift in childcare trends.”
That’s a collapse of a whole part of the sector.

And what makes it heartbreaking is this:

Childminders aren’t leaving because they don’t care.
They’re leaving because they’ve been pushed to the edge.

These are the people who:
* provide a genuine home-from-home experience
* offer the flexibility families rely on
* know children inside out (their interests, their triggers, their routines, their confidence levels)
* build bonds that aren’t just “professional” - they’re secure and life-shaping
* support families through the hardest moments, not just the easy ones
* teach, nurture, guide, comfort, protect… and somehow still manage paperwork, admin, learning journeys, safeguarding, training, risk assessments and inspections on top

Childminders don’t do this job for the money.
They do it because they believe in giving children the best start.

So why are they disappearing?

Because the sector is being stretched to breaking point by:
constant change,
more demands,
more accountability,
more financial pressure,
…and honestly? not enough respect.

And while this is happening, it genuinely feels like the direction of travel is: children being “placed” into childcare that looks more like school, from as young as 9 months.

I’m sorry but… 9 months old.

That should make us all pause.

Because childcare isn’t just about getting parents back to work (as important as that is).
It’s about babies and toddlers being cared for in ways that are developmentally appropriate, nurturing, responsive, and safe.

And homebased childcare has always offered something incredibly special - yet it still isn’t valued the way it should be.

Parents choose childminders because they want:
✅ a smaller setting
✅ familiar routines
✅ stability
✅ flexible care
✅ a caregiver who knows their child deeply
✅ an environment that feels like home - not a production line

And yet… the people providing this essential care are being forced out.

Not because they don’t love the job.
But because loving the job is no longer enough to survive it.

If we lose childminders, families lose choice.
Communities lose support.
Children lose a beautiful, nurturing early experience.

And the early years sector, already on its knees loses even more of its foundation.

This matters.
More than most people realise.

Happy new year to you all

Merry Christmas to all my wonderful children and families 🎅🏼❤️
Thank you for your continued support, kindness, and trust throughout the year. It’s been a joy watching the children learn, grow, and make so many special memories together in our little home-from-home setting.

I hope you all have a magical Christmas filled with love, laughter, and precious family time 🎁✨
Wishing you a happy, healthy New Year — I can’t wait to make more memories together in 2026.

With love,
Jessica xx
Auntie JJ’s Childcare
🤍 Caring, learning & growing together 🤍

Christmas crafts have been im full swing this week, although Angus always loves to paint his hands 🙌🏼

What’s your favourite Christmas Crafts? 🎄🎅🏻

✨ A little update from Auntie JJ’s Childcare…
We are over the moon to share that our newest little family member has arrived!
💙 Finley George Jackson made a surprise early entrance into the world and is settling in beautifully.

Thank you so much to all my families for your kindness, support, and understanding during this time. We feel incredibly lucky.

I can’t wait to return in January and welcome your little ones back into our cosy, home-from-home setting — now with an extra sprinkle of baby cuddles in the house.
Caring, learning & growing together… now as a family of four. 🩵

Looking for childcare that feels like family? Then look no further Auntie JJ’s childcare is here for you, drop me a message to discuss further 🧡🩷