variation for numbers?? (both me and oh registered minders)

[minder to be]

Hi

both me and my oh are in our own right childminders

I currently have it on my certificate that i can have the standard 6 children under the age of 8 years

however it then says that when working with another childminder at the same address may care for total number of still only 6 children.

now - whilst this is absolutely fine for us right now - ie: we only do after school care and are well within our 6. At the moment I do the main minding but he helps me when hes home (he is self employed also with another business but its mainly weekend and school holiday work) so we have no real plans to increase our numbers to double up at present.

We are never intending to care for non school attending children so at some point (when the 3 years from first registering comes up) will be coming off the early years register and both of us just being on the voluntary register

Ive just done a change of address with ofsted and am getting a new certificate and I understand that there are no variations and numbers going to be printed on the new certificates.

my question is - the old way of working was that if we decided at some point to use both our quota of numbers then I would have had to call up ofsted and get the variation changed on our certificates to increase the number of children when working with another childminder however with all the new changes if at some point in the future lets say when we are both just on the voluntary register if we wanted to bring into play my other halfs quota that we could just go ahead and do this???? is that correct???

[muffins]

Yes I think it is but I would call them just to check!

However you would have to make sure you have the square footage to up your numbers!

[bunyip]

Hi

both me and my oh are in our own right childminders

I currently have it on my certificate that i can have the standard 6 children under the age of 8 years

however it then says that when working with another childminder at the same address may care for total number of still only 6 children.

now - whilst this is absolutely fine for us right now - ie: we only do after school care and are well within our 6. At the moment I do the main minding but he helps me when hes home (he is self employed also with another business but its mainly weekend and school holiday work) so we have no real plans to increase our numbers to double up at present.

We are never intending to care for non school attending children so at some point (when the 3 years from first registering comes up) will be coming off the early years register and both of us just being on the voluntary register

Ive just done a change of address with ofsted and am getting a new certificate and I understand that there are no variations and numbers going to be printed on the new certificates.

my question is - the old way of working was that if we decided at some point to use both our quota of numbers then I would have had to call up ofsted and get the variation changed on our certificates to increase the number of children when working with another childminder however with all the new changes if at some point in the future lets say when we are both just on the voluntary register if we wanted to bring into play my other halfs quota that we could just go ahead and do this???? is that correct???

I'm not entirely sure about this situation. The rules on ratios/numbers haven't really changed with the new EYFS. You're right to say that CMs are now responsible for their own variations: CM's are also accountable for their decision and reasons when doing so.

I'm just concerned that Ofsted didn't double your numbers for working together on your old certificate :huh:. If they did it for a reason, and nothing has changed, then presumably that reason still exists. And that means you also have to consider that reason, which may prevent you from granting yourself the variation.

Without knowing your setting, I can't comment on the specifics. Reasons for limiting overall numbers usually relate to available space, resources or a medical condition (e.g. if a CM has a back problem that limits their mobility, etc.) Or it could just be that you entered a maximum 6 on your original application. IIWY, I'd call Ofsted and ask why the numbers weren't doubled on the old certificate.

In any case, only the EYFS has changed, not the Childcare Register, so it's quite possible that Ofsted might expect us to ask them for variations if the CM isn't on the EY Register. :confused:

I'd also suggest you contact your LA planning officer before going any further. They may require you to have planning permission in order to increase your numbers. If that's going to prove too costly or difficult, then you have to consider if it's worth bothering with the whole process.

Hope it all works out. :)

[minder to be]

Hi

thanks for reply. We advised them right at the beginning of setting up that we would not be using both quotas and just both working together on the one of our quotas and its stayed like that ever since.

Im quite happy to leave as is at the moment as im not planning to increase but just wondered with all the changes if it were to become more difficult to do in the future if it was worth while doing the change now??? iyswim

i think ill just leave as it as its not worth all the confusion i guess until we actually decide to do it.

where we are at the moment we will leave as max 6, but at some point in the future we will be moving to a bigger property which is when at that point we would maybe look into starting to use both our quotas or maybe even just one or 2 of his as well as mine.




I'm not entirely sure about this situation. The rules on ratios/numbers haven't really changed with the new EYFS. You're right to say that CMs are now responsible for their own variations: CM's are also accountable for their decision and reasons when doing so.

I'm just concerned that Ofsted didn't double your numbers for working together on your old certificate :huh:. If they did it for a reason, and nothing has changed, then presumably that reason still exists. And that means you also have to consider that reason, which may prevent you from granting yourself the variation.

Without knowing your setting, I can't comment on the specifics. Reasons for limiting overall numbers usually relate to available space, resources or a medical condition (e.g. if a CM has a back problem that limits their mobility, etc.) Or it could just be that you entered a maximum 6 on your original application. IIWY, I'd call Ofsted and ask why the numbers weren't doubled on the old certificate.

In any case, only the EYFS has changed, not the Childcare Register, so it's quite possible that Ofsted might expect us to ask them for variations if the CM isn't on the EY Register. :confused:

I'd also suggest you contact your LA planning officer before going any further. They may require you to have planning permission in order to increase your numbers. If that's going to prove too costly or difficult, then you have to consider if it's worth bothering with the whole process.

Hope it all works out. :)