👶 Childminder in Baltasound, Shetland

About Childminders

A childminder provides registered childcare in their own home - looking after babies, toddlers and school-age children in a small, family-style setting.

Unlike nurseries, a childminder offers a home environment with smaller numbers, flexible hours and often a closer relationship with the children in their care - ideal for parents who want something more personal.

In Scotland, all childminders must be registered with the Care Inspectorate and their inspection reports are publicly available - always check these before making your decision.

About Baltasound

Baltasound is the main settlement on the island of Unst, the most northerly inhabited island in the British Isles, sitting on a sheltered bay on the island’s east coast.

Unst has a population of around 600 people and Baltasound serves as its main centre, with a school, a health centre, a shop, a leisure centre and the island’s main harbour.

The island has a rich history - the ruins of Muness Castle, the most northerly castle in Britain, lie nearby and the Unst Heritage Centre preserves the stories of the island’s Norse, fishing and military past, including the former RAF Saxa Vord base at the north end of the island.

Unst is renowned for its wildlife, its dramatic coastal scenery and the Hermaness National Nature Reserve at its northern tip, where thousands of gannets, puffins and great skuas nest on the cliffs above the sea stacks.

About Shetland

Shetland is an archipelago of around 100 islands - 16 of them inhabited - lying roughly 110 miles north of the Scottish mainland and 210 miles west of Norway, making it the most northerly part of the United Kingdom.

Lerwick is the capital and only town of any size, a compact and characterful harbour settlement that serves as the administrative, commercial and cultural centre of the islands. Around 7,000 of Shetland’s 23,000 residents live in and around the town.

Shetland’s economy has been shaped by the sea for centuries: fishing remains a major industry and the arrival of North Sea oil at the Sullom Voe terminal in the 1970s brought prosperity that was carefully managed through a charitable trust that continues to fund services and infrastructure across the islands.

The landscape is treeless, wind-scoured and dramatic - sea cliffs, voes (narrow inlets), tombolo beaches and open moorland define the character of the islands and nowhere in Shetland is more than three miles from the sea.

Shetland has a distinct cultural identity that draws on both Scottish and Norse heritage - the annual Up Helly Aa fire festival, the Shetland dialect and the fiddle music tradition are central to island life and the sense of community across the islands is strong and self-reliant.