From Ofsted - Registration not required factsheet
Introduction
The Childcare Act 2006 says childcare is ‘any form of care for a child including education or any other supervised activity’.
Most childcare providers caring for children under eight years old must register with Ofsted unless the law says they do not need to.
We register childcare providers on the following two registers:
? The Early Years Register
? The Childcare Register
If you want more information on registration, you may visit our website (www.ofsted.gov.uk/early-years-and-childcare) or call us on 0300 123 1231. Please call if you are not sure after reading this guidance that you need to register.
The next section outlines when you are not required to register on either the Early Years Register or on the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. If you need to contact us to discuss whether the childcare you provide is exempt from registration, please quote the relevant number from the table below to tell us which one you think applies to you.
You do not have to register with us in the following cases:
1 If you care for children who are aged eight and over.
2 If you provide care where a child does not stay with you for more than two hours a day, even if your childcare service is open for longer than two hours.
3 If you only care for a child or children aged under eight who you are related to. A relative means a grandparent, aunt, uncle, brother or sister of a child (or half-brother or sister) or someone you are related to through marriage or civil partnership.
4 If you care for children aged under eight on domestic premises as a childminder without receiving any payment or reward for your services. Domestic premises can be your own home or someone else’s home.
5 If you only care for a child or children as a:
? local authority foster carer
? foster carer with whom the child has been placed by a voluntary organisation
? foster carer who fosters the child privately.
6 If you are a local authority approved foster carer, providing childcare for another child already placed with any local authority approved foster parent.
7 If you only care for the children of one or more friends in your own home or someone else’s home and no money or payment changes hands. Payment is defined as a ‘payment of money or money’s worth’ which means payment for or towards the costs involved in the childcare such as a contribution to heating and lighting, or paying for food or repairs to the place where the childminding happens. However you will need to register as childminder if your friend pays you for looking after their child.
8 If you provide care for children in their own home. This includes caring for children of up to two sets of parents completely or mainly in one or both sets of parents’ homes. However, you need to register as a childminder if you look after the children of three sets of parents in any or all of the parents’ homes.
9 If you only provide care between 6pm and 2am on domestic premises (babysitting arrangements). Domestic premises can be your own home or someone else’s home.
10 If you are providing a home-education arrangement where a child of school age receives full-time education outside school, and is partly or completely taught by a person other than a parent of the child. Care provided to the child is incidental to (not the main focus of) the education offered.
11 If (excluding childminders) you provide no more than two activities from the following list.
? School study support or homework support
? Sport
? Performing arts
? Arts and crafts
? Religious, cultural or language study
This only applies if you care for children who are aged three and over, and you do not care for children aged under five for more than four hours in any one day.
There is more information about this type of exemption later in the factsheet.
12 If you provide care as part of your organisation’s activities in any of the following places.
? A children’s home
? A care home
? A hospital in which a child is a patient
? A residential family centre
? A young offenders institution or secure training centre
13 If you are a school or academy that provides education or care for children aged three and over, where at least one child being cared for is a pupil of the school. Children who are two years old when they start school but are three by the end of their first term at school (known as rising threes), may count as age three when deciding whether you need to register.
14 If (excluding childminders) you care for children under eight for four hours or less each day and the care is for the convenience of parents who plan to stay on the premises where you are providing care or within the immediate area. This type of provision has no long-term commitment to provide care for children – for example, a shoppers’ crèche, a crèche attached to a sports centre or adult learning centre, or an exhibition – and covers services where children do not necessarily attend every day. There is more information about this type of provision later in the factsheet.
15 If you provide an open access scheme for children who are not in the early years age group . However, if you also offer provision for children in the early years age group who attend for more than two hours in any one day, you must register on the Early Years Register and meet its requirements. Childminders are not allowed to provide an open access scheme for children under eight.
16 If (excluding childminders) you care for children under eight from specific premises for 14 days or less in any year, and you let us know in writing at least 14 days before starting the service.
17 If you care for children between 6pm and 2am in hotels, guest houses or similar places. The care is for children of no more than two different clients, staying at the same place at the same time (babysitting arrangements).
18 If you wish to operate from an open space or other area with no building (for example as a forest school) you must still register with Ofsted unless you meet one or more of the exemption criteria outlined above in number 1 -17. There is more information about this type of provision later in the factsheet.