childminding from home?..... or not

[Trudey]

Hiya everyone. Nice to meet you all, i have been reading through your threads and they are very interesting, thankyou for posting and sharing.

i havent been on the childminding course yet, im waiting til my youngest son who is 16 months is 3 before i start the course and the process. hes the youngest of 5 (13, 12, 5, 3, 16 months)

ive been made aware that i have to be living in the accomaodation that i childmind from in order to start. This is not possible for me, in my house, with my large brood and i have to put them first.

my question is however, can i buy another home and live there at weekends and say to live there too, ( live between 2 abodes) and childmind. I feel like my dream of owning my own nursery or childmind is slipping out of my fingers and it will never be a reality.

its such a deprssing thought thinking i can never do it

what are peoples thoughts on this please.x

[Penny1959]

I am not sure that childminding would be secure enough or bring in enough money to run a second home. Also it does have to be a domestic property and the council may well class a second home differently.

However a nuresry would be a different thing altogether - but would come under different regulations.

Another option might be to work at another childminders house as a co childminder.

Or as you are going to wait until your youngest is 3 - you might consider working from your own home but to restrict the times you work to school hours and term time only.

Hope you find a workable way to fullfill your dream and meet your own children's needs.

Penny :)

[The Juggler]

I agree with Penny hon. might be better renting a business property rather than having 2 mortgages. x

[Trudey]

Thanks for your replys ,x

i currently work in a nursery as a nursery nursery and i helped them right their sef form recently as were due an ofsted inspection. Whilst doing this is made me aware of all the things i had actually changed in the nursery to make a better inpact on the childrens learning. amd i had that moment when i thought, omg why arnt i doing this for myself. i have a combined degree in early years and special needs, diploma in childcare and i have early years professional status , im starting my ma next sept. I am on minimun wage, i have to admitt i love working in the nursery. so the money doesnt bother me.

my mortgage on my current house finishes at the end of 2015, and house prices in my area of quite low, i could get another mortgage for 280 a month on a hsbc tracker. but im not aware of how much child minders make in money terms after outgoings.

I just want somethings that is mine, even if i could find a large hall that i could buy and have a playgroup for one year olds upwards, its so hard finding the right premises, this has what lead me to childminding as its a homely environment, and doesnt need much change,

does anyone know who i would contact about me buyng a second home and living between both.

[munch149]

If you can afford to buy a second home why not just renovate it as a nursery altogether. Your income from this will then be higher. It is a much mOre complicated venture tho that childminding and would require planning permission. You seem to have time to look into it a bit further tho if in no hurry to start.

[Cammie Doodle]

I childminded from home with 4 foster children and our own son, it worked really well, all the children loved being together, ok income was not huge,but more than minimum wage. It worked really well with the older ones being at school.

[Trudey]

can i just say, sorry for the previous typos:rolleyes: lol, i must spell check in future , im sure my fingers work quicker than my brain.

Ive been looking into converting a house into a nursery, the one im working in is a big house converted into one, i wasnt sure if i could convert a smaller house into one. Has anyone heard of a smaller house being converted?

im looking at starting this venture when my youngest son is 3, so he will almost be in school when i offically open my business.

I have lots of questions about tax credits and accounts, so im going to have to post them in the relevant sections, it all feels very scary at the moment but very exciting too.

i know this may be early but im going to start writing my policies up, the ones i can with out having a premises. Just so i havent got lots to do in one go.

Does the childminding course cover all this and will it give me all the information i need to start.

Thanks to all x x

[PixiePetal]

Just a thought, could you extend your current property to include a playroom? If you are thinking of taking on another mortgage you could use it/loan for it?

Then you would have the homely environment but a bit more space?

Just an idea :)

[Trudey]

I have considered this, i have had a conservatory built, 4 meters by 3 meters and i have used all my allocated planning space in my garden, i have only 5x3 m left of garden now. I was even considering selling my house and moving to another house wich has garden entrance and a big garden (as i have no back gate, my garden is fenced by other gardens). I would then build a extention soley for childminding, unfortunatley my hubby loves this house and doesnt want to move.

i know having another house wouldnt be as cost effective, argh its so hard to want to live my dream. can my mortgage be an out going :idea: ..lol probally not :rolleyes:

Can i just ask, for people who have a small house and mind from it, when the children go home from your houses do you put everything away as ive seen on here in threads from time ago, that people had the childens work on thier living room walls and posters along the hall and in porch areas, but kept it up, i think these ladies had said they were hoping for outstanding by ofsted.

thanks for all your replys, this forum rocks! x

may i ask what kind of set up do you have, i think my conservatory would be too small to child mind from. x

[The Juggler]

the thing is hon, buying a second home to run purely as a nursery will cost you more I would think. you will be charged for everything as a business and I'm not sure the tax breaks would be the same i.e. the 10% for wear and tear etc.

I would call you local tax advisor and have a really good chat to them about the differences in tax breaks for home minders and those using solely business premises. I might also chat to a few mortgage advisors about business mortgages and insurance might also be higher. It might cost more than just having a second mortgage if you see what I mean.

[PixiePetal]

when I was minding from a small house I did not keep childrens art and posters up - if I kept any it was because they were my own childrens work! I stuck things up during the day and mindees took them home at the end :thumbsup:

I had a clear display pocket hanger thing on the living room door which took A4 size pics and I put a few in there with photos, but took it down at home time. I only kept certificate and the complaints poster up all the time.

Now we have moved and I have a playroom but it is small (4m x 4m ish? seems smaller with stuff in it!) and we use dining room/kitchen and lounge too. Toys are all in playroom where I can close the door on it in the evening and I have a cupboard in dining room for paints/playdoh/craft bits which I close the door on too. Art is up in playroom but not loads as it still mostly goes home - I take photos of it for LJs

It is not really about having space, but what you do with it and how you use it. Being able to close the door on it is a bonus now my own children are teens and not playing duplo etc :)

[Jiorjiina]

I think you need to think really seriously about this before you do anything further.

In the case of a childminder, you are only allowed to care for 6 children under the age of 8 at any one time, including your children, so with your three younger children you will only be able to have three other children in the house at the same time. Even if this is only going to happen after school hours, you will then have to find parents who are willing/able to collect their children from you at this time.

This is going to restrict your income to the point where I doubt you will be earning enough money to cover much more than the running costs of a childminding business, let alone a second mortgage.

If you're set on childminding, you basically need to do it from your own home. If you don't think this is appropriate for your family, then to be frank, don't be a childminder.

I think in your case, you might just as well take the leap and look for funding to start a nursery. It sounds as though having a separate premises and a business you can walk away from at the end of the day is more what you are looking for.

[Trudey]

thanks for all your comments, it has got me thinking.

i would love to a have my own nursery but it seems a little daunting,and i think i would have to find a bigish property with plenty of space and garden space. But as i said im looking to begin my dream in 3 years, and i will never know what will change in that time. Its so exciting reading and researching now for what could be:)

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts x x

[Jiorjiina]

Good luck, I really hope you find a way to make something work for you!