CHILDMINDER CLUB: Want to join with 4 others, any advice?

[bonkerz]

Title says it all really. Was talking with 4 other childminders that i see every day and we have decided we would really like to join forces and become a cooperative group and maybe rent or purchase a building to childmind from as a group! We are all prepared to get buisness loans and 3 of us have Level 3 qualifications in childcare and also nurserie management experiance.
Im just after any advice or info that you lovely ladies might have to help us decide if this would be worth while or not. Also what would be better? Purchasing a bungalow and turning it into a workable property? Renting commercial building and adapting?
All advice would be gratefuly recieved. TIA

My PLI covers the "number of children I am registered for" to quote the (several) people I have spoken too

Your individual inspection reports state quite clearly that either you or your dh can have 12 children, so long as you have one other registered CM or assistant. I know other minders who work together, and they are not allowed to have 12 children!!

It doesn't seem to make any difference that you have other minders or assistants there, you would still be allowed to have 12 children in your care with only two adults.

Why do Ofsted allow this and turn other people down for much less? I'm so interested in the whys and wherefores really.

(Don't worry, I won't use you as evidence at any forthcoming "discussions" I have with Ofsted!!)

No idea

Could it be?

DH was to work F/T at the start?
We always had a separate Room?
We had enought space?
There is another couple (fairly local) who do the same?
DD was only 6 so it was only 11 under 12?
I bribed the inspector?
She made a mistake?
I'm lying?

The PLI covers you for the number of children you are registered for up to a maximum number as stated on the certificate (usually 10).

My PLI asks me to send a copy of my registration if Ofsted/CSIW register me for more than 10 children. I assume my cover would then be increased (& probably the cost too!)

that should read:
The PLI covers you for the number of children you are registered for up to a maximum number as stated on the PLI certificate (usually 10).

I checked the back of my Ins cert (NCMA) and 2 minders working together can have up to 18 children

Mine says 15, but as I am waiting for this years certificate I am sure yours is more up to date.

So whats the answer because this morning someone approached me and asked if Id mind her two children in some school holidays. Is it just discretional as OFSTED see fit do you think?

Ofsted are sooooooooo annoying - why can't they just have one bloody set of rules and that be it???

Sorry I have no answers btw, just wanted to moan

Ive found the answer- I called a lady who runs a large cming business and she knows EVERYTHING. I can have up to 10 including my own if I work with my dh. It is a Leeds thing apparently and the differences come from when it was LA controlled.

Glad you have an answer

Isyhan - I would still check officially what you can and can't do. As we all know, what Ofsted say to one person doesn't mean that those rules apply to everyone else. They seem to make it up as they go along.

Most of us can have up to 10 children including our own. There is no limit on the number of over 8s we can have, except that most Public Liability insurance states that we can only have 10 children in total (ie. you could have your 6 under 8s and, therefore, only 4 older ones).

Katymac - I meant to say that it obviously is usually OK for 2 childminders to have 12 children (both allowed their full quota), but I don't understand why they would allow you or your dh (both registered minders) to have 12 children when working with an assistant. All the minders I know who work with an assistant, either permanently or on an occasional basis (like me), are still only allowed to have 6 children under the age of 8 years. The benefit of having an assistant is that all of those children can be under 5!

Whatever you do, don't ring Ofsted to check because they might change their minds!! As Looneytune says, I wish that they would have one set of rules for everybody.

And can you bribe an Ofsted inspector? Anyone tried??!

Is it because the assistant would never have sole charge and that she would normally be working for less than 2 hrs?

I don't know they are inconsistant

My friend and her DH can have up to 16 (12 under 8 and 6 under 5) but we can only have up to 12 (even with 3 minders!)

I know for sure that they are inconsistent because minders I know, locally and personally, are told they can't do certain things under any circumstances - but these are things that I (and others) have been allowed to do (such as variations for the numbers of under 5s to be able to offer continuity of care, looking after more than 1 under 12 months, leaving an assistant in sole charge to do school run, etc.)

Some of it is relatively simple stuff - like some inspectors insisting on separate flannels/towels, and others being happy with a daily changed towel or kitchen roll (let's not go there again ... still haven't got my 17 different-coloured flannels!) Some inspectors insist on cupboard locks and stairgates, others don't. Some have a problem with low garden walls, others don't. Some inspectors get upset if you use the "no" word with mindees, others live in the real world. Oh my, don't get me started!!!

My inspector said:

Hand towels could be shared if changed daily

Not to use the word 'no' (sorry, she wouldn't have said not as that's a negative, she must have said we shouldn't - or something like that )

My dh COULD be an assistant on his own for under 2 hours with parents permission as long as I wrote to Ofsted stating he was an assistant for their files.

Aren't they annoying!!! Maybe we should do a letter with us all signing it saying how stupid we think this all is????