Advice for someone thinking of becoming a childminder

[beccie123]

Hello everyone

I'm new on here and just looking for some advice and information.

I currently work in a nursery an have done for 6 years. I have a 2 and a half year old daughter too and I am qualified to NVQ level 3. I am thinking of becoming a childminder and was wondering what everyone experiences are like. Do you enjoy it, the pros and cons etc.

I am thinking about setting up with a friend who used to be a childminder but need to work out whether it will be worth it cause obviously we both need an income. Is childminding worth it? Or is it quite low paid? What does everyone charge etc.

How much roughly did it cost to set up your childminding business?

Any information you can give me is greatly appreciated!! I have been thinking about it since going back to work after mat leave and now deciding that now is the right time but quite scared to take the plunge without knowing the ins and outs.

Thanks again
Beccie

[adedwards68]

Hi

I'm in the process of registering at the moment
I must admit it does gradually add up the amount I've had to pay out on courses , my la do subsidise it, and then once registered there's the insurance and a few other things. As my youngest is 7 I've had to buy some toys suitable for under 5's
I'm not working at the moment so have no money coming in apart from hubbies wage
I don't know what you currently earn, but cm fees do vary depending whereas abouts in the country you live
I would definitely phone your local authority and ask them about the setup costs, you may get a start up grant in your area

[beccie123]

Thank you for the reply.


I have been in touch with my local authority and they have told me the course dates for the childminding course but haven't told me how much it is or anything. I will get back in touch with them today. How much was it in your area?

At the moment with Childcare costs I only end up coming out with about £240 a month at the moment :-/

[adedwards68]

I would think that you would earn note than £240 a month. Obviously you won't have any childcare costs and you should be able to have another 2 unders 5's
Generally I think hourly rates probably start from about £3.50 an hour upwards, depending where you live
In theory from when you start you course, if its 8 weeks long, you could have that time plus the 6 months that you have to register to gradually pay for the things you need.

[FussyElmo]

Remember to factor in the need for childcare in your area. If lots of places have vacancies you could be waiting for a long time before your first children.

[AgentTink]

There are lots of things to factor an obviously the first one is how big is the demand in your area.

It can on average 6 months to register, from first starting the course to getting your certificate. Then you need to find work. This is about getting yourself known and advertising were you can. There is no timescales for this. I advertised from beginning of June and was lucky to have a contract start from September, however it took another 3 months to get another child. So I would not be quitting work until you are sure you have income if you need to rely on your income.

I can onl have 2 under 5's as have my own little girl, so again this restricts what you can earn. You can however also have after school children but I decided against this as I wasn't doing a school run for my own child so felt it would interfere too much as I don't drive.

I currently charge £30 a day including all food. I have one mindee mon to thurs, and another tues to thurs, which suits me as I get Fridays off, I earn over £800 per month from this. However I am very aware that my money would half instantly if a family left me so I do have back up savings in case this should happen.

I have just completed my expenses and have found that for 2 little ones I end up adding about £10 per week to my food bill, I spend about £15 a month on soft play trips, £80 in a good month on resources and other materials such as wipes etc, and then I have found my heating bill has increased due to being in the house all day. So all these things then need to be deducted from my take home pay.

Other big costs each year are things like £50 insurance, £35 ofsted fee, £65 advertising, needed a new pram which even at second hand still cost £100, extra equipment such as travel cot and high chairs even second hand cost. Etc.

intially I didn't buy any extra equipment until I knew ages of children I was minding, however I did spend intially on doing playroom with shelves and secong hand toys.

Costs when you first start out wil be your course if your LA charges you (ours is £120), your first aid course (ours is now £50), getting your medical forms completed ( my doctor charged £45), ofsted registration (£35), insurance (£50), and then any other cost for equipment or home mprovements you may need.

I left a good paid managers job to do this and I worked out the other day that if I was still working full time, with full childcare costs, travel, dinners, work clothes etc, I would actually be slightly worse off, plus I have been able to be here for my little girl and have more family time with my partner.

[beccie123]

Thank you for all your help and advice. There is certainly more to think about than I first realised.

I'm going to sit down and do a lot of research tonight..