KENT. Considering being a cm. Advice on rates and outgoings etc

[Nataliekate]

Hi everyone,

I am considering on becoming a childminder but I am unsure whether it is financially possible. I was just wondering what other childminders outgoings are and what are your prices, hourly, day rates etc. I am just in process of doing the pros and cons. It is something I really want to do as I am really passionate about early years but my husband is not so sure so I need to get him on board.

Also, I wondering how everyone contains the childminding so it doesn't take over their house. My husband is worried it will become a nursery and not our home.

Thank you

[sarah707]

Childminding can be brilliant! I love it - it's my passion ... it can also be a little lonely and tricky if you don't have good parents.

There are pluses and minuses to every job.

Lots of advice for setting up and putting initial plans in place here - How to Register as a Childminder in England - Childcare.co.uk (https://www.childcare.co.uk/how-to-register-as-a-childminder)

I assess for the PLA Introduction to Home Based Childcare course - there are others doing the same thing - Award in preparing to Work in Home Based Childcare | Pre-school Learning Alliance (https://www.pre-school.org.uk/award-preparing-work-home-based-childcare)

I hope that helps :D

[FloraDora]

Hi everyone,


Also, I wondering how everyone contains the childminding so it doesn't take over their house. My husband is worried it will become a nursery and not our home.

Thank you

I offered a home from home childcare experience. That is that the children were not in a nursery type situation at all, they just played with me in my living/ dining/ bed room/ kitchen or garden.
I didn’t have young children at home so did not have the toys around anyway. I had to convert a very grown up space.

I managed this by organising my house to enable easy pack away and put out and certain rooms for certain things.
I already had an upstairs bedroom that had been a ‘den’ for a number of years with a futon sofa bed, library and listening to music space, that quickly converted to a bedroom for overnight visitors. So I commandeered some of that for children’s books and games and stored odd things and construction toys in hideaway baskets. There was room to play in the middle and a sofa to sit/ play or rest and sleep on.
Another small room was the office/ music room with a piano and our instruments on the wall so that space just had more craft things on its shelves and more musical instruments in baskets or on the wall, so looked similar. Sometimes we played on our large landing area ( usually home corner type play or shop, hospital vets etc..that I set up whilst they played in the music room or den and they helped me put away.
The dining room had a bureau in it which I took over for craft on the drop down bit ( for using at the table) and small world baskets in the cupboard below.
Underneath the tv where we used to keep videos we never watched I stored writing/ phonic based activity resources.
I stored boxes in our outdoor summer house and the loft which had easy access. In the garden I only permanently had a wooden outdoor kitchen which doubled up as a barbecue table for grown ups - I only had natural material planks, logs and trellis type play things which when stored in and around the garden you didn’t notice or I utilised with pots on during grown up times ( I worked three days a week mostly). I emptied out a big box in our under stairs cupboard of plastic bags and lunch boxes and kept the paint resources in it. The children’s dining kitchen/ cookin resources were just kept in with ours like when my lads were little.
It was laborious, I set up and put away the living room/ garden daily, put a few things out - writing corner next to our bookshelf on foldaway coffee table, book story making area with cushions, a small world activity on a garden tray, Montessori type trays for choice on the hearth etc...so that it was welcoming and had straight away go to areas on arrival, we only played in the living room/ dining area on arrival until breakfast the rest they got out and put away through out the day. We went to all rooms depending on interest or planned activities, spent a lot of time out doors. At the end of the day, after afternoon snack the children helped to put away things and for the last half an hour we played games, read books, sang with the instruments usually, whether we were inside or out, so it only took DH less than 15 mins to put the last things away whilst I wrote up the diaries I had started when they were resting / napping.

It worked fine because I was determined to clear it all and every item had a storaway place and I didn’t have a family to sort out and give time to at either end of the day.

But for those with families and so limited storage areas that weren’t full of family stuff I know the conservatory/ converted garage for storage and play works well too, with less time needed to set things up as everything is to hand like a mini nursery situation. But some of my parents chose me because the children lived in my home and not confined to one room with occasional visits to other areas. They didn’t want a nursery situation for their under 4’s.

