Considering setting up as a childminder. Would this put you off?

[thinkingofchildminding]

I have lots of early years & SEND experience and was previously a nursery practitioner, now I work with families for a local council. I do love my job but just thinking ahead to when I go back to work after maternity leave. I really don’t want to leave my little girl, and there is a huge shortage of childminders in our area and they are all very in demand

I’ve mused over the idea of setting up as a childminder myself but we just have a normal sized 3 bed semi detached home. Large kitchen/dining room, average sized lounge and upstairs. We have a summer house which is in need of TLC and could potentially be done out. Big secure garden. We don’t smoke and don’t have any pets. The problem is, we only have one bathroom and it’s upstairs, and we don’t have a defined area (other than the summer house) which could be used exclusively for childminding.

Would you as a parent/OFSTED be put off by the above or not necessarily?

I'm a childminder and your house sounds normal.

My childminder has a similar set up although she does have a toilet downstairs. Her downstairs is fully utilised by the children, it doesn't bother me. It might possibly bother her that she has no 'off bounds' downstairs space but it doesn't seem to.

So no, as a parent it wouldn't put me off. You'd have to be mindful of what is in your bathroom if are letting older children go by themselves. Several of your mindees might still be in nappies?

We had a childminder who had similar, as long as you’re good at watching them and have things/ toys books that keep them engaged and enjoying themselves, feed nutritious meals and don’t stick in front of the tv, gappynout!

I’ve been a childminder and the one problem I see is if you’re toilet training and have to leave some mindees downstairs. You could consider offering wraparound care before and after school only. Can make good money doing this and would mean you could concentrate on your little girl during the school day.

For me the only issue would be the bathroom. And I don’t think it would be a deal breaker at all.

Would just be a lot easier for you, especially with toddlers, to have a downstairs loo. Then the upstairs of your house is off limits completely and you aren't on another floor when one needs the toilet. But I’m sure there’s ways to work around that.

The rest of the house set up sounds pretty normal.

That sounds fine - I think a lot of childminders use a garden room so their home isn't constantly covered in toys, it’s more for their benefit than the kids’.
Re the downstairs toilet, surely you’d just do what all parents with more than one young child and no a downstairs toilet do when they’re toilet training, and use a downstairs potty?

This is what I was going to say. If you done have a downstairs toilet can you keep babies safe while also supporting a toilet training toddler?

My childminder only had one family bathroom and never bothered me.

Do you mean a room at the bottom of the garden as your playroom? What happens in the middle of winter when it’s raining and one child needs the toilet. You would need to put coats and shoes on and rush them to the toilet and you would be out of ear shot of the other children so you would have no idea what is going on. Being at the bottom
of the garden would bother me but not the rest.

I'm a childminder and only have an upstairs loo. I do have a dedicated playroom though. Toys everywhere all the time would drive me mad - but I don't have toy age children. Neither are an issue for ofsted.

I'd use the summer room as a really organised storage area rather than do it as a playroom, as the resources take over, especially if you don't have a separate room.

My childminder had the same set up. For potty training she had a potty downstairs. If she needed to take a child to the toilet she closed the stair gate but left doors open. The bigger issue i think us that your child may not react well to sharing you and her home/toys with other children.

You sound like my childminder who was brilliant. Loads of experience and incredibly professional.

She had a downstairs loo which may be your only issue. How are you going to help a child with toilet training or hand washing while keeping an eye on the others downstairs?

Is there anyway you could add a downstairs loo.

Otherwise, sounds completely normal to me. I bet you will be in demand. Good luck.