how to become 'Ofsted approved'

[askingnottasking]

Some questions as am a bit clueless.

I am self employed and work on a (very) ad-hoc basis for various families working the days & hours that I choose, they are not dictated to me (so am confident that I am fine with being SE, have also checked with tax people a million times).

Anyway, due to the nature of the hours that I offer and the area in which I live, I typically work for very wealthy families and am paid direct by bank transfer or cheque, I then obviously do tax return etc. Not a whiff of a childcare voucher, tax credit enquiry or anything along those lines.

A lovely lady that has acquired my details has contacted me asking for availability, so I have told her m situation for the next few months and it seems that what I can offer matches up with what she needs. I'm (fairly) happy that this would be OK under SE - that isn't really my question.

What I am unsure about is this: she claims tax credits. she doesn't need to pay me via childcare voucher (she pays for another part of he DD's care with these), but, she does require me to be 'Ofsted approved'. I am not Ofsted reg - have never needed to be. Is Ofsted approved the same as being Ofsted registered? What would I need to do to become approved????????

Clueless & thought I would ask here before I start trying to dig for info!!

Sorry that this is loooooooooooooong! thought the background would help to put my questions into context.

For nannies it is Ofsted registration not approval. Ofsted does not regulate nannies, they just run a registration scheme and check 10% a year that the scheme rules are being observed. Tax Credits requires that providers are approved or registered, see WTC2 and WTC5 booklets.

The main issue I see is that Ofsted requires the address at which you are working. If you are doing very ad-hoc work, what address do you use? As you just have this one lady wanting you to be Ofsted registered - you could use their address and perhaps tell Ofsted that you only work 2 days a month (or whatever the average would be), so that they can make a note so if you are selected for inspection they will need to take into account restricted availability. The online registration system asks about the days you work but has tick boxes, so complete that as best you can. Once you are registered, you can email Ofsted with updated info about your work pattern, so they can do with that as they wish - not your fault their system does not understand ad-hoc work!

The inspection could be at your home, it does not need to be at your place of work).

You need to have:
Paediatric First Aid training that meets Ofsted's criteria. If you have completed a 12 hour course suitable for Childminders, then that will be fine. If it is a shorter course, check with course provider that it meets Ofsted's criteria.
You will need a childcare qualification that Ofsted recognises, or Common Core Skills. It is very hard to know what is suitable. Try doing a search here and if it is listed there as Level2 or above, then chances are it is fine. If you have an old qualification like the NNEB you may need to do Common Core Skills such as via MNT.
You need public liability insurance
You need to be aware of safeguarding children (your local authority may have a specific course you can do - the course may be free once you are Ofsted registered)
You will need a DBS check plus register for the DBS update service.

Ofsted: Register as a Home Childcarer

Application is done Online once you have your DBS check plus Update Service.

I have a guide to completing the registration form which is a bit old (Jan 2013) but most things will be the same. It is helpful to remember what you are applying for - Voluntary part of the Childcare Register, Home Childcarer.

The registration process may take a few months. Very hard to know how long it takes, as you now need to get DBS done first, then register with Ofsted.

The cost - it's quiet a bit, especially initially due to needing the DBS check plus Update Service.

Ofsted DBS FAQ
Enhanced DBS - cheapest is £52.10 (online, ID check by responsible person) Read The FAQ
Update Service is £13 a year.
Ofsted Home Childcarer registration fee £103 a year.

Childcare Register Requirements - worth a good read.

Thank you nick that info is great!!

it sounds like she misunderstands (unless I'm misunderstanding myself??) the benefit of an OFSTEAD nanny seems to be just that you can claim chilcare vouchers if you need to? otherwise just having the first aid and some training is fine without the registration? am I wrong?

Yes you are right but in this case the parent wants to use tax credits, thus needs approved/registered provider.

Hi!
Just to join in with this discussion, i too am presently applying for my DBS through ofsted site and am going self employed. I have paedatric first aid and a level 3 in children and young peoples workforce along with 14 years experience of childcare.The lady who wants my nanny service receives child tax credits. We havent had a discussion properly yet how this will work.
How should she make the payment to me? I was hoping to receive cash and invoice her. Does that sound feasible.
Also is it possible to chase the DBS registering system up as the lady works shifts and hopes to use my services in the next fortnight?
and does anyone have information on standard forms you can use to form agreement of services and invoice templates.
Thanks. I know there is a lot of questions there, hope you can help.

If you know your DBS Applicant Form Reference, then you can use the DBS Tracking Service to find out current progress.

Terms of Business / Business Terms and Conditions is going to be very unique to your business. Perhaps try reading things on UKBusinessForums and post on the Mumsnet Freelancers board for general advice about starting a business. You will certainly want to include things like your payment terms and you may want to go into specifics of things you will do, and things you won't do.

Your accounting software or spreadsheet software may have an invoice template. There are also lots online, Google: invoice template uk

Sorry to ask but do you apply for your DBS check before you apply to Ofstead? Thanks to nannynick fab guides and advice!

Yes you do now. See the Register as Home Childcarer link in earlier post.

Anyone beginning the registration process, do report back how long it takes as new system started this month thus it is unknown how long the new process takes to complete (to get DBS then to get Ofsted reg certificate).

Thanks, will let you know.