Registering as a childminder 'just in case'

[DialMforMother]

Before I get into this I want to make it clear that I'm aware that childminding is a responsible career with a lot of demands. I'm not assuming that anyone can do it.

I'm currently on maternity leave and have pretty much decided not to return to my career. I had thought about childminding to make ends meet although we can just survive on dh's salary provided no-one eats too much :)

I'm not sure that I can commit to all day every day care but am conscious that lots of people need a week of childcare here and there.

Might it be worth registering as a cm to do this kind of thing? I have previously been a teacher so am crb checked and familiar with ofsted etc.

Any advice much appreciated.

There are a lot of overheads - Registration fees, extra house and car insurance, NCMA membership childminders' public liability insurance, fees for your medical (my last one was £85), then all your kit from double buggies and extra car seats to fire blankets, business paperwork, training courses etc., and then many hours investment of your time doing policies and procedures, risk assessments and so on. You would probably be looking at several weeks paid work just to break even, so I'd not recommend going through it just for "here and there" childcare.

A lot of childminding work is part time. What about working 2 - 3 days a week. Or just doing before and after school care. You'd still have plenty of 1 one to one time. The routine of 2 regular days a week would be far better as with temp cover you could end up with very unsettled young children that don't understand your house rules and cry for the duration. The first child I minded (13 months old) cried continuously for 3 weeks. Then suddenly he was fine. He's been with me now for 6 years.

Most newly registered minders just take whatever work they can get, which might be as little as one morning a week. Hopefully you'll be eligible for a start up grant which will cover the initial overheads so you won't be out of pocket. And remember that you don't have to take a job on if it doesn't suit you.

Thats the joy of childminding, you can choose your own hours and days - so if you only want before and after schoolers term time only thats all you take on.

Its about finding a niche in the market - early/later working hours, ad hoc and emergency childcare.

Whatever you do though remember, childminding is quite a fickle and unreliable business.

There is a lot of set up outlay as minderjinx says and then there is the wait to get mindees. Some areas offer a start up grant covering some of the outlay.
EVen though you are already a teacher, you would need to still get another CRB check.
You would need to do the childminding course - the transition into minding and the mindset is quite a hefty one. I know from tutoring and supporting, that teachers can find it quite difficult getting away from such a formal way of learning. I don't mean that to sound snotty.

What about ad-hoc/emergency nannying? It removes the need for registration and the disruption to your own home and if your rates are reasonable you should be able to pick up enough here and there to make it worth your while.

Thanks for these ideas - food for thought.

As a ball park figure what's the minimum amount of money I'd have to spend as a set up cost?

In my Local Authority;

Ofsted registration £30
Paediatric 1st aid £15
Doctors certification £60
Public Liability insurance (bought as a package with standardised paperwork from Morton Michel or NCMA and fire blanket)£100+
Fully stocked first aid box £25

Our LA will currently reimburse receipts totalling up to £200.

As i started minding just before my daughter turned one the neccessary childproofing measures (fireguards, gates, glass safety film etc) were already in place. (Although i must admit that they were aquired and fitted for free due to us being eligable for an area child protection scheme due to our postcode)

Smoke alarms. I had some lovely firemen bring their engine and park it outside my house while they fitted free 10 year alarms on each level of my house. I'm of the understanding that this is a national scheme for any household that wants it.

Anything beyond this (i.e carbon dioxide monitors) is good practice rather than a requirement. You dont have to have toys and equipment available for all age groups immediatly but you should be able to explain to Ofsted how you would aquire suitable resources at short notice.

So, in short, i don't think it actually cost me anything other than time to set up. But it does depend on where you live in the country.

I would contact your LA and ask them to sign you up for an introduction talk into childminding. Once you've been to this introductory talk, you should have a clearer idea.

Start up costs?
-First Aid course cost me £112 which was refunded 4 months later by the LA.

-The OFSTED registration cost, £39 or £103 depending on which register(s) you wish to join.
-My LA pays for the NCMA 'quality start' package which is worth around £200 and includes public liabilty insurance which is a legal requirement. From next yeat I will have to pay it myself.
-Business use car insurance for childminding (£349 for me) but this will depend on your own individual circumstances.
-Level 2 course in Food Hygiene was £30 via an on-line course.

• first aid box was £17.99

Then there are the running costs:

• age appropriate equipment and games
• stationery
• website hosting (can be free)
• fuel
• subscriptions to professional bodies eg NCMA
• attendence to level 3 course (if you intend to childmind beyond 2015). You could be funded by LA but you need to prove exceptional promise. In other words, that you are committed to childminding and/or a career in childcare.

A good website to check out is childmindingforum.co.uk

Good Luck

I'm with Morton Michel, £41 for public liability. I've also got my car (Zafira) insurance with them.
They send you regular email to keep you uptodate with childcare news. Last one was about a competition they are running www.mortonmichel.com/MM/designcomp2010.asp

Thanks for these tips. The introduction sounds like a good idea -will look into it in my area. :)