Where to start???

[Laura_Parsons]

Hi everyone,

My name is Laura and I am from Swindon and I am thinking about going into childminding... well I have decided I want to but not really sure where to start.

I am currently 4.5 months pregnant and am thinking I dont want to go back to working in an office once my maternity leave runs out, and have previously thought about childminding as a career so thought I would actually do something about it while the time is right for me to take the plunge!

I am very confused about where to start training and qualification wise... I have seen the CACHE level 3 diploma in home based childcare, which looks good, what do other people think?

Also, does it matter how big your house is as I only have a 2 bed end terrace house with a small enclosed back garden and am a little concerned this will not be big enough? It should be but not sure if there is a set standard???

How do you know how many children you can look after? Is this set by the council? How hard is it to get started from scratch to get children into your care? A little concerned I would struggle to fill my vacancies and then have no money coming in.

Sorry I have so many questions!!

Any help and advice you can give would be greatly appreciated!!

Thankyou!

Laura :)

[green puppy]

Hi,
You need to get in touch with your local early years team who should send you a childminding information pack. You then attend a briefing session where everything is explained to you.

[Daftbat]

Same as above really. Don't worry about the size of your house, you will be able to care for some children if not the full allocation of 6 under eight (including your own)

Plenty of childminders operate from smaller houses and even flats. I began minding after having my second child and felt just like you when i was pregnant. Things have changed since i registered but if you get in touch with your local early years office they will point you in the right direction.

There are certain courses you have to attend and i believe that Ofsted are aiming for everyone to have a level 3 qualification by 2015 but nothing set in stone yet. Take it a step at a time and see what works best for you. I have been doing this for 10 years and did my level 4 in childcare with the OU about three years ago.

Good luck with everything, including the baby!:thumbsup:

[geordiebunny]

At my course they said we could jump straight upto the nvq level 3 childcare course at our local colleges once registered and have mindees as they need to do assessments in your work environment. Also one lady was about the same amount of time being pregnant when I did my course so anytime is a good time to start.
Good luck with it all

[karenpriest2000]

Hi laura,
When i started thinking about becoming a childminder i was pregnant also. It was the best thing i ever did my baby is now 8 months and i love being at home!!!
I have been registered since end of july and i am loving it...It does not matter how big your house is or garden is... I live in swindon also.
I am only aloud to have six children at anyone time no babies as i have my own i also have a 5 1/2 yr old.

[Laura_Parsons]

Hi all, thanks for your advice so far!

Karen -
Glad to know someone local has recently gone through the same as me... family are having mixed opinions about it, husband is enthusiastic about it and thinks it is the right thing for me a the baby... mum is concerned about not being able to earn the money I need to pay all the bills.

How hard do people find it to get your first children/child enrolled? A little concerned that I wont be able to fill vacancies and end up with no income?

How much in general is a realistic earning from 2-3 children?

Massive thank you for all your advice... is very scary at the moment!!

Laura :)

[karenpriest2000]

Hi Laura,
i was quite lucky as i had somebody already interested,(only pt) but it was a start. Then a childminder from round the corner got a call and she was full so gave her my number (again only pt).Then a friend of mine thought about maybe putting her daughter with me one afternoon a wk so she could mix and socialise with other children.(pt)

So i have 3 pt at the mo and i still have vacancies. You can earn quite a bit depending on what you are gonna charge,and how long you have them for. Just remember you can get some pickups and dropoffs for school.

[clairejr]

Hi everyone,

My name is Laura and I am from Swindon and I am thinking about going into childminding... well I have decided I want to but not really sure where to start.

I am currently 4.5 months pregnant and am thinking I dont want to go back to working in an office once my maternity leave runs out, and have previously thought about childminding as a career so thought I would actually do something about it while the time is right for me to take the plunge!

I am very confused about where to start training and qualification wise... I have seen the CACHE level 3 diploma in home based childcare, which looks good, what do other people think?

Also, does it matter how big your house is as I only have a 2 bed end terrace house with a small enclosed back garden and am a little concerned this will not be big enough? It should be but not sure if there is a set standard???

How do you know how many children you can look after? Is this set by the council? How hard is it to get started from scratch to get children into your care? A little concerned I would struggle to fill my vacancies and then have no money coming in.

Sorry I have so many questions!!

Any help and advice you can give would be greatly appreciated!!

Thankyou!

Laura :)

Hi Laura its all confusing isnt it! i did cache level 3 in homebased childcare which is very good, so other than that course and a first aid course thats all you need to do, and then you can choose if you want to do other courses for eg food hygeine which basically looks good for ofsted. dont worry about the size of your house as this doesnt matter, you know how many children would be enough for the size of your house so its doable and up to you. I cant remember the exact numbers you can look after but you are told that when you have you pre-reg from ofsted but you can only have one child under one including your own and 3 under 5 if im not mistaken then the rest are over 5. hope this helps! i am currently waiting for my crb check to be completed and then will recieve my certificate to get started finally! but i have found it all pretty easy to do and there is a lot of help out there and websites etc and also the ncma - national childminding association is a good website.