Do all nanny employers require OFSTED registration?

Thanks for worrying on my behalf!

Okay, just was a tad concerned as reading your post it seemed you were splitting first aid and completely paying everything else (insurance, qualification and registration fee) which would be problematic, however well meant. Sad thing is many parents (and some nannies) don't realise that.

ViveLaFrak - nanny is paying her insurance, she already has that.

SE13 - nanny needs to pay her insurance!

I have very little time for OFSTED and their ways but now that we teachers are eligible for childcare vouchers (which wasn't the case when DD1 was born) my DH and I (both of whom are teachers) would like to make use of them.

As a result we've asked our new nanny if she'd be willing to register and she is happy to do so. We'll be splitting the cost with her paying the first aid (hers had expired) and us paying everything else which seems pretty fair as we'll be the ones who benefit from the registration but she needed to renew her first aid anyway.

I need OFSTED for the childcare vouchers. I have a non-contributory pension. I save a lot more than it cost me to set up. As far I know I will be losing the higher rate tax benefit, but will still get basic rate, so of some value (esp as DH and I both claim them)

BWH - would be great to hear how you get on with getting a nanny. We've had people post on here in the past about being able to get a nanny whilst claiming tax credits but then not heard anything back from them. Makes me wonder if it is really possible, or if there is something that prevents it. For example the weekly max claim amount - with 3 children the max Childcare Element of WTC claim is the same as if you have 2 children.

I want to get a nanny because it will cost the same as any other kind of childcare for 3 kids, but I need her/him to be registered because I claim Tax Credits, not just the vouchers.

I would require First Aid in any case.

I hate Ofsted with an actual passion.

Thanks Frak, it was me with the MM insurance. Unfortunately that was the only way to pay it as au pair has yet to set up a bank account here so she only has cash. Hmm, back to the drawing board on that one.

I am not registered. Could not be arsed. Does not make me a bette rnanny. No real benefit for me. Never had a problem getting work through agencies. Mz employers cant or dont use vouchers but if someone did thenI would expect themto pay the registration.

Aren't they planning on phasing out vouchers or am I totally out of date?
I'm abroad and haven't kept up with much.
If that's the case then I fail to see the point of registering. If it's not enlighten me somebody please.
TBH - any attempts to regulate the nanny industry are going to fall flat as so much is done on the black market. Nobody will admit to it but loads of people do it.
I would register if I thought there was a benefit but see nothing in it for me like Blondes said - it is for the employers benefit.
Even if they did manage to register every nanny they could never police it.

Ditto tavvy

have always found jobs and no one has asked me to register. Saying that I would be happy to become ofsted if my employers companys used the voucher scheme

but they would bear all the costs envolved as it would be for their benifit

I thought I read - if it was you (scrolling difficult!) - that you paid for MM insurance. The childcarer must always pay their own insurance. If the potential claimant can be traced as having paid then it can cause all sorts of issues.

Some well-meaning employers offer to pay to save the cost to the carer but it's the one thing they can't have anything to do with, just in case it did ever come to a claim, because it would cause all kinds if mess.

The previous scheme didn't have as much uptake. Looking on Ofsted's system, looks to me as though there are currently 7551 home childcarers in England (not all will be nannies, as some childminders changed registration category). Think that's about twice the number the old scheme had.

do you mean my post Frak? We didn't pay for the Ofsted registration for the au pair, we use our childcare vouchers towards nursery costs, but we did send the au pair on the same 1st aid course and pay for that.

Whoever it was that paid for the au pairs registration apparently this invalidates her insurance if (heaven forbid) you ever had to claim. When it's up for renewal remember the person being insured must have paid, otherwise the company could easily turn around and refuse to pay up. Whether you then organised sone form of reimbursement completely unrelated compensation is up to you.

And strix you're not the only person who doesn't require it, it's just something that's really being pushed so people now think it's a requirement. I can see the benefits and the disadvantages but on balance I keep myself in a state where I could register without forking out the £100 odd to actually maintain my registration.

Or have an agency request it or refuse to place me.

I'm a nanny and have never been asked for OFSTED registration. It's never been in my interests to register because basically it costs a fortune and is of no benefit to me or the families I work for because they don't use childcare vouchers.
Have never heard any nannies say it's difficult to get work without it.

I see, thanks

This factsheet outlines the different requirements for childminders and nannies (home childcarers). CR5.6 is home childcarers requirements for safety of premises.

Nannies must be aware of health and safety themselves, and must advise parents of any health and safety risks - but Ofsted have no power to insist parents childproof their homes or meet the same safety standards as a childminder or nursery.

From OFSTED website - is this not it?

The Childcare Register
We will inspect a random selection of all those on the Childcare Register. We will also inspect all providers where we receive a complaint about the childcare provision that relates to the requirements of registration or any conditions we may have imposed on the registration. We carry out inspections with little or no notice, unless providers are home childcarers, in which case we seek the consent of parents.

If we decide to inspect, an inspector will visit the provision to check compliance with the requirements and will give feedback on the outcome of the inspection. Read more about the Requirements for the Childcare Register for childcare providers and childminders.

At the inspection visit, the inspector will:

?talk to the provider, the children and any staff members and observe the provision to make sure policies are being put into practice
?check registration details and assess compliance with, and understanding of, the requirements of registration
?assess the safety of the premises and risk assessments
?assess any member of staff?s understanding of policies and procedures
?look at recruitment policies, where applicable
?look at arrangements for making sure unvetted people do not have unsupervised access to children.

Most nannies won't be inspected by Ofsted though, and childproofing the house isn't a requirement of Ofsted registration.

Strix, I think that depends on your employer's policy so is not universal. Also for high earners the pension tax relief has disappeared anyway.

I think perhaps you are the only one who has such a strong dislike for OFSTED at home, although I see where you are coming from as it is literally a "nanny state" thing!

I would support it if the govt made OFSTED registration voluntary for childminders as it is for nannies (so no more threatened action against police officers covering each other's childcare requirements during overtime). At the end of the day, if many parents would prefer to use OFSTED registered carers then the demand from that side would lead to people registering. The compulsion seems v silly to me.