What do I need to become a childminder?

[atlasthebrute]

Am maybe thinking of childminding, and was wondering what I need to pass all the inspections etc. I have two kids of my own (DD nearly 4 and DS nearly 2), so obviously have all the clutter that comes with them.
What do Ofsted inspectors look for and will I have to shell-out a load of cash to buy all sorts of equipment??
I live in a teeny house, too, which makes things a bit trickier!
If there are any childminders out there who can enlighten me and indeed tell me anything about childminding, I'd be sooo grateful. x
(p.s - thank you to nannynick!)

Worth looking at a message thread from January,
Pre Registration Ofsted Visit

Can be worth looking at Ofsted's website to see how many other childminders are in your area. Visit Ofsted.gov.uk and click on Inspection Reports. Then in the box on the left side, enter your Postcode. In some areas there are a lot of childminders and not enough work. Whereas in other areas there are very few childminders. Also look at ChilcareLink.gov.uk to see how many childminders in your local area currently have vacancies (you could also contact your local authority for a list of childminder vacancies).

Where are you located?
By teeny house what do you mean? Have you measured the available floor space (make several 1m squares from newspaper and lay them out over your living room carpet/floor).

Take a look at Standards: EYFS and Teachernet: EYFS as childminders from September 2008 will need to be Educating children via this method.

What experience of caring for/teaching children do you have, particularly children who are older than your own - such as those aged 5 to 8? Have you for example got any formal childcare qualifications, run an after-school club/holiday club?
How are you at doing paperwork - childminding these days involves a lot of paperwork, record keeping, development recording, policies and procedures.
Why do you want to be a childminder? Do you see this as being your job?

Thanks for that!
I can't go back to work as there is only one other childminder in my area and she is having to turn people away because she simply does not have enough places.
So, there's definitely the demand for another childminder.
As for space, we have two roms downstairs (one of them being the kitchen). They are both approx. 3.7m by 4.5m. The bathroom is also downstairs. I'm sure that with a bit of jiggling I can free up some space for better use.
We're just south of Horsham, in West Sussex.

I have experience running craft tables at toddler groups and I'm on the commitee of my daughter's playgroup. There, I am bank staff in case of staff shortages and I've helped out there on a number of occasions.
I have no formal experience of looking after 5-8 year olds, other than having friend's children round when they need helping out.
So, no, I have no childcare quals.
I'm absolutely fine with the whole paperwork idea and would infact quite relish the oportunity to do childcare records etc (how sad!)
I can see myself doing this job because I'm good with other people's children and I enjoy looking after them. I also think my own children would benefit from having some different faces around. Also, I don't really have any other options available to me due to the severe shortage of childminders in my area.

bumping (for the evening crowd). After-all, I'mm not a childminder... so you really want some childminders helping you out

Hi Atlasthebrute

I am a childminder & support minder in Horsham, you are welcome to contact me to find out more about childminding & who to contact in West Sussex. email me on nicola_childminder @redmanfamily.plus.com (without the spaces) & I will reply & give you my phone number.

atlasthebrute, have you got any further? I've been thinking of doing it too recently and have made some enquiries with the council.

I don't have any childcare qualifications either, would this be a problem?

Also, I've looked at childminders in the area and they seem to have vacancies. This seems ok to me because I don't want a house full all week, just one would do. Is it too much faff getting registered if you only want to do it part time?

You don't need any previous experience or specific qualifications to be a childminder. You'll get all that on your training programme. It is a lot of work to do, if you're only after a bit of parttime work. You will have paper work and rules and regulations coming out of your ears! Once you're registered, you will have to have several posters, certificates and notes on display at all times of minding. You'll need to do risk assessments and 'walk throughs' of your minding space everyday and you'll need a register to check people in and out. You have to write a diary everyday for each child minded, to present to the parents. This is only a selection, off the top of my head, of what you'll have to do! Big changes are coming into practice in September too, with the introduction of EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage). This will mean more paperwork and more time spent away from the mindees.

If you think you can hack it, then actually its a very rewarding job, believe it or not! I've been a cm for 12 years and like any job, it has its ups and downs, but I've really enjoyed it!

Get yourself on a pre-registration evening. You can always change your mind!

Hi everyone, sorry I've been away.
I've just booked myself onto the pre-registration course. I phoned up the council's Children's Info Service and they were SO helpful. Like you, Ineedsomesleep, I don't want a full-house each week. I don't want so many kids that I can't given them all proper attention. And money-wise, as long as I can pay for our food bill each week and have a little left-over for luxuries (new shoes!!), then I will be happy, And as Maureen says, with all the new paperwork coming in as from Sept, we'll have even less time on our hands!
I'm really excited about this - I've spent ages thinking about it and I finally feel like I can start planning for it properly now.
Does anyone know how easy it is to get a strt-up grant, BTW??

a START-UP grant, I mean!