Childminder - things to check before contract?

[BertieBotts]

I went to see a childminder today who could potentially have DS for a few hours a week while I study. I was really reassured by the visit, DS was quite happy and comfortable in the house, running off out of my sight without prompting, not even being upset when he fell over etc. He was tired, and has in the past been very upset when separating from me so this is wonderful to see. For months and months I could not even go to the toilet in a friend's house which he was familiar with, without him crying, so to see him so confident is great.

The childminder came across as lovely as well, we seem to share views on most issues, food, discipline, potty training etc so that was good too. All in all I feel I would be happy to leave DS there. But is this naive after one visit? I have not seen any paperwork etc, tried searching her address on the ofsted site, but it didn't come up with anything (mind you I couldn't find a single report by searching any of the CM's names in the local area, so maybe the search is just rubbish?)

She suggested if I want to go ahead with it that we do some settling in sessions which she said I am welcome to stay for or I can leave him and see how he gets on. I only live round the corner so in reality if he is upset I will only be a 10 minute walk away.

I was just thinking is gut feeling enough or should I ask some more specific questions, ask to see any paperwork etc first? I have never done this before so am not really sure. She was recommended to me so not a totally unknown quantity.

Ofsted website will let you search using the full postcode of the childcarer. However can still be tricky to match up reports to individual childminders - new childminders won't have a report, though will have a certificate so the ofsted site will show how many children they are registered to provide care.

Surprised you have not yet seen Policies, or a Contract. You should see both of those.

Did you see a Registration Certificate?

-Registration Certificate (this will have her registered number on it, which you can use to look up her Ofsted report-NB: remember to read between the lines of the report)
-Insurance
-Contract
-Policies
-Read your contract carefully to see what happens/gets charged if your child/the CM are ill or on holiday
-Many CMs do not show all their paperwork etc on first visit, so she may have all this planned for the next time she sees you
-Recommendations and gut feeling are always a good indicator in my experience, but unfortunately they do have to be backed up with paperwork

Thanks both. I still can't find anything using the postcode but checked on the ofsted FAQ and it says that they do need the URN number for childminders, which is something about protecting privacy. There's an entry on the childcare direct.gov website which I think is her, though it has a landline number and I was given her mobile number so not 100% sure, unlikely there would be two with the same name though? That said about her ratios etc and also that she has had a "Good" EYR inspection, is that the same as ofsted?

That is a good list HSMM - and good to know it's fairly usual not to see all the paperwork at first contact.