Growing mounds of paperwork have seen more than a third of childminders abandon the profession in just six years.

One childminder revealed she is losing in excess of £600 per month as she has had to commit a full day each week to complete paperwork which she is not paid for.

Caroline Edwards, 47, has been a funded early learning and childcare (ELC) provider in Gourock since 2017 but the bureaucracy has had a “huge impact” on her business.

“We can’t do paperwork when we’ve got children in our care,” she said.

“I absolutely love the job I do. I love watching the children develop and being a key part of that but what I am in effect doing is paperwork for a job I love, but I’m not being paid for it.”

Duplication of the same paperwork in different formats for different bodies is at the crux of the issue faced by ELC providers across Scotland.

When the Scottish Government doubled families’ entitlement to free ELC to 1140 hours, childminders were given a key role in delivering the expanded funded care.

However, the issue spans back to 2016 with 34% of childminders quitting over the past six years amid the expansion of funded ELC, according to the Scottish Childminding Association (SCMA).

A total of 1900 childminding business have been lost over the period along with 11,000 places.

While continuing to provide the Care Inspectorate their minimum standard paperwork, carers providing funded ELC need to provide another version of the same documentation to their local authority.

While other childcare settings such as nurseries might be able to dedicate specific time within paid hours to complete quality assurances and other paperwork, childminders are not able to do the same.

The 47-year-old added: “We are sole traders, and we work on our own.

“Throughout the day, I can’t do any paperwork because I need to be engaging with the children, doing activities with them or taking them to the park.”

Speaking on her decision to commit one day to complete paperwork, Ms Edwards said: “If a parent came to me and said they need a Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, I couldn’t offer that because I don’t work a Friday.

“I am not losing out only on a day’s salary, but I have to turn that parent away because they need the three days not two.”

She added: “If I look at what I earn the other days you’re looking in excess of a reduction of £600 per month for me so it is huge.

“We are not talking a couple of pounds. We are talking huge.”

Ms Edwards has urged for more communication between the Care Inspectorate and local authorities to prevent duplicative quality assurance.

She hopes an audit published by the SCMA detailing the declining workforce will ensure “people are sitting up and taking notice”.

“I would hope it would get better but if nothing changes it will get worse,” the childminder warned.

Asked if the bureaucracy would push her out of the job she loves, Ms Edwards said: “Absolutely. I am 47 just now and there will be a time when it’s just too much to keep that going.”

“When I look at childminders right across Scotland, who I am in contact with, there are so many who have either left or are seriously considering leaving.

“There is a number of them who won’t offer ELC funded placement because the thought of having all the paperwork is just too much for them.”

The SCMA has warned that the number of childminders quitting the job could double by 2026, when a 64% drop in numbers over ten years is expected.

Ms Edwards said: “What I am asking for is for all these different sources that ask me for paperwork to sit down together with some childminders to get a best practice and to look at what is the best way going forward.”