childminding advice needed urgently!!

[infomad]

Hi all

I just wanted to get some answers to some specific questions on childming (i know a lot of people have asked about childminding already) sorry to bore you

They are:

1. can i childmind in a (1 or 2 bed) flat without a garden?

1. does anyone know of the rates for childminding in south london (specific areas streatham/ west norwood)

1. what are the ratios for child minding, hopefully i would be co childminding with my sister.

1. what qualifications are needed? can i just do an icp course for home based childcare. instead of doing nvq3? Look at this page

1. how would i set up my rooms would i need a separate sleeping room?

i know this is long but i would really like the help from all childminders and your wonderful experiences

1. can i childmind in a (1 or 2 bed) flat without a garden? - As far I know you can but not sure and if you could you would probably be limited on numbers, hopefully someone else will come with more info?

1. does anyone know of the rates for childminding in south london (specific areas streatham/ west norwood) No sorry though I suspect about 4.50ish per hour

1. what are the ratios for child minding, hopefully i would be co childminding with my sister. 3 under 5 and 3 over 5, if co-minding it's more but only if you have enough space

1. what qualifications are needed? can i just do an icp course for home based childcare. instead of doing nvq3? Look at this page -You can do it with an ICP, first aid and child protection BUT i think NVQ3 are going to be essential soon?

1. how would i set up my rooms would i need a separate sleeping room? You can set up sleeping areas, doesn't have to be a particular room or a room used only for that BUT ime you need somewhere quiet.

1. Of course you can childmind if you have no garden
2. Best ring a few childminders in the area and ask
3. one childminder can mind up to 6 children including their own children. However the number of children allowed might be affected by the space available.
4. you need ICP and first aid
5. no you don't need a separate sleeping room

Hope that helps. Good luck xx

Hi yes you can mind from a flat even without a garden, but you will have to show how you will make sure that mindees get out each day like local park etc. you don't need a seperate sleep room, you will need to make good use of space you have, and do risk assessments, particually for fire / evacuation if you are in a flat.

wrt ratios, minders can generally have 6 in total, not more than 1 under 12mths unless you get a variation, 3 in total in the ey age group and 3 on the Childcare register, over 8's not included as ofsted don't register these but they will look at space available and take out your own children from these numbers, generally if you co-mind the ratios will apply to the other person also so potentially 12, although if you don't have much room they will reduce your numbers as an example I have 9 rooms registered and the inspector that came a couple of wks ago was happy for us to have 17 children at any one time, i have an assistant obv.

you can be registered by doing the icp course, although by 2012 (was 2010, but put back)you will need level 3. Generally I find each inspector will grant whats appropriate for each individual registration, the statutes are a guide.

thanks for the replies,
i just wanted to know how your rooms are set up and how many rooms you used for childminding?

infomad from a parent's perspective I'd definitely want to see how you would be getting outside each day. I absolutely love that my cm has an enclosed garden in the back and a separate covered outdoor space in case of rain. I would not have considered a cm without an outside space unless they lived less than a few minutes walk to a big park, then maybe.
It is possible to cm without one, of course and you might get parents who don't mind, but this was a pretty high priority for me when I was looking.

• I definitely wanted to see that ds would have a separate room for sleeping, where it would be quiet, away from the other children and curtains/shade drawn.

• I pay £5/hr in Surrey and I think this is very reasonable.

I had my initial registration in a one bed flat and the inspector registered me to have 2 children (and my own ds under 5). I had moved to a 2 bed flat before I took on any children though. Outside space was never an issue for any parent that I spoke to. I explained how my day was spent and everyone was happy with my set up - including the inspector. When she came to do my next inspection she increased my numbers to 3 plus ds.

TBH, I couldn't have looked after more than 3 children in either flat. It was a bit of a squeeze when I had them all there at one time so I tried to keep 2 spaces filled and used the 3rd space for ad-hoc care.

I was in West London and charged £5p/h 4 years ago - that was very cheap for the area even then!

Different parents different expectations. Just offering my experience and pov. I hope you find mindees. If your rates are lower that will attract more as well I'm guessing.