Looking into childminding...

[MavisGrind]

I'm currently half way through a PGCE Primary which I love. I am aware however that there are very few teaching vacancies within the area I live (would prefer not to move for personal reasons) so was thinking that, should I not be successful in securing a teaching job, I may venture into childminding.

As a LP of 2 dc (ages 4.5 and 21 months) how feasible is childminding as a career that I can support my children on? There are no CM in my small town and I figure I'll be a qualified teacher which means I'm already familiar with the EYFS but can I make a living from it?

Any advice greatly appreciated!

You can make a good living from it if there is the market for you.
you would need to reserach your locale, speak to FIS or the development worker for the gaps in the market to see if its viable.
If there are no other minders then I would think you have a pretty good chance at snagging a section of the market.

To become a minder the whole process can take up to 9 months approx. Despite your exisiting qualifcations you would have to do a 12hr Pead first aid, complete the ICP (now called CYPOPS 5), go through the reg process with ofsted, crb etc.

Its great you are familiar with EYFS and that will stand you in good stead, remember though many parents won't give monkeys about that and won't want a 'learning environment' that equates to a nursery they have chosen a home environment and implement EYFS in that homebased manner.

have a looksee at www.childmindingforum.co.uk

Yes, you can make a good living from it but it will take time. Expect it to take approx 6 months from contacting your local council early years dept to becoming registered. Your qualifications will make you desirable to many parents but it can take a while to get your first children. The more contacts you make the better.
Are you sure there are no other minders in your town? It can be quite an underground profession as many don't publicly advertise. My town is on the smaller side of medium and there are about 150 of us. But every enquiry I get complains about the lack of minders.
Your area will dictate how much you can charge. In my area it's about £3.50 ph per child. You'll need a few children to earn a reasonable wage but when you factor in no Childcare costs and the tax allowances you can offset against your income it becomes quite attractive.
The paperwork can be ridiculous but I suppose you'd have the same as a teacher.
I'd recommend you contact your council asap as registration funding might not be around after March.
Hope this helps.

Thanks very much for the info. I'm fairly sure there are very few minders in the area - ds2 is at nursery as I couldn't find a minder when I started my PGCE.

Would you expect to charge more or less than a nursery? Also, I currently rent (want to buy when my divorce settlement is sorted out), has anyone had problems with landlords?

I will contact my council asap and try not to get too distracted from my PGCE studies!

Generally childminders are cheaper than nurseries. Although a lot of my business has come because I charge by the hour. It makes a big difference to parents when nurseries charge by the day / half day. Not all minders choose to do it that way though. It's really up to you how you charge.

Also you'll need your landlords permission if you're renting.