I have read outstanding Ofsted reports using both ways.

It’s what suits your family life best.....but you do have to have resources and they do have to go somewhere.

[mama2three]

It does take over a bit , even though I don’t use ‘toys’ I still have an amazing amount of ‘stuff’!! My husband was similar to yours at first but is much more relaxed now , he appreciates how much I earn and how much extra work it is for me to hide it all away at the end of the day only to get it out again in the morning!!
As for whether it’s financially viable , I certainly make a decent living and keep my expenses low. Maybe speak to your local council families information service or similar. They can probably tell you what demand is like in your area and even possibly average rates. Remember if you have your own small children you will earn less as you have less spaces to offer. I’ve been childminding a few years now and am as full as I want to be , but it wasn’t always the same and can start slowly and build over time x

[moggy]

We do not have a room to close off and call 'the playroom'. So we have toys on our family bookshelf, cots in the bedrooms, highchairs in the dining room all the time, a stairgate on the stairs (our own children are around teen-ages), a sandpit in the garden, ride-on cars and buggies stored all over the place! But my family accept this as it brings so many benefits (ie me bring at home and earning a living). I do not have posters on the walls or laminated signs on anything (and they are not needed either!).
It is so hard to say what you can earn- there is an enormous difference between a CMer who has 3x EYFS 5 days a week 8am-6pm plus 4 or 5 after schoolers everyday all year round.... and another CMer who just works 3 days a week, does not do after schoolers and only has 2 EYFS termtime only! Basically, you make it what you want, and that is the joy of it. You can do the maths- use the average local hourly rate and multiply it up, total expenses tend to be about 25%-33% of gross income annually (but some 'expenses' are what you'd be spending already such % of utility bills) but maybe more in your first year if you are investing in resources and are slow to get your first families.
Good luck and I hope you find some support locally.

[Nataliekate]

We do not have a room to close off and call 'the playroom'. So we have toys on our family bookshelf, cots in the bedrooms, highchairs in the dining room all the time, a stairgate on the stairs (our own children are around teen-ages), a sandpit in the garden, ride-on cars and buggies stored all over the place! But my family accept this as it brings so many benefits (ie me bring at home and earning a living). I do not have posters on the walls or laminated signs on anything (and they are not needed either!).
It is so hard to say what you can earn- there is an enormous difference between a CMer who has 3x EYFS 5 days a week 8am-6pm plus 4 or 5 after schoolers everyday all year round.... and another CMer who just works 3 days a week, does not do after schoolers and only has 2 EYFS termtime only! Basically, you make it what you want, and that is the joy of it. You can do the maths- use the average local hourly rate and multiply it up, total expenses tend to be about 25%-33% of gross income annually (but some 'expenses' are what you'd be spending already such % of utility bills) but maybe more in your first year if you are investing in resources and are slow to get your first families.
Good luck and I hope you find some support locally.

Thank you. We do have a conservatory that we don't really use so I was planning on using that as the main learning/play area; it has double doors which open into the garden which I thought would be perfect for free flow. Do you find Childminding is financially OK? I'm willing to put the hours in. I was planning on working 8-5 and offering an early from 7:30 and a late until 6. I was also planning on having a few before and after school children if I can.

[Nataliekate]

It does take over a bit , even though I don’t use ‘toys’ I still have an amazing amount of ‘stuff’!! My husband was similar to yours at first but is much more relaxed now , he appreciates how much I earn and how much extra work it is for me to hide it all away at the end of the day only to get it out again in the morning!!
As for whether it’s financially viable , I certainly make a decent living and keep my expenses low. Maybe speak to your local council families information service or similar. They can probably tell you what demand is like in your area and even possibly average rates. Remember if you have your own small children you will earn less as you have less spaces to offer. I’ve been childminding a few years now and am as full as I want to be , but it wasn’t always the same and can start slowly and build over time x

Thank you for replying. My husband has said if I can £800-£900 a month we wouldn't be any worse off by taking into consideration the wage I would loose and the money I would save on before and after school care for our 2 children. My girls are both at school so wont affect my term time numbers. My youngest is 6 so I would have to count her in my under 8 ratios for after school but oldest is 11. I will ring around and find out the local average rates and what demand there is. I am willing to put the hours in to build my name and clientele. I was debating on having Fridays as half days or off but at the moment I think full time care would be more beneficial.

