Childminder briefing session by LEA

[smiley1979]

Hi,
Please can someone help and advise.
I will be attending my first childminding briefing session run by my local civic centre this week.I am assuming this is just an information session giving information on whats involved etc etc.
I have 3 children of my own twins who will be 3 in August and who will be in nursery from September 2012 from 9-12pm Monday-Friday.I also have another daughter who will be 2 years old in SEptember 2012.
As i have 3 children under the age of 5 already does this mean i cannot become a childminder :panic:
I am really really interested in doing this please someone help as i don't want to be wasting my time if i cannot do it.
Or does ofsted give exceptions to some people who can cater for more than 3 children under the age of 5.
Also to become a childminder apart from crb checks and registering with ofsted and doing the first aid course is there any other minimum requirement?ie. do i have to have a level 3 in childcare do i have to do any additional training.
Also at the end of the day if i do a course even via home study will this be refundable?
Just very confused as there is alot of information out there but not always very clear.
Would appreciate advise from anyone with more experience in this matter.

Thanks again:)

[moggy]

Phew, deep breath! I'd get a list of your questions ready for your info course and make sure you get answers or at least the details of someone who can talk you through it on the phone at a later date. With 3 under 5s yourself you will most likely be registered for school-age only, until your eldest are at full-time school. Options may be to hire an assistant or work with a co-minder to increase your numbers. There is a training course, it can differ by area but usually called CYPOP5 and it is one of the units of the Level 3 (you do not need full Level3). Funding is patchy and all depends on where you are.

[Kiddleywinks]

Hi,
Please can someone help and advise.
I will be attending my first childminding briefing session run by my local civic centre this week.I am assuming this is just an information session giving information on whats involved etc etc.
I have 3 children of my own twins who will be 3 in August and who will be in nursery from September 2012 from 9-12pm Monday-Friday.I also have another daughter who will be 2 years old in SEptember 2012.
As i have 3 children under the age of 5 already does this mean i cannot become a childminder :panic:No, you will still be able to become a childminder but having your own children will limit the amount of children you can have in addition to your own
I am really really interested in doing this please someone help as i don't want to be wasting my time if i cannot do it.
Or does ofsted give exceptions to some people who can cater for more than 3 children under the age of 5.
Also to become a childminder apart from crb checks and registering with ofsted and doing the first aid course is there any other minimum requirement?ie. do i have to have a level 3 in childcare do i have to do any additional training.At the moment there is no requirement to have a level 3 - there has been talk about it for the future, but it's not here yet ;)
Also at the end of the day if i do a course even via home study will this be refundable?not sure what you mean by this, each local authority has there own funding procedures so best speak to them regarding available funding. If you fund anything yourself for the benefit of your business, you can claim this as an expense in your accounts - you don't get the money back physically in your hand though
Just very confused as there is alot of information out there but not always very clear.
Would appreciate advise from anyone with more experience in this matter.

Thanks again:)

Answered in red :thumbsup:

[smiley1979]

Thank you for all your help.
I have read somewhere that ofsted sometimes allow an exception to their rules e.g. 4 under 5's can be looked after by someone.
Anyhow i shall find out pretty soon.
Thanks

[The Juggler]

you can always look after older children until your twins go to school. :thumbsup:

[Rebecca Foster]

Hi

Please Dont panic :panic:

As you're only allowed 3 children under the age of 5, its most likely that you will only be able to have 2 more over 5 years and under the age of 8. Smiley is right, the alternative would be to get an assistant so you can increase your numbers.

Best wishes

REbecca :)

[smiley1979]

Hi,
Can someone also tell me is reception (year after part time nursery) is this considered school as it is full time same hours as school children.Therefore would that mean my twins are classified as school age so therefore i can take on another 2 under 5's if i wish (bearing in my mind i will still have my own daughter who will be nearly 3 at that time september next year).
Am i making sense.
Also if i qualify and start childminding asap and lets say i get a 2 year old to look after 8-6pm Mon-Friday(being very hypothetical here lol) and my twins are in nursery 9-12pm, so i drop them and pick then in addition to looking after my nearly 2 year old and the other mindee and my assistant is only available after 2pm would this in your experience be allowed for me. As i will have an assistant after 2-6pm and my children usually sleep 12-30-2.30pm would this still be a problem. Please can someone just reply in a different colour in my post that would be great.
I hope i made sense.:blush:

[catlyn]

Hi,
Can someone also tell me is reception (year after part time nursery) is this considered school as it is full time same hours as school children.Reception class is not the same as nursery....its "proper" school and the children will be 4 when they start in reception classTherefore would that mean my twins are classified as school age so therefore i can take on another 2 under 5's if i wish (bearing in my mind i will still have my own daughter who will be nearly 3 at that time september next year).
Am i making sense. By my understanding your twins wont be starting full time school this year as they arent old enough s they will only be 3 in august 2012 this means they wont start reception class until september 2013 so at thata time they will be classed as "rising 5's" so yes you should be able to take more children on then
Also if i qualify and start childminding asap and lets say i get a 2 year old to look after 8-6pm Mon-Friday(being very hypothetical here lol) and my twins are in nursery 9-12pm, so i drop them and pick then in addition to looking after my nearly 2 year old and the other mindee and my assistant is only available after 2pm would this in your experience be allowed for me. As i will have an assistant after 2-6pm and my children usually sleep 12-30-2.30pm would this still be a problem. Please can someone just reply in a different colour in my post that would be great. I think the only time you will be allowed a mindee in addition to your own children is when your assistant is on the premises....just because your children are asleep doen't mean they dont count in your numbers.I hope i made sense.:blush:

Hope I made sense as well...LOL

[tulip0803]

Your children count in your numbers at all times whether they are with you or not. If you have an assistant the only time that the increase in numbers would apply would be when the assistant is with you so your assisstant would need to be with you from 8am to 6 pm in the scenario you gave. You have to remember that you would also need to pay the assistant and if they are employed this would have to be at least minimum wage.

[sarah707]

Regarding your own children - things might be slightly different from September.

Ofsted told me recently -

The EYFS does not make any distinction between any times the childminder’s own children will be with them or with someone else.

It simply says that the numbers of children include the childminder’s own children and any other children for whom they are responsible.

It does not indicate the children must be present.

the problem comes if you fill your own child's space and then they are ill and have to come home from nursery early / the other person supposed to be looking after them lets you down etc...

If you are confident that the person looking after your child will continue to look after them even if there is a problem... or if you are certain they can stay in their other provision even if there is a problem... then you can grant yourself a variation for the time when they are not with you.

As I said already these are the new rules from 1st September :D