CM's - advice on starting up please

[Tinkerisdead]

I am looking to become a childminder, have been to induction meeting etc and familiar with EYFS as been using it to give me ideas on activities and play with my own DD for a while now.

Anyway, at the induction meeting they discussed market research and looking at the need for childminders etc in my area which was a fair comment. Im in NW leicestershire and according to direct.gov there are 55 childminders within 4 miles of my home all with vacancies. 38 of which are a mile from me and 3 operating pick ups with my nearest school. All of them state they have vacancies.

Now, on the face of it, it would seem there is no need for me to start up. But only 2 of the 55 have a website so part of me wonders whether its their advertising/marketing that is leaving them with vacanies etc? apparently there are abround 4k people within my Ward and 6% of these would be 0-4.

So, what would you do next? Childminding really really does seem to be for me. I already use EYFS and I'm not daunted by it, I need to earn money but I dont want to be away from my 18m DD. Please can anyone give me an idea of what I should do to research further or is 55 childminders indication enough?

I live in a small town and we have over 60 CM's on our CIS list. TBH I never update my details and say I have no spaces, and I suspect many other dont either. So these cm's may be full.

Before I started I rang around as a potential parent and enquired and spaces and hourly rates etc, because at that time I did not know any CM's.

It sounds like you'd make a great CM, and tbh most work will come through word of mouth not the CIS list. So get registered and get the word out there

Oh and good luck

It's such a fantastic and rewarding job, I love it and could never do anything other than this now.

The direct gov website has been a major problem for quite a while - it doesn't work -if I put my postcode in I don't appear at all and childminders who I know live between 6-7 miles from me are listed as within 3 miles.

It would be better to contact your local FIS (family information service) who should have an up-to-date list of childminders in the area.

Good luck.

You may have 55 CM's in your area, but how many are active, get a list dent out from Families Info Service to see who is actually actively offering places. I would also research the local schools, check if they offer before and after school provision. Some minders just have pre-school, so you might find a niche in the market.

Also even if their are loads of CM's does it really matter, you need to find your own USP, get on the ofsted webby and pop your postcode in find out exactly what they do, how they do it and their gradings. Then figure out how you can be better / offer something different.

Try going to some local toddler groups and have an ear wag often find CM's in their, they may give you some ideas, or some may be finishing or could reccommend some people to you.

Thank you for such nice replies. You have all sort of clarified my own thinking. I've checked lots of ofsted reports and they all seems to be of a similar ilk. (is that how you spell ilk?)
they all rate as Good, cant find an outstanding within the local area and many seem to offer 8am til 6pm. Many dont offer meals either it seems. I truly think if I started slowly with 2 under 5 alongside my DD then I could find my feet in the role.
I'm trying to think what I could do different, I could easily offer overnight/weekends etc without it impacting too heavily on my personal time. And very few seem to be running it as a business etc. If I had a business name/logo/uniform of sorts then I know I would stand out from the crowd as it just doesnt seem to be done around here.
Off to call the family info service now, I did call the local childrens centre but they said they didnt have a clue.

I think it's good to stand out if you can have a dedicated play room and offer meals that really helps as well.

Most of the CM's on here use a business name and have a webby as well, I think that made the difference for me when I started, this is my business and I run it like one too.

Am putting some pickies of our playroom on my profile as a couple of people have asked for a peek if it helps.

Hi, a bit long sorry about that.....

Loking at the amount of childmindes in your area can put you off. Do not focuss too much on this.

I have been childminding two years this Sept.. I have never had a website and I am not sure if I will, not ruling it out though.

Some minders do a lot of advertising without any joy. Parents notice childminders with children as they do school runs etc. YOu mentioned having a little one. I would advise you, if you are not already doing it to attend toddler groups etc with your little one. You will then get opportunities to let people know that you are going to start childiminding. Parents are watching! As a parent myself I see childminders that I would certainly not bring my children to.

Go ahead and do childminding if you wish. Do not look back wishing you had.

Its very interesting with some challenges but I do not regret being a childminder.

If you go ahead think about what makes your services special ( ie I do gardening with the kids and we eat what we plant, I have a large garden or I live near a park. home in on what you as a parent would want for your own child)

Best wishes. Hope that helps.