30 Magazine of theNational ChildmindingAssociation

The Isles of Scilly are 29milessouth west off the coast ofCornwall and aremade up offive inhabited islands andmore

than 200 uninhabited islands. There arefew roads, miles of sandy beaches,castles, wetlands, subtropical gardensandwoody areas.The NCMA Isles of Scilly

Childminding Network was started inMay 2010, and currently has twomembers: Nicola Christopher and HelenGlenn, with a further four almost readyfor approval.Kerrie Harvey, the network

coordinator, is one of four staffmanaging the Cornwall CommunityChildminding Network. She says, “thechildren on the Isles of Scilly grow up in

a landscape rich inmany opportunities.It’s interesting to see how their playdiffers from that on themainland. Forthem, it’s all about building boats andheliports.”

Travel by helicopterKerrie enjoys flying by helicopter to theIsles of Scilly every 12 weeks to visit thechildminders and holdmeetings. “It isexciting arriving by helicopter and thengetting a tractor and trailer to Nicola’shouse onTresco”, says Kerrie. “I’menjoying supporting these childminderswho are working in a unique settingwith the backing of the Isles of ScillyChildren’s Services who are phenomenalandwork hard to pull in the training andservices that the childminders need.”

Fall in loveRegistered childminders, Nicola andHelen, both arrived on the Isles of Scillyfor gap year summer jobs and endedup falling in love, not only with theislands and the way of life but withtheir future husbands.

Holiday childcareNicola now lives on the unique Tresco,which is privately owned. All thepeople that live there permanentlyare employed by the owner, includingNicola’s husband, although Nicola isself-employed. Residents’accommodation comes with the job,so no one owns their homes. Theisland is one mile by one and a halfmiles with one pub and one shop.

Mel Parks hears from two childminders whomake the most of island life on the Isles of Scilly.

ChildmindingontheIslesofScilly

Professional focus

Nicola at a parent and toddler group

31WhoMinds? October/November 2010

There are no cars; people travel abouton foot or by bicycle and to the islandsby boat. There are 150 permanentresidents and this number swellsduring summer months when theisland is open to holidaymakers. Nicolamakes the most of this opportunityby offering her childminding serviceto holidaymakers, too.

Confidential supportHelen has been childminding on themain island of St Mary’s since 1997 andappreciates the support she gets fromthe new NCMA childminding network.She says, “I feel professional, part of theorganisation, and that my opinions arevalued.When the coordinator comesto see us, it feels really worthwhile. Sheprovides confidential support whichmakes a really positive difference tome in my work, particularly as I couldfeel isolated here.”

Somuch to doThe childminders make the most ofisland life by getting out and about.Nicola says, “There is so much to dohere.We go beachcombing a lot androck pooling.We have a lake here thatis fed by the sea and we go birdwatching during the migration season.There is a children’s centre on the mainisland of St Mary’s and with theparents’permission, I’ll take thechildren there on the boat or we’lltravel as families to a special event.”Nicola runs a parent and toddler

group with a couple of the otherparents on the island. They meet twice

a week and invite holidaymakersalong, too, to join the usual fiveor so children. “This gives thechildren opportunities to meetpeople from differentbackgrounds and places, whichthey wouldn’t otherwise have,”explains Nicola. The opportunitiesthey do have, however, are unique:“My son starts pre-school inSeptember and will go to St Mary’sby jet boat with a friend. He’s soexcited. There is a primary schoolon Tresco with 18 children, butonce he reaches 11, he’ll go back toSt Mary’s and board fromMondayto Friday.”Helen appreciates the freedom

that children have on the islands toexplore. She says, “I take them low-level rock climbing, paddling,swimming, and on nature walks. Theisland landscape is so varied. Out of mywindow, I can see beach, heathermoorland, wetlands, woodland, andthe mainland. On the island, there aregarden areas, rocky outcrops andheadlands, a lighthouse, castle, andbeaches with little islands that you canwalk to at low tide.”

Forward planningThere are worries that come withexploring the outdoors. Nicolaexplains, “I worry about jellyfish whenwe’re beachcombing and other naturaldangers such as when we’re pickingblackberries, I worry that the childrenwill try to put something moredangerous into their mouths.”Also, living on a small island gives

newmeaning to forward planning, asnetwork meetings, the children’scentre, chemists, doctors and otherservices are all on St Mary’s, so Nicolawould need to take a boat there, whichis dependent on the weather and boatschedules. “We have to plan a longtime ahead,” says Nicola. “We can orderspecial jet boats if there are a few of us,and children’s services will fund these

for special events. If my husband isavailable, we can take our boat. Foodshopping takes more planning, too. Iwill do a bulk order of about ten crateswith an online supermarket and thenpay for freight from the mainlandwhich ends up costing about £40 atime.”

A close-knit communityBoth childminders appreciate theclose-knit community they live in.Helen says, “It takes a while to getused to somewhere so small; you canwalk around the island in a day andeveryone knows everyone else, but it isa fantastic community to live in. I feelsafe here. The shopkeeper knows allthe children’s names.”Nicola says, “I love it in the winter,

too.We get out and about and enjoythe muddy puddles and the weather,and the community becomes evencloser. The pub exchanges chairs andtables for sofas and they run regularsocial nights. It’s brilliant!”

Professional focus

How tomakethe most ofyour naturalenvironment

Here are five top tips from the

childminders on getting as much

as you can out of your natural

environment:

Get out and about withoutthe children first and seewhat’s around

Plan your activities to make themost of what’s available to you

Check local wildlife associationsand children’s centres for events

Get organised with riskassessments, parents’permissions, relevant first-aidtraining, and suitable clothing forthe weather and there isn’t muchyou can’t do

Enjoy your natural environment;the children love to get out andexplore the outdoors.

For more about the Isles of Scilly,

visit www.simplyscilly.co.uk

Helen in the garden with herminded children