lots of questions!

[pip]

Hi guys ive just registered onto this site and finding it very useful. i am very interested in childminding and have an nvq4 in childcare and education i have many years of experiance in working in nurseries. but we are discussing on having another baby and there is no way we could afford to pay for full time childcare and breakfast and after school clubs let alone holiday club for my son whos 5yrs. so childminding looks to be the answer to all are prayers. so i have just a few questions lol!
how many children are you allowed to care for with a multi age group as i know 0-2yr is 3-1, 2-3 is 4-1 and 3-5 is 8-1. but if the ages are mixed what happends?
what are the rules on pets as i have two dogs?
and as im already qualified with working with children do i need to do the full childminding course or just certain units?
also what is the cost of out goings registration, insurance ect..
thank you for your help

[miffy]

Hi Pip and welcome to the forum.

The ratios for cm's are no more than 6 children under the age of 8 of which (usually) no more than 3 may be under 5 years old and no more than 1 of those can be under 1 year old.

Ofsted will decide on the number and ages of children you can care for, taking into account the ages of your own children and the space you have available, experience etc. You can also look after children over the age of 8 as long as Ofsted feel this will not impact on the care you offer to under 8's and you don't exceed the number covered by your insurance company.

There are no "rules" on pets but you have to consider the safety and health and hygiene issues so you would need to do risk assessments to show how you will keep the children safe.

Sorry, I don't know the answer to your question about training.

You can get details of the start up costs from the NCMA website which also does insurance.

HTH's
Miffy xx

[AliceK]

Hi

As far as I'm aware you will still need to do the full childminding course. You will also need a 12hr peadiatric first aid certificate and your own CRB check along with hubby and anyone else in your house if they are over 16. As for numbers as long as you have the space you should be registered for 3 EYFS children (0 - 5) but usually only 1 x under 1yr, and 3 x over 5's (5 - 8). Your own children will be taken off your numbers so your own 5yr old will come off your spaces for the 5-8yrs range.
Pets are not a problem usually, I had a dog up until recently, we also have cats, rabbits and a GALS. As long as you can show ofsted that you have risk assessed and how children will be kept safe then there should be no worries.

Good luck with it :thumbsup:

xxxx

[mrs_scottydog]

Hi Pip,
Ofsted would need to check the amount of space you have in your house but on the information you've given I would say that you could have the following number of children at the moment. Total number 5 under 8 years old, 3 of which can be under 5 years and one of these 3 can be under 1 year. If you do have another baby your total would be 4 under 8, 2 which can be under 5 and your baby would count as the under 1. Hope that makes sense. If you take on multiple ages you just have to make sure that you don't go over your numbers at any time (unless you apply for a variation).
You are allowed to have pets including dogs, so having 2 shouldn't be a problem, you'll have to make sure that you risk assess for having them and make sure that children can't access their food etc. Ofsted and others on here should be able to give you more info on having dogs.
As for training the courses have changed since I registered but you'll probably have to do a unit for home based childcare, you may not have to do many more though as you've already got an NVQ4.
My initial outgoings for courses etc was approx £325. This included:
ICP unit 1 course
First Aid Course
Safeguarding and EYFS courses
Ofsted registration fee
Health declaration from doctor
NCMA membership and insurance
NCMA toolkit - box of contracts, accounts book, medication file etc
Some funding for courses has been withdrawn so you might find these are more expensive now.
I hope that some of the info above is helpful and hopefully someone will be along to help you a bit ore on your dog and training questions. Good luck if you decide to go ahead with childminding. Hx

[Penny1959]

Hello Pip
I am agreeing with the others about ratio's - just keep in mind that we have seen your house or chatted with you - and so our advice is based on information given. Ofsted may limit your numbers for other reasons - but they will tell you.

As to training - yes will still need to do the childminding course - usually in full as is a stand alone course - although you will find elements of it familiar because of your experience - there are bits about childminding that are different because working on your own, running a business and so on. I know it can seem a bit mad when you are already qualified to level 4 - but it is the 'rules'. (When I re registered in 2010 I had to do the course despite over 20 years previous years experience and during the 7 years not childminding had worked for NCMA and LA as a - childminding officer and had delivered the pre reg course!)

Costs will vary as some LA still offer support such as free or subsisdised training or maybe a start up package for insurance and paperwork. Also things like health check can vary greatly.

Your Local Authority Early Years team should be able to provide some help / information as will the NCMA website www.************* and the Ofsted one www.ofsted.gov.uk

Penny :)