Has anyone set up a nursery!?

[navyeyelasH]

Hey folks, long time since I was last here but I was rather hoping you brilliant people could help me out as Ofsted as ever, are useless don't seem sure.

I am a childminder, working alongside another childminder and have been for 3 years nearly. We employ an assitant and have 1 day off each week alternatively. So well clued up on running a business and employing 1 person.

We have been totally full for the last 3 years and each year we have more people that we have to turn away. I was thinking about setting up as a nursery but wanted to do some research, mainy on costs and also about who can actually run a nursery. I quite like the idea of having a manager to do it so I can still play, not sure how feasible that is.

Anyway, any advice would be brilliant; the main things I am struggling with are:

Costs involved with Ofsted
Costs involved in running a business from a home that isn't your own, like are there council bax discounts or similar
Are ratios different?

Anything else really you want to add, I would love to hear. Hope you're all good x

navyeyelash it's 1:8 age 3 or 4 or 1:13 if a qualified teacher is present between 8am and 4pm

TBH I think (although I have no direct experience so I could be VERY wrong) it would be hard to do well at that ratio

I am utterly shocked that you could have 1:13, that is mental, I thought 1:8 was insane! I think it would only work if you had very very grown up, robot like, children. Or a different set of kids every 40 mins so they didn't get bored!

Madness. I was just assuming that the ratios were 1:3 for under 5's like CMers!

In terms of Ofsted, what do you think would happen if 5 childminders worked from 5 rooms with the same 3 children in each room each work. Just hypothetically; not thinking of doing this, but just wondered if they are then CMers or a nursery?!

If someone lived tin the house then it might be CDP (but it wouldn't be really) or possibly illegal

& then if one child from each rrom left you'd all be under utilised & broke

Plus how would you do loos & kitchens and using outside?

I was sort of just assuming that each "room" would have it's own loo and it's own outside space. It's more of an "what would Ofsted think" question than a "this is a good idea question".

What's CDP? You're such an acronym queen Katy! Don't know how you keep up

Childcare on domestic premises - a nursery in a house someone lives in basically

Why not 5 c/mers in a bloody big room with 15 children?

I was just wondering if you put everyone in separate rooms if they became a nursery in Ofsted's eyes.

Plus I think if 3 or more people look after children 1 one room then they do decide it is a nursery?

3 childminders = childminding
4+ childminders = childcare on domestic premises

nursery (daycare)= non residential house

couldnt have an adult working by themselves in a room due to Child protection best practice

In a nursery it is 2 people on duty at all times

what if you have 4+ chilminders and they all worked from one room which was ina house where someone lived? Still CDM? Just pondering things really!

CDP = Childcare on domestic premises

Yep

BTW I sent you a PM