The Clyde Gateway Childminding Project (CGCP) is a partnership project led by Clyde Gateway. The other partners involved in the project are Children in Scotland (CiS), the Scottish Childminding Association (SCMA) and Jobs and Business Glasgow (JBG).

The project aims to create opportunities for residents of the Clyde Gateway area to become Childminders. This in turn will result in more childcare options for local families. The area has an approximate population of 21,000 and there are currently no registered Childminders within the Glasgow City Council part of this boundary. Through careful selection and robust support, the partners aim to recruit and train 20 new Childminders by March 2020.

The CHANGE: Childcare and Nurture Glasgow East project was established by CiS in October 2016. It is funded by the National Lottery Community Fund. The project works in the Dalmarnock neighbourhood within the Clyde Gateway area. The project also covers the other nearby neighbourhoods of Calton and Bridgeton and Tollcross and West Shettleston. CiS employs two full-time CHANGE project staff who have contributed to the CGCP from the outset, with additional oversight provided by the CiS CHANGE Project Manager.

CiS has led on the awareness-raising and evidence gathering aspects of the CGCP. This has included targeted social media activity and conducting a survey of 255 parents and carers to establish whether they would use a Childminding service if one was available and whether they would consider Childminding as a career option.

A key objective for CiS is to provide opportunities for children and young people’s voices and opinions to be included in decisions that affect them. It was agreed by the CGCP partners that staff from the Policy, Projects and Participation (PPP) team at CiS would work with CHANGE staff to deliver engagement sessions with children living in the Clyde Gateway area and ask them about their views on Childminders and Childminding services. These sessions also provided an opportunity for CiS to assess the current level of awareness that children in this area have about Childminding.