advertising before registering

[Kidston]

Does anyone advertise before registering?
If everything goes to plan I will be registered in September so wondered if I should advertise spaces for October time? Obviously making the point clear im not yet registered yet.

Not sure what people do advertise before or wait till registered?

[natlou82]

I did do this and made it really clear that I want registered and you also can't give a date to when you will be. Tbh I didn't have any interest on websites etc until I said I was ofsted registered, although I had a couple of clients lined up through word of mouth. I would talk to as many people as possible about starting up, you never know......good luck :-)

[wee_elf]

I have set up a basic profile on childcare.co.uk with my information, but stated that I am waiting for my registration and given a estimated start date ( I am not planning to start until September). I have lots of people try to contact me and added me as a favourite which I am hoping is just raising my profile until I am ready to start :)

[Bumble Beez]

I have got 5 families lined up ready for when I start again...doesn't hurt to let people know what you're doing!
Mine has all been word of mouth this time...so get chatting lol!
They all know I'm not ready yet, but are all going to wait...
I also had someone knock on the door yesterday to ask if the rumour she had heard about me going back to childminding was correct...and if so she wanted to put her two littlies name down for as soon as I start again!

Tell people what you're doing...you'll be surprised at how quickly people pass info like that on :laughing:

Sarah x

[HTSMumma]

Let everyone know you are in the process of registering. As someone said, no harm in doing so.
I had three people wanting to use me before I registered and then by the time I handed in my notice, finally received my certificate and left my old job, I was pretty much full!

I advertised on childcare.co.uk as a pre-reg childminder and when I roughly intended to start but I picked all my first families through word of mouth.

Get to know local minders. If they're full or can't fulfil certain enquiries, they can send people your way! :-)

[bunyip]

Certainly, by all means advertise and put your name around. As has already been said, make it clear that you are not yet registered, but are going through the process. Be absolutely honest and do not make any commitments as to the expected start date.

Do not attempt to second-guess or anticipate the date your registration will go through. You won't spend long on the forum without coming across a large number of "How much longer will Ofsted take" threads from frustrated applicants. :(

Unless you're uber-careful, you'll find parents taking your merest hint at a start date as a firm commitment. You don't want to kick off with a number of disappointed optimists going around giving you a reputation as "unreliable".

[wee_elf]

Just bumped into a past colleague in asda and was chatting about my plans.....and it sounds like she is really interested in using me for her 2 year old and 5 year old term time only, which is exactly what I wanted to do!!! xx

[wee_elf]

However I wont count on it until I have contracts signed and a deposit in my hand ;) x

[joannes]

sorry to be devil's advocate but I'm not sure what the legal standing is on this or how people get round it. On my local authority course, all throughout the Ofsted online application and on childcare.co.uk website it has been repeatedly stated to me that it is illegal to advertise as a childminder prior to registration. When I have questioned this with Ofsted (as I asked how exactly anyone was supposed to start day 1 with any customers lined up if no one knows what service you're planning to offer) their response has always been that it is illegal to advertise and you can be prosecuted if you are not Ofsted registered. I was a bit scared off by this as I didn't want anything to jeopardise my registration when I've put so much time and effort (not to mention hundreds of pounds!) into the career and left a well paid teaching job to do so. I saw on here that pre-reg minders were advertising on childcare.co.uk and so I figured this must be ok as long as I stated that I was pre-reg and in final stages with all checks clear. However, at the time it did state that my advert would be subject to moderation and again reiterated that it was illegal to advertise as a childcare provider without full registration with Ofsted and when I went to submit my advert I got an email back from moderators saying my advert had been rejected as it said I wasn't fully registered and this wouldn't be verifiable through Ofsted. I have told anyone and everyone what I will be doing and many of those have chosen to share that on their facebooks/word of mouth etc so I've had a few enquiries. I think it's a stupid rule that you can't advertise as you are clearly not signing contracts or charging until fully registered BUT I personally wasn't prepared to advertise and have Ofsted do a quick check on local sites/websites before they come to register me and pull me up on that.