How to become a childminder?

[klc106]

Hi- apologies in advance for the long post.

 

I would like to become a childminder. I currently live with my parents so I am looking at getting my own place to live and childmind from. I have enough money to pay 3/4 months rent before I start working. I did own/manage a pre-school for almost 5 years but resigned last month. I have a BA in early childhood studies as well as EYPS. I have paediatric first aid, safeguarding, SEND and food hygiene training which is all up to date. I also have a level 2 volunteer who helped at the pre-school who would like to continue helping me with a view of her being a paid assistant once numbers have built up. I am hoping to start after the October half term break?

 

I have a few questions:

- how long did it take you to become registered?

- what do I need to do before I apply to ofsted?

- when did you start advertising?

- how many children do you have on average each day?

- do you have any key tips that I should know?

 

Thank you :1b

[louby loo]

Good luck with your new venture. Things that come to my mind are....

 

If you are renting a house you may have to check whether the contract allows you to run a business from home.

 

I also believe that even with all your qualifications you may still need to do the LA child-minding course.

 

Not sure how long it takes to become registered but have heard it can take months- but not sure if the is true or not.

[HoneyPancakes]

I also think it could take quite some time to get a registration. In the mean time you could be a nanny, or only care for over 8s, or only do before and after school for a maximum of 2 hours. I strongly recommend looking at Pacey information on becoming a childminder, and I'm sure there is information on the Childcare.co.uk website somewhere. There is little in the way of Local Authority assistance these days so use the professional bodies.

 

Very best of luck,

 

Honey.

[klc106]

Thanks both. I emailed Ofsted and they said it takes up to 12 weeks? Is this not always true?

[HoneyPancakes]

I've heard some different stories. Am sure many go smoothly but when they don't..... If something goes wrong then it's another twelve weeks. If you're on Facebook join a group called Independent Childminders. Very busy forum. Gives a wide range of practices and opinions of many different types of childminders. A good way to find out about some of the problems that childminders come up against.

 

Best of luck,

 

Honey.

[lsp]

Always worth checking with your LA whether there is any funding, grants to help with start up - especially with 30 hours.

I assume you will be providing food so would you have to register with local Environmental health dept?

[mundia]

It's worth looking at where you can rent and what the market looks like in that area. Is there demand for childcare for example?

Don't forget also if you rent you'll need a deposit too which is usually 4 to 6 weeks rent so budget for thaT.

 

You may be bound to the time scale your LA can put on any approved training. So if they are not running a course say until October, you will need to figure that in when you get a suitable place to rent and how long you can pay rent for with no income and also any costs for that course. I'd say 3-4 months is quite tight on getting everything done and having your pre reg visit.

 

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[libellule]

Definitely check with your local authority (County Council) - for example in West Sussex there is a briefing pack which explains everything you need to do - you could have a look at this even if you are in another part of England - Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland are different.

 

Look here:

https://www.westsussex.gov.uk/business-and-consumers/information-for-childcare-providers/become-a-childcare-provider/become-a-childminder/