New with lots of question, sorry!

[Victoria11]

Hello!

My name is Victoria and I will be attending my very first pre-registration meeting next week. I have been thinking of childminding for a while and researching lots. I have also started a level 3 in Childcare and Education to help me learn more! I still have a few questions which I can't seem to find exact answers to and some potential problems with my property so looking for some advice!

I live in a split level two bed flat on the first floor. We have a private front door on the ground floor which opens to a flight of stairs. The stairs have a gate at the top. In order to safely enter and leave the property with the children I would have to only look after one child who couldn't climb the stairs themselves - I can carry them and the others (hopefully two more) would be able to walk down/up behind me. Does this sound OK? Am I allowed to put a restriction on the ages I look after because of the stairs? Would Ofsted frown upon this?

I don't have a garden. I do have a massive park and field opposite my house and a green around the corner. I plan on taking the children each day, so long as it's not torrential rain! There's also a library across the park and a children's centre so I will see which activities we can attend at these. Will this be enough for Ofsted without having a garden? Is it a huge problem to not have a garden?

I plan to only use the front room and have a stair gate on the door. It's a large room with two sofas, an adult table and chairs and childrens table and chairs. Lots of floor space and toys, etc. Am I allowed to only use one room?

I will use my daughter's bedroom for naps, it has a monitor and stair gate. There will be a travel cot, my daughter's cot and a mattress on the floor which can all be used. All with fresh sheets. I plan on each child having their own set of sheets/towels. Is this acceptable for somewhere to sleep if needed?

I have two cats. They can go outside and will probably steer clear of a room of children! Do they have to go outside all day or are they allowed inside? If inside, are they allowed in the room with the children? (Obviously not the room they will sleep in, this door will always be shut and monitor on).

I currently have the cat food on the kitchen floor. I'm guessing this would not be allowed for health and saftety reasons having to register as a food business? Would I have to keep the cats out of the kitchen entirely - even if their food is elsewhere, would the door have to be shut all the time to stop them going in?

Would I still have to register as a food business if I asked them to bring their own food?

I think these are the main questions bugging me at the moment! Sorry. So many!

Oh, I was also hoping to find childminders locally who would be willing to meet up for a chat/offer advice. It would be fab to meet any who live in a flat or have pets/no garden to see how they overcome these issues and if I've covered every eventuality. Is there somewhere on this website to find childminding groups or local childminders who want to meet?

Thanks so much for taking the time to read and for any advice :)

Victoria x

[Rick]

Hi

As long as you risk assess then your stair arrangement should be fine.
Not having a garden isn't the end of the world; having another outside space is ok.
You can only use one room so long as the floor space is sufficient as set out in the EYFS.
I think the sleeping arrangement is ok. Chances are you won't have three sleepers at once. Can you use separate bedrooms if possible?
Cats should be no problem. You know whether they are likely to be ok around children.
Advisable not to have cats in kitchen during food preparation. Cat food should be moved elsewhere in case children get to it.
Not 100% on food business.
Have a look in 'Around The Regions' on the forum or you could start a new thread to see if anyone is near you. Might be better to find a local childminding group.

Good luck :thumbsup:

[moggy]

Food business-
See Food Standards Agency - Childminders (http://www.food.gov.uk/business-industry/caterers/startingup/childminders/#.UazP89itolQ)

it says:



If you provide no more than the following levels of food service as part of your normal business, you should not be required to register as a food business operator.

a. Provision of mains drinking water.
b. Provision of crockery and cutlery for use by children to eat their own packed lunches.
c. Provision of chilled storage for packed lunches that belong to the children.
d. Occasional assistance to children with cutting up their own food in response to individual need rather than as an established service.
e. Occasional provision of food that is not part of the normal service (e.g. a cake to celebrate a child’s birthday or provision of food where a parent/guardian has been delayed).
f. Operating in the child's own home and serving food that belongs to the child's parent/guardian e.g. nannies or home childcarers.


and order free copy, or download: 'Safer Food Better Business For Childminders':
Food Standards Agency - Safer food, better business for childminders (http://www.food.gov.uk/business-industry/caterers/sfbb/sfbbchildminders/#.UazQItitolQ)

As for rooms to register, I would register the lot, it does not matter if you then do not use them.

[moggy]

3 napping in one room sounds optimistic. One wakes just as another is going down! If you have another bedrooms I would definitely have them as napping options, as well as the main room for a toddler if babies are napping in bedroom(s).

