nanny/after school nanny - and Ofsted

[FingerOFudge]

Hi - I'm looking at going back to study for a year, and so I'm looking at childcare options.

An after-school nanny would be brilliant for us, but it seems to get the childcare grant s/he would have to be registered with Ofsted ( Ofsted Early Years Register or General Childcare Register ).

So I'm looking at lists of local nannies, and although they have lots of great things like DBS checks and NVQs etc etc, Ofsted registration doesn't seem to be mentioned. Is it not normal, or is it normal, to be registered with Ofsted as a nanny (I understand it's not mandatory, anyway)? Does anyone else have experience of this?

TIA!!

Ofsted registration can be quite an expensive upfront cost if you're only nannying for a few afternoons a week - most after school nannies I know don't have ofsted registration partly because of that and because the families aren't normally bothered for it - most full time nannies however do because the families use their working childcare vouchers to pay some of their fees which can only be claimed against an ofsted registration number.

You can always get in touch and see if they would be willing to go through the Ofsted process?

I'm an ofsted registered nanny, but there aren't many of us. It's really expensive and a faff to sort out, and there is a chunky annual fee to pay as well!!

I've used after school nannies and they've never been ofsted registered.

Oh I see, that makes sense. Thank you! I might try putting my own advert up and explaining what I would like, and see if that brings anyone. It does sound as if it wouldn't be economic in most cases though. How annoying, blooming paperwork!

Most colleges which offer a grant towards childcare will only pay for ofsted registered nannies, same with tax credits and childcare vouchers too

Where are you based fof

Co Durham

I paid the osfted registration fee for my nanny. Was worth it for me to be able to use my vouchers

Roughly the costs of meeting the criteria for Ofsted registration average out around £250 a year. Some costs are annual, others are every 3 years (such as First Aid).

More are on the register now but the cost and time it takes to register may put some people off. Some parents will pay towards some/all of the costs involved.

Find out how the funding works, as your nanny will want paying on a regular weekly or monthly basis, not when the funding comes through. So look at how you would pay salary, especially at first when the funding may not have come through.

Don't worry, I'd definitely be paying the nanny first and worrying about getting the grant afterwards.

FreeButtonBee that is definitely something to bear in mind: it would be worth paying it for us too, if the nanny didn't find the paperwork element too onerous. Thanks!