Thinking of becoming a childminder but not sure where to start!

[luckylee83]

Hi all, I have decided that I'd like to try childminding as will give me an opportunity to spend time with my son before he starts school plus will then fit around him when he does start in Sept. Am excited by the prospect of becoming a minder but am worrying about the income. I don't expect to earn quite as much as I do now but won't need to once I've dropped his expensive nursery fees...but I do still need to earn a decent amount. My husband works but we can't afford to live on one salary...or one and a half for that matter! I have 4 children, 3 of them are in college/uni my youngest is starting nursery soon so I'm very interested in becoming a cm I just have no idea where to start & what qualifications are needed

Any advice from any local cm would be amazing 😀 thank you.

childmindinguk.com/becoming-a-childminder
There you go.

Thank you 😊

Check what the average hourly rate Is round where you live. It can be hard to make a full income out of being a cm. I’m full every day with a couple of before and after schoolers and probably just about manage Minimum wage each day. It’s hard working this hard for a low financial reward. Check what the demand is like ad it can be hard to get children in to start with if your name isn’t known.

I don’t want to put you off, but you need to be realistic about the pay if you do need to make a good income from it.

There are benefits though, like you say no childcare fees, you can collect your own dc from school and I’m here in the holidays for them (although it’s hard for them to share me). Be there to put a wash on or get the tea started while the children nap.

I never get the chance to put tea on dont go upstairs from 6.30 until after 10. Pay is not the same as your fee x number of children because of costs. And you can only have 3 under 5s including your own. But it's a very rewarding job if your passionate about children...its not easy work you fo exactly what s nursery does.

Thank you all, the hourly rate in my area is between £4 -£4.50 not sure if this is the usual rate I think I need to be realistic about pay. I have yet to check the demand in my area how would I go about doing this please?

Thank you 😊

Maryann
Can I be a bit cheeky and ask what you charge per hour if your just about making minimum wage please as it's around £4 £4.50 in my area.

£4 per hour for the EYFS children and £5 per hour for before and after school. It’s the expenses that get me (and all the other cms I know). By the time we have paid out for groups, Petrol, heating, electricity, food, snacks, activities, trainings, insurance, first aid box supplies, new toys/books, car sats, buggies, the expenses do all add up.

My fees will be going up on the 1st April, but minimum wage also keeps rising, so it’s hard to keep up.

I know a couple of people who have become childminders and they both did a training course first.

To check demand in the area, I would recommend speaking to some other minders in the area. Go to some of the local toddler groups and ask the organisers if they have any childminders and go and speak to them. I never mind speaking to prospective minders. The more of us the better!

Or, go on the family information service for your area and look for a list of cms in your area (in the same way you would if you were looking for a childminder for your child) and email a few and ask them, again, I wouldn’t mind you emailing me.

The demand for cms in my area is massive, unfortunately there Are hardly any of us left in my town and I could fill the places of a new cm 3 times over with the enquires I have had so far this year. Definitely worth getting in with other local cms so they can pass their enquiries over to you if they can’t fill them.

You will need to contact your local council (early years team) for advice. As no matter what qualifications you may or may not have you will have to do a course. When I started it was a 12 hour course but no idea what it is now.
They will have all the information you need and can let you know. The DBS can take a while and has to be done for everyone in your household over the age of 16.
I honestly don't want to put you off but the paperwork and time you spend on training is ridiculous, despite being told the paperwork has been dramatically reduced.
After my first year I got an accountant and he was brilliant and saved me loads.
You may not have as much time to yourself as you think. I used to work 7am-7pm then spend a good hour on paperwork.
However if you can deal with all the crap it is a great job, it's a lot of fun, can be sad when children you have had for a long time leave.
Depending on what your salary is now you may struggle to meet it. You will not become rich being a childminder.
Watching the kids grow into hopefully amazing young people is fantastic and knowing that you had a hand in that is beyond words.
Good luck.

Thank you everyone for all your lovely advice I shal ring my local council today 😬- there's so much to consider.

Wish me luck 😊x

My expenses average about 1/3 of my turnover (obviously this depends how much you want to spend). Your own child will count in your numbers, so calculate based on 2/3 of the income you can get for other children you can take on. Can you still afford to pay the mortgage if you don't have any children/less children for several months? It was lovely to be home with my daughter, but she also resented sharing my time and her toys, so bear that in mind.

My goodness so many responses! Thank you very much, I really appreciate how detailed and thoughtful all of your responses have been.

I think @SMaCM has it about right, my expenses are between a quarter and a third of my income normally. The bit that can get you is if 2 of your dc go home at 4, but the other is with you till 6.30. You can end up with a long day, but with some of the hours only being paid for 1 child, which brings the overall average down. Obviously during this time, you can get ‘stuff’ done, one to one activities, paperwork, Tidying up from the day, in the same way a nursery would, but it does bring your income down (which is why I struggle to make minimum wage).
I do love my job though and even though my dc are older and don’t really need me at home anymore, they like having me here when they get back from school and in the holidays.