looking after children in thier own home?

[aceandskill]

Hi
I will soon be registered as a childminder, but wondered about whether I would be allowed to do a bit of minding for a potential family in their home. Is this legal? I have a current CRB etc but am waiting for reg certificate... can't find much info by googling the question and I know you are v knowledgable on here...

Yes you can - though you may not necessarily be considered self-employed in such a position as you will be working for just one family.

You would be working as a nanny - which in England currently does not require compulsory registration (though a voluntary registration scheme is in place).

Aha so if I did a few hours for another family too could I say I was self-employed?

Nope, not that simple. Each job may be looked at individually.

However, if you are only talking a short period of time such as a few weeks and you are working for several different families at various ad-hoc times, then the general picture may be more that of self-employment. But only a maybe.

As a Childminder you are self employed because you work in Your home... children come to you at various times throughout the day, the parents have to abide by your terms.

When you say you will soon be a Childminder... have you chased Ofsted about what the hold-up is... given that your have your CRB check through? Is it likely to just be a week or so... or is there something causing a bigger problem?

No the CRB I have, which just came through last week, is from a school I was working in, so I just meant for peace of mind for the family really. Ofsted childminding one was only sent last week so i expect it will take the usual 12 weeks. I was just hoping to be able to look after this one child legally from september til the certificate comes through... do you think it is too much of a minefield?

It's a bit of a minefield.

Has Ofsted inspected your home yet? You need to be available for that... so would be a bit awkward if you were caring for a child who wasn't your own at that time.

You can look after the child perfectly legally by caring for that child in the child's home and the parents employing you as their nanny - so by using PAYE. Then noone will have an issue with it - not HMRC, not Ofsted.

You don't know how long this certificate could take... it could be 6 months, could be a year. Sure they have a 12 week target... but it can take a lot longer to register as a childminder than that.

Right then best do that I suppose, is it complicated? Is there a website I can get info from?
Yes have had the home inspection already, got insurance, joined the ncma, got all policies etc just waiting for the bit of paper now... thanks for your help btw

The parents are the ones who need the info rather than you.

Nanny Contract
HMRC: PAYE
PAYEforNannies one of many payroll companies who will do most of the HMRC paperwork on an employers behalf.

If your registration as a childminder will be coming through quickly... you may want to consider providing care for Free for a period of time. Trouble is, you don't know how long it will take.

Thanks so much nannynick x