[Helen79]

I don't think you would need to restrict your numbers of non walkers. I used to live in a flat and looked after more than 1 non walker at a time. I used to have a double buggy at the bottom of the stairs and carry one down, strap them in and then go back up for the other. I had a stair gate at the top of the stairs.

I've registered all my rooms even though we don't use them regularly. It's good to have all bedrooms registered just in case you need to have children sleeping in different rooms. I used to have mindees sleep in my bedroom so that my own children could still play in their room if they wanted to. We just use the living room for playing and the kitchen for crafts and messy play.

I have the cat food and water bowl on the kitchen floor and the cats go in the kitchen when I'm working. Mindees are always supervised in the kitchen and luckily non have ever shown any interest in the cat's food or water.

[Victoria11]

Thanks for the replies!

I don't have much room at the bottom of the stairs, definitely not enough to fit a pushchair and open the door :( I have a pushchair in my car boot which I can leave there or in the hall and take outside to pop up for the youngest. I also have a carrier if needed.

We only have our bedroom as another sleeping room. I was hoping not to use this as my partner would be back from work at around 4.30pm and he would more than likely watch TV or play computer in this room rather than sit in the living room with us! He is also an IT geek and has numerous computer bits/cables in one corner around his desk. Would it be acceptable to use this room with a travel cot and monitor without making it completely child friendly as I know he would not be happy about this! So the child would only be in the travel cot and not in the actual room running around!

I have a long hall way and only a small kitchen. I wasn't planning on using these rooms as again I'd have to make them completely child safe. Two more storage heater covers, cupboard locks and more stair gates for space that won't be used. I think I'd rather stick to the one room for activities and 1/2 upstairs bedrooms for sleeping. The bathroom is next to the living room so I can supervise children who need to use the toilet/sink whilst also in sight/hearing distance of the children in the front room.

Hoping to move house in the next few years to a much more practical one but can't afford to yet so decided to start my career choice now if I can make it work here! Fingers crossed :)

Thanks for all the feedback, so helpful :)

[Victoria11]

I don't think you would need to restrict your numbers of non walkers. I used to live in a flat and looked after more than 1 non walker at a time. I used to have a double buggy at the bottom of the stairs and carry one down, strap them in and then go back up for the other. I had a stair gate at the top of the stairs.

I've registered all my rooms even though we don't use them regularly. It's good to have all bedrooms registered just in case you need to have children sleeping in different rooms. I used to have mindees sleep in my bedroom so that my own children could still play in their room if they wanted to. We just use the living room for playing and the kitchen for crafts and messy play.

I have the cat food and water bowl on the kitchen floor and the cats go in the kitchen when I'm working. Mindees are always supervised in the kitchen and luckily non have ever shown any interest in the cat's food or water.

Thanks for your reply!

Are you registered as a food business with the cat food/water on the floor? I won't have the children in the kitchen as it's too small, but can always move the cat food to the bottom of the 'upstairs' stairs if required as the children won't be using the hallway.

Thanks for your help :)

[moggy]

Thanks for the replies!
...
We only have our bedroom as another sleeping room. I was hoping not to use this as my partner would be back from work at around 4.30pm and he would more than likely watch TV or play computer in this room rather than sit in the living room with us! He is also an IT geek and has numerous computer bits/cables in one corner around his desk. Would it be acceptable to use this room with a travel cot and monitor without making it completely child friendly as I know he would not be happy about this! So the child would only be in the travel cot and not in the actual room running around!...

Yes, I do this. Only used for babies in travel cot, no unsupervised access otherwise. Baby monitor and checking during naps.


I have a long hall way and only a small kitchen. I wasn't planning on using these rooms as again I'd have to make them completely child safe. Two more storage heater covers, cupboard locks and more stair gates for space that won't be used. I think I'd rather stick to the one room for activities and 1/2 upstairs bedrooms for sleeping. The bathroom is next to the living room so I can supervise children who need to use the toilet/sink whilst also in sight/hearing distance of the children in the front room.

You do not need to make every registered room completely child safe. Would you always supervise children in the kitchen? Then that is fine, no problem. Just the obvious- keep sharp knives up on counter top and don't put bleach undersink etc. You do not have to have cupboard locks etc.

Storage heater covers??? Do they get that hot? I keep our radiators turned down a little so not dangerous, and teach children not to touch them.

