really v confused as to numbers

[melfish]

Hi
My hub and I have just started minding together, both registered childminders, with a son who is 15 months. Our certificates say that when minding together we may have no more than 6 children in total, 5 of which may be under 5 and 2 of these under 1. I have two questions:
1) Does this mean that including our son we can have 7? my own cert says I can have 5, 2 under 5 and 1 under 1 - his says he can have 6, 3 under 5 and 1 under 1. Other question is:
2) The ofsted lady said we could have no more than 6 children in the house at any one time. Does this include after schoolies who are over 8? she was not very clear on this, mentioning something about planning permission but the council have never heard of this. so does anyone ever have more that 6 with ofsteds knowledge but without planning?

sorry this is confusing, I am confused! Cheers

[sarah707]

Hi
My hub and I have just started minding together, both registered childminders, with a son who is 15 months. Our certificates say that when minding together we may have no more than 6 children in total, 5 of which may be under 5 and 2 of these under 1. I have two questions:
1) Does this mean that including our son we can have 7? my own cert says I can have 5, 2 under 5 and 1 under 1 - his says he can have 6, 3 under 5 and 1 under 1.

You can usually have 3 children under the age of 5.

You already have 1 child of your own under 5 so you can have 2 more.

The ratio includes your son, whether he is in the house, at granny's house, at nursery etc.

So no you cannot have 7 children! Only 6.

Looking at your husband's certificate I have no idea why it is different from yours... I would give Ofsted a ring to clarify.

Other question is:
2) The ofsted lady said we could have no more than 6 children in the house at any one time. Does this include after schoolies who are over 8? she was not very clear on this, mentioning something about planning permission but the council have never heard of this. so does anyone ever have more that 6 with ofsteds knowledge but without planning?

The planning department at your local council should be able to advise you. Maybe ring and try someone else?!?

If you care for more than 6 children at a time you are classed differently by planning and will have to apply for permission.

This will probably cost money (our council charges £350 for submitting an application).

They then write to your neighbours to discuss the noise, parking issues etc. Neighbours can object and your application would be refused.

It might also affect your council tax as you are classed as a business... and even your bin collections!

Again I suggest you ring and get someone a bit more clued up to advise you.

sorry this is confusing, I am confused! Cheers

I hope this helps :D

[Penny1959]

Your own son has to count as one of your under 5's. Difficult to say without 'being Ofsted' but looks like they have counted you son in with your numbers hence the difference in the numbers on your certificate - however I think if you were out and your hubby minding while caring for your son - his numbers should also be reduced to take into account your son.

Advise that you ring Ofsted for clarification.

Re numbers and planning permission - lots of councils do insist on childminders applying for planning permission if more than 6 children being cared for including over 8's. I suggest you ask the question in writing so you get an answer in writing - as the person on the phone may not be aware of the regulations.

Penny :)

[melfish]

Thanks for replies - I will try writing to the council.
Sarah - I meant could we have 7 when working together (disregarding planning) including our son, as the wording says 6?
As in, the cert says when working together we can have 6 children altogether, 5 under 5 and 2 under 1 so they have already accounted for our son in the 5 under 5 if you see what I mean.
To put it another way, on my own they are saying i can have 5 when it means 6 including my son, so therefore, together they are saying we can have 6, does this mean 7 including the boy?

oh why does it seem so complex? I must be a bit thick...

[melfish]

Also, i know over 8s don't count on your ratios, but do they count in terms of planning? can you have your 6 and the a few over 8s or do you have to get planning for this?

[melfish]

Oh sorry - i just read ****** reply properly, the bit about over 8s!

[noble76]

Hi
My hub and I have just started minding together, both registered childminders, with a son who is 15 months. Our certificates say that when minding together we may have no more than 6 children in total, 5 of which may be under 5 and 2 of these under 1. I have two questions:
1) Does this mean that including our son we can have 7? my own cert says I can have 5, 2 under 5 and 1 under 1 - his says he can have 6, 3 under 5 and 1 under 1. Other question is:
2) The ofsted lady said we could have no more than 6 children in the house at any one time. Does this include after schoolies who are over 8? she was not very clear on this, mentioning something about planning permission but the council have never heard of this. so does anyone ever have more that 6 with ofsteds knowledge but without planning?

sorry this is confusing, I am confused! Cheers

Hi

1. Your own child(ren) are normally excluded from your certificate but your registered number will reflect the child(ren) you have of your own. In your case that is why your cert is for 5 children in total and your husband says 6. Ofsted have presumed your son will be looked after by you.
So when both of my children where younger my certificate always totalled 4 as with my own children in meant I had 6. If your certificate stated 6 it could leave it open to assume I could have 6 mindees in my care as this is what I show to parents.

2. I would contact Ofsted and ask them to clarify in writing how many children you can have in total in your house when both of you are minding. The square footage will come into to this decision.

3. As for children over 8, there are no guide lines for the numbers you can have as long as they number does not detract from the care you provide to those 7 and under.

We hope this helps. http://www.nobleminder.co.uk/news-detail.php?id=14

[melfish]

Yes I think I may have to get in touch with ofsted. The lady who came seemed very confident about it and explained it a few times but I still didn't / don't get it really. As there are 2 of us we had 2 inspections and the first said we would probably be allowed 8 children between us looking at floorspace but inspector number 2 said no more than 6 until ofsted had seen a copy of the planning permission - there seems to be some grey areas to do with over 8s and planning as I know a few minders who have more than 6 (in total including over 8s), don't have planning permission but were not asked about it at the inspection. If you showed on your register that you occasionally had your 6 plus a couple of over 8s what would happen? would they grade you inadequate for not having planning permission or is it another of those things that depends entirely on which inspector you get? ....

[berkschick]

I have 4 (only 1 comes into my numbers) of my own and always have 5 minded kids here. Nobody said to me about planning permission, whoops! OFSTED never mentioned it either and registered me for 5 knowing I would have my own 4 here too

[tulip0803]

My area has a 6 minded child planning restriction. I had to get a written reply from the council to confirm how many I could care for, which came back 6 children and my own. SO I am registered for 5 under 8 (as DD2 is 7) and can only have one more over 8 if I was full.

This only applies to new childminders - estblished ones can have them coming out the rafters without a problem. As I moved areas I had to write to them.

It is an improvement on the planning restrictions when I first moved here which were 6 people total coming in and out house:rolleyes: . As a family of 5 that meant I could care for one child:angry: . Never occurred to me to check before we moved as I had no problem where I lived before. 5 miles down the road and they have no restirctions as it is another county.

[melfish]

Thanks tulip and everyone else, it's really ehlpful to know what its like in your area. Even if we could have 6 plus our own it would make a big difference. It's a minefield!

[Jacko81]

my daughter is 2 and i have clearly clarified this with ofsted that you go by the numbers which is stated on your reg cert. So mine says i can have 2 undre 5 yrs and 4 under 8s at any 1 time. i then have my own daughter to care for and it doesnt matter where my daughter is, my hioues, grandmas, mars (haha), i must stick to the numbers of 'minded' children on my cert xxx