[Nataliekate]

I offered a home from home childcare experience. That is that the children were not in a nursery type situation at all, they just played with me in my living/ dining/ bed room/ kitchen or garden.
I didn’t have young children at home so did not have the toys around anyway. I had to convert a very grown up space.

I managed this by organising my house to enable easy pack away and put out and certain rooms for certain things.
I already had an upstairs bedroom that had been a ‘den’ for a number of years with a futon sofa bed, library and listening to music space, that quickly converted to a bedroom for overnight visitors. So I commandeered some of that for children’s books and games and stored odd things and construction toys in hideaway baskets. There was room to play in the middle and a sofa to sit/ play or rest and sleep on.
Another small room was the office/ music room with a piano and our instruments on the wall so that space just had more craft things on its shelves and more musical instruments in baskets or on the wall, so looked similar. Sometimes we played on our large landing area ( usually home corner type play or shop, hospital vets etc..that I set up whilst they played in the music room or den and they helped me put away.
The dining room had a bureau in it which I took over for craft on the drop down bit ( for using at the table) and small world baskets in the cupboard below.
Underneath the tv where we used to keep videos we never watched I stored writing/ phonic based activity resources.
I stored boxes in our outdoor summer house and the loft which had easy access. In the garden I only permanently had a wooden outdoor kitchen which doubled up as a barbecue table for grown ups - I only had natural material planks, logs and trellis type play things which when stored in and around the garden you didn’t notice or I utilised with pots on during grown up times ( I worked three days a week mostly). I emptied out a big box in our under stairs cupboard of plastic bags and lunch boxes and kept the paint resources in it. The children’s dining kitchen/ cookin resources were just kept in with ours like when my lads were little.
It was laborious, I set up and put away the living room/ garden daily, put a few things out - writing corner next to our bookshelf on foldaway coffee table, book story making area with cushions, a small world activity on a garden tray, Montessori type trays for choice on the hearth etc...so that it was welcoming and had straight away go to areas on arrival, we only played in the living room/ dining area on arrival until breakfast the rest they got out and put away through out the day. We went to all rooms depending on interest or planned activities, spent a lot of time out doors. At the end of the day, after afternoon snack the children helped to put away things and for the last half an hour we played games, read books, sang with the instruments usually, whether we were inside or out, so it only took DH less than 15 mins to put the last things away whilst I wrote up the diaries I had started when they were resting / napping.

It worked fine because I was determined to clear it all and every item had a storaway place and I didn’t have a family to sort out and give time to at either end of the day.

But for those with families and so limited storage areas that weren’t full of family stuff I know the conservatory/ converted garage for storage and play works well too, with less time needed to set things up as everything is to hand like a mini nursery situation. But some of my parents chose me because the children lived in my home and not confined to one room with occasional visits to other areas. They didn’t want a nursery situation for their under 4’s.

I have read outstanding Ofsted reports using both ways.

It’s what suits your family life best.....but you do have to have resources and they do have to go somewhere.


Thank you for replying. I want to provide home from home care but I also want to ensure I have enough resources, toys and equipment so it doesn't get boring or repetitive. However, I am planning on doing a lot of outings such as groups, parks, woods etc so we are out and about exploring. I have a conservatory we don't really use so I was thinking of using that as our main learning/playing area as it can also provide free flow into the garden but also use the other rooms in my home except from the bedrooms, they are our personal space. I am really looking to getting everything in place.

[moggy]

Thank you. We do have a conservatory that we don't really use so I was planning on using that as the main learning/play area; it has double doors which open into the garden which I thought would be perfect for free flow. Do you find Childminding is financially OK? I'm willing to put the hours in. I was planning on working 8-5 and offering an early from 7:30 and a late until 6. I was also planning on having a few before and after school children if I can.

I find it pays well enough for me to be happy doing it, fees are at the higher end of the scale in my area. I have a partner with a reasonable income though, which helps as you can suddenly have a quite period when one leaves and you have a vacancy (or two at once!).