Contemplating a career change!

[AntoniaS]

Hi all! I am currently a veterinary nurse, I work two night shifts a week so I can spend my days with my boys (1&2) Im seriously considering childminding as a new path! I love spending my time with little people, especially outdoors. I do a lot of 'attachment parenting' although I hate the expression! I'd like to offer that to potential families.
I've read a little on what is required to start up, I have not yet found out when/where I might attend the pre-registration course in my area.

I have a couple of questions if anyone wouldn't mind answering?
How long can it take to get registered?
Are the courses hours/days/weeks, I have to consider child care myself!
Would having pets be a problem? I have dogs and cats?

Thanks for any advice!

[sgu97alf]

Hi there and welcome, I've recently taken the decision to become a childminder and change careers too so just wanted to say hello, I would recommend you contact your Local Authority re the course question as things can vary depending in what area you are in - I know in my area (West Berks) they run the childminding course during saturday daytimes. I phoned them and they dealt with all my questions really well.

Re your pets question provided you risk assess properly and have a procedure in place which covers how you can keep both children and animals cared for in the same setting (things like making sure children can't access animal food, aren't left unattended with animals, wash hands after touching them etc etc) there is no reason why this should be an issue.

HTH.

[WibbleWobble]

hello antonia!

and welcome to the forum


I have a couple of questions if anyone wouldn't mind answering?
How long can it take to get registered? how long is a piece of string....took me a year but i had to postpone stuff cos of family, some takes only a few months
Are the courses hours/days/weeks, I have to consider child care myself!
the childminder courses are usually evenings....a couple of hours at a time. I did my first aid and food hygiene at the weekends
Would having pets be a problem? I have dogs and cats? i have cats too...as long as you assess the risk they may be to children (and the risk children are to them) then you will be fine. You will have to think about what you will do with the dogs whilst the children are there. Also some parents dont want animals and some do----its horses for courses!

and before is did childminding i was a qualified nurse so a bit of a change for me....there are allsorts of folk on this forum- lots have done very different jobs before


love wibble xxx

[adele1985]

hi hun :)

it took I started my childminding course in September 2009 (i think seems so long ago now) and my registration certificate came through in April 2010 and i started minding straight away

my course was on a thursday evening 6 till 9 for about 30 weeks (i think)

i have a dog - i got him 2 weeks before i started minding and he spnt most of the time in the utility room but now hes older he has the run of the house (apart fro the playroom) but to be honest he very rarly leaves the nice warm sofa unless there is food involved:rolleyes:

Good luck with minding - i know its the best desision ive ever made i love working from home and getting messy with the kids lol and at the momoent im making alot more than i did working as a nursery nurse - lets hope it lasts lol:)

[tulip0803]

How long can it take to get registered? It can take anything from 3 months to more than a year to register, depending on how the area you live in works through the registration. I have registered twice the first time was 3 months and I had 2 full time children waiting for me to register (1 pre-school and 1 afterschool) 2nd time took 11 months despite having been a childminder before and took 18 months before I had more than one minded child for 6 hours a week:(

Are the courses hours/days/weeks, I have to consider child care myself! You will need to attend an childminding introductory course. some authorities want you to physically attend a course others accept the on-line version. You will also need to do first aid, food hygiene and child protection courses are good practice. These are normally in evenings or weekends. Some authorities want you to do some briefing sessions to tell you about childminding before you commit to the course which would be in the week. Food hygiene and child protection can also be done on-line too.

Would having pets be a problem? I have dogs and cats?I have cats and a dog - have also had rats, guinea pigs, rabbits and hamsters - they are not a problem as long as you can show that you are protecting the children in your care ( worming, not leaving alone with animals, hygiene, litter trays away from children etc). My animals can escape upstairs if things get too much. The dog and the children have seperate areas in the garden but as long as you poop patrol it is fine

Thanks for any advice!

Good luck:thumbsup:

[AntoniaS]

Thank you, that really helped :D Need to gather some more info, then discuss it with my husband and see what he thinks!