[moggy]

Thanks for your reply!

Are you registered as a food business with the cat food/water on the floor? I won't have the children in the kitchen as it's too small, but can always move the cat food to the bottom of the 'upstairs' stairs if required as the children won't be using the hallway.

Thanks for your help :)

'Safer Food Better Business for Childminders' document does not mention pet food. Only that you do need to keep pets away from counter tops, dishes, food and children eating. Do you leave pet food out all day?- maybe not? Would you supervise? Then that is fine.

[samb]

Hi Victoria- just remember that risk assessment isnt always about taking the risks completely away but just knowing what to be aware of/ supervise more closely/ teach the children etc. I am in an upstairs flat- but I can leave a buggy up at bottom of stairs so haven't had issues with that. I only have a communal garden. I have my whole flat registered and only use my room for a travel cot- like you my other half has computer stuff everywhere and it certainly isn't child friendly. I put the deepest sleeper/ less mobile child in travel cot in there. Occasionally 2 are sleeping and then I have another travel cot in my kids bedroom. Haven't had 3 sleepers yet but I do have a cot size mattress to use if necessary.

[Victoria11]

Yes, I do this. Only used for babies in travel cot, no unsupervised access otherwise. Baby monitor and checking during naps.



You do not need to make every registered room completely child safe. Would you always supervise children in the kitchen? Then that is fine, no problem. Just the obvious- keep sharp knives up on counter top and don't put bleach undersink etc. You do not have to have cupboard locks etc.

Storage heater covers??? Do they get that hot? I keep our radiators turned down a little so not dangerous, and teach children not to touch them.

That's great news about being able to just put the travel cot in our bedroom for use at nap times.

Yes children would always be supervised in the kitchen and hallway - I can't really see why they would need to go in there unless I'm prepping food and they had a question. Still not decided if I'll make food or expect the children to bring a packed lunch. I expect me making food would be an advantage.

I assumed all radiators/fires, etc would need to be covered? We only have electric so night storage heaters in each room. Wouldn't mind a cover as they are so ugly (!) but the covers are pretty expensive!

Thanks for your help :)

[Victoria11]

'Safer Food Better Business for Childminders' document does not mention pet food. Only that you do need to keep pets away from counter tops, dishes, food and children eating. Do you leave pet food out all day?- maybe not? Would you supervise? Then that is fine.

We do leave water/dry food out all day. I think we'll just move it out of the kitchen as the less they're in there the better! Thanks for your help :)

[Victoria11]

Hi Victoria- just remember that risk assessment isnt always about taking the risks completely away but just knowing what to be aware of/ supervise more closely/ teach the children etc. I am in an upstairs flat- but I can leave a buggy up at bottom of stairs so haven't had issues with that. I only have a communal garden. I have my whole flat registered and only use my room for a travel cot- like you my other half has computer stuff everywhere and it certainly isn't child friendly. I put the deepest sleeper/ less mobile child in travel cot in there. Occasionally 2 are sleeping and then I have another travel cot in my kids bedroom. Haven't had 3 sleepers yet but I do have a cot size mattress to use if necessary.

That's great news, it's good to hear what people in a similar situation do and to see if I have thought about everything. I've had three sleeping when I look after family and just had to use the living room too! Perhaps one room was very optimistic!

That's lucky you have a communal garden. We have no outside space here at all which is such a shame (I'm eager to move house!). Huge park and green across the road though so I'm sure that will be fine from reading others comments :)

Thank you for your help :)

[benandjerrys]

If I registered my childrens bedrooms to put a travel cot in each would the rooms have to be childproof? Would I have to move small toys and the bed from near the window? I would only use these rooms for a travel cot in the middle of the room, they wouldn't be allowed to play up there if u know what I mean?

[moggy]

If I registered my childrens bedrooms to put a travel cot in each would the rooms have to be childproof? Would I have to move small toys and the bed from near the window? I would only use these rooms for a travel cot in the middle of the room, they wouldn't be allowed to play up there if u know what I mean?

You need to risk assess it per child- if it is a baby in a travel cot then the rest of the room does not need to be child safe. If it is a big, tall climbing toddler who is likely to be out of the travel cot in minutes then maybe not! Just be careful when getting children in/out of cots, putting them down while getting 2nd child up- is there safe place to put them? If you are happy in your own mind that the risks are known and minimised then you are fine; and re-assess for each child, and again and again as they grow!