Confused

[Sam04]

Morning, I have been in the process of re-registering as a childminder since October '16 it seems to be taking a long time 🙈 but I have just been offered an apprentice position in a local nursery part time to complete Level 3 (which is something I want to gain) I'm now confused with what to do as I have 2 children of my own so it means them going to childcare 3 days a week while I go out to work & learning. earning not a lot but enough :) after 12 months I would be level 3 qualified and can do more hours ect Or do I get my childminding up and running (I've just paid the fee to ofsted) and try to do my level 3 whilst working from home? Any thoughts, advice or similar own situations would be great 👍🏻

[sarah707]

There is no requirement to do a level 3 - you can if you want but you don't have to - so why not get childminding up and running, let your own children grow a little and do it in your own time alongside childminding?

Good luck whatever you decide :D

[BallyH]

Or do the both together. 3 days in the nursery, 2 days childminding. I worked both for my first 6 years of childminding. All my training was paid for by them. I also managed to take children with me to and from both.

[Kiddleywinks]

I would do as BallyH suggests, do both.
Setting up isn't always as easy and straightforward as we think(hope) it'll be, so having an income and doing additional training to compliment your childminding is never a bad thing.

There's a newly registered cm near me and she's having a hell of a time getting clients, despite established minders trying to help.
Enquiries are thin on the ground at the moment, at least they are in my area, and there's so much uncertainty with the 30 hours that it might be worth waiting for the dust to settle for a while anyway.

I did do the level 3 once I started minding, so it is doable, but I had no time to myself and I struggled with that, and trying to fit in home visits with the assessor for when I had children here to complete the assessments.

[ChocolateChip]

If you think you can manage financially (considering you will be paying for childcare) then I would consider accepting the job and training opportunities while you start up your business. You could pick up a lot of tips and ideas from the nursery, and find ways of working that would suit your cm business, or possibly some examples of what wouldn't work for you.
How long is the apprenticeship, and what would happen if you gave up part way through?
Would you have to pay back any fees/ earnings, would you be able to continue with your Level 3 and how much would that cost?
Would you still be able to do school runs on the days that you would be working or just stick to cm on your days off?
When will you find time to study?
Just a few nuggets to think about :thumbsup:

[Sam04]

Thank you for your replys... My earnings after paying for childcare myself is a bit confusing at the moment as working tax don't really help you until the change has happened but with using their calculator I would be earning around 200 a month doing 16hrs a week (apprentice) but that would all change again come September as my little one would be entitled to the 30hrs funding 🙈
So my childcare costs would go down a bit more.

The course is a 12 month course, I did think about doing it for the 3 days and childminding the other 2 but the nursery have said they will give me 3 set days but they could change depending on the business needs so I can't commit to the spare 2 days.

As for childminding business I do have someone already wanting me to have their child 3 days a week but, saying that I did have two potential parents but one had to quit her job a few weeks back because of childcare costs so I'm down to 1.

To be honest Monthly money isn't really my biggest concern of course it's nice to earn more but as I see it we are living comfortably now without my wages coming in so anything extra is a bonus 😀