advice on becoming a child minder please.

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Hi, a friend is thinking of becoming a child minder, currently nannies, ofsted registered and has nvq3.. what are ratios she has a 2.5 year old and expecting another.. is it costly to set up? how much paperwork involved.. Any advice on anything you think she should know, would be great. Thank you

I have just registered and have been doing it since Easter. It cost me about £500 to set up - including first aid course (she should have an up to date one already as a nanny) CYPOP5 training course, registration fees, insurance etc. My own children are school aged, so I still had a lot of equipment. Only had to buy an extra highchair and travel cot. Her problem is going to be that with 2 such young children herself she will probably only be allowed one extra under 5. (It is normally 3 under 5 including 1 under 1, in total).

She may make more money running an after-school service or holiday club for older children, but she may need to buy more age appropriate toys/equipment. She could then have up to 6 under 8's (including her own 2 - and depending on the space available) Depends on her area. Round here, after-school care is in very short supply and I have turned loads of people down as I only want to work part-time and after-school affects my own children and their activities too much.