Could I be a childminder?

[newcareer4me]

I have decided that in the long term I intend to retrain as a primary school teacher. It won't be for a few years as we are ttc no2 and I don't intend to return to university until the second one (which hasn't even been conceived!) starts school.

I have been thinking about childminding and the more that I think about it the more it appeals to me. When ds was a toddler I felt that it would have been beneficial for him to have had a playmate and with hindsight I think I should have looked into the possibility of childminding back then.

The reams of paperwork doesn't put me off because I am used to that in my previous jobs, the thought of covering early years curriculum appeals to me as I think it will be beneficial when I apply for teacher training.

The concerns that I have are in relation to the size of my house. We live in a 2 up 2 down. We have a through lounge which doubles up as a hallway, playroom and dining room. We only have 2 bedroom, if I needed a cot for childminding it would have to go into our bedroom. The second concern that I have is the potential outlay I would need to make. I don't have twin pushchairs or spare cots, if I managed to find a mindee I would buy a secondhand cot/pushchair but I can't afford to buy them before I have a mindee in place. Would Ofsted expect me to have these in place at the pre-inspection? Also fireguards, we have an open fireplace that we don't use in the daytime would I still need to have a fireguard? And cooker guards, If I had one there wouldn't be room to maneovure around the kitchen!

It seems that there is so much to consider!

Is it worth me considering this?

You can usually justify not having equipment before you 'need' it. You just need to know how you can explain that the children will be safe. (In my experience)

Thanks.

Do you think a small house would go against me? Would it have an impact on the number of children I could have? I wouldn't want the maximum number anyway. I was thinking a maximum of 3 under school age (including my own) and one school aged + my school aged ds. Would a small house put parents off? It is a child orientated house, the playroom part of the living room seems to have taken over but it is not too chaotic.

The fireguard is often needed as the hearth is often dangerous to fall on & the ashes not idea to play in

Equipment can be put on a wish list & addressed as needed (borrowed or bought)

children would need to be safe in the kitchen so maybe a stairgate across the door?

Thanks HSMM & KatyMac.

If you are doing cooking with the children, would you need a cooker guard? I suppose I could get around this by bringing all the ingredients into the living room and doing it on the dining table.

You see you are thinking like a childminder already

newcareerforme - the size of your house will make no difference to whether you are a good childminder or not - but it will impact on the total number of children Ofsted will register you for.

I had a very similar house to you when I started out - teenytiny! And I was chuffed to be allowed 3 under 4 and one over 5. - a max of 4 under 8.

Once I moved to a 3 bed the inspector came out and upped it to 6 under 8 which is the maximum anyway.

You are right to be thinking about the EYFS - especially if you want to do reception age children....

Thanks, just what I wanted to hear!

Hi I am in the process of becoming a childminder and I too have a small house, (2 bedrooms with an open plan lounge/dining room/kitchen and we are adding a conservatory for a play room. I was told on my Induction to childminding day that they say about a double mattress size per child of usual (playable!) floor space, so if in doubt have a measure to see. This may only be a rough guide but hope that helps
Sarah