Experienced childminders who joined a voluntary scheme to help childminders just starting out will be honoured at a special awards ceremony at the Low Wood Hotel in Windermere this Saturday (1 April).
Twenty-five voluntary childminder 'buddies' will receive certificates and commemorative plaques thanking them for their work in providing support and advice to new childminders.
With funding from Cumbria County Council's Sure Start three Support Childminder Co-ordinators were appointed to run the scheme throughout the county, covering Barrow and the South Lakes, Carlisle and Eden, and Allerdale and Copeland. The aim is to improve the recruitment and retention of childminders by increasing the amount of support available through peer mentoring.
The ceremony on Saturday will acknowledge the work of the first twenty-five childminders to take part in the Support Childminder Project. The scheme enables them to 'buddy up' with as many as ten new childminders for up to a year.
Caroline Ellis is the Support Childminder Co-ordinator for the Barrow and South Lakes area and has eleven years' childminding experience herself. She said:
"It can be very lonely looking after children within the home. The project aims to provide childminders just starting out with someone they can call on for help and support for the first twelve months, but I'm sure that after that time they will have made a long lasting friendship because they have been working so closely together."
The certificates and plaques will be presented by Kerry Walker, Senior Development Worker from the Cumbria Sure Start team in Barrow.