CM Ratios

[MaryPoppinsBag]

Is it ever OK for a CM to have four under school age and then go and pick up from half day school nursery?

Conceivably yes. Normally she would only be "allowed" three pre-school-age at a time. But say she had three mindees, and then had two babies herself, the original mindees could remain. Or if she had three mindees and two of them each then had a baby sibling, she could take them to avoid splitting families up. She can never have more than six children under 8 in total, but otherwise there are various exceptional circumstances which might allow her to have more than three pre-schoolers, assuming she is up to looking after them all properly.

I agree it is possible. Some CMs however have completely misunderstood the new legislation and think they can just take on extra children. Flexibility is only for continuity of care.

Also if the CM has lots of part time children who have swapped days, or asked for extra days then it is also acceptable for her to have them under continuity of care.

Cheers.

Hi there, I am a childminder and am unsure about number ratios. Do I need to get a variation from Ofsted if I hav 4 under 5's. Of these 2 are under one- one is a sibling of a child who I hav looked after for 2.5 years and the other is my grandson.

If you are adding a sibling to your existing children, then you're ok, but all parents must be aware and happy with the way you can care for their children.

Assuming you're in England, because I don't know the other rules