Any person rewarded for looking after children under eight for more than two hours a day must register with Ofsted. Those working in their own homes caring for children under eight must register as childminders, those caring for children aged eight of over may join the voluntary register to enable parents and carers to access the childcare element of working tax credit.
Rewards can include gifts, reciprocal arrangements, food or shopping bought for you, as well as money. Anything that may benefit you for providing care is a reward.
If you are not sure whether you need to register, you can ring Ofsted's helpline on 0300 123 1231 for more information.
Does everyone who looks after children need to be on the register?
No. You do not need to register as a childminder if you:
-
are the parent or relative of the child you are looking after; or you
-
have parental responsibility for the child
-
are a local authority foster parent in relation to the child
-
are a foster parent with whom a child has been placed by a voluntary organisation
-
foster a child privately
-
only look after the child between the hours of 6pm and 2am
The Childcare Act 2006 introduced a childcare register with two parts; a compulsory and a voluntary part. The voluntary part of this register commenced in April 2007. People may choose to join the voluntary part of the register if they are caring for children:
- in the home of one of the children, for children aged from birth to 17 years
- aged eight to 17 years
- aged from birth to under eight in provision that is exempt from compulsory registration, such as sports coaching
You may wish to consider the following points before committing to a career in childminding:
-
do I enjoy looking after children?
-
can I offer children a happy and stimulating environment, with sufficient toys and equipment to meet their needs?
-
what hours am I prepared to work? What effect will this have on my own family?
-
how do my spouse/partner and my own children feel about me looking after other children?
-
do I feel capable of respecting the individual needs of children who have different family, ethnic and cultural backgrounds to my own?
-
will I be able to get on with parents and share information about their children?
-
am I prepared to commit towards my professional development as a childminder?
-
will I be able to talk to them about any problems or concerns in our agreements or about their children?
-
am I clear on respecting families confidentiality?
What must I do to become a childminder?
You need to apply to Ofsted to be registered.
It is an Ofsted requirement that childminders complete local authority approved training. In Dudley, we offer very regular training sessions for potential childminders, which we recommend you complete prior to registration as this will support you in preparation for your initial Ofsted registration visit.
If you act as a childminder without being registered, it could lead to prosecution and a £5,000 fine.
Although you do not need any specific childcare qualifications to be a childminder, you will need to complete the following:
-
pre-registration briefing course (7 ½ hours)
-
paediatric first aid training course (12 hours)
-
child protection awareness raising course (2 ½ hours)
-
Inland Revenue course (2 hours)
-
business training for childminders (5 hours)
-
introduction to the Early Years Foundation Stage (2 ½ hours)
