Just beginning... help and advice much appreciated..

[HBCMS]

Hello everyone,

Im new here and new to this whole thing and tbh honest dont have clue what im doing..:panic: I have got the registration forms which im in the process of filling out..

Im currently a Nursery Practitioner and have been qualified for 3.5 years, ive always wanted to do childminding though and work for myself.. I live in a flat which is fairly small, i phoned the SCMA though and they reassured me that it doesnt matter how small your house is, i have a fairly big private enclosed garden though and if i do become a childminder im hoping to be out and about most of the time:) and if not do art activities/baking etc.. My concerns about this though would be if it puts parents off when they see how small my flat is? is anyone else in a smallish flat? if so have you had any problems with this?
Another concern of mine was my age.. im 23... i feel people may feel im too young? im hoping with my experience in childcare and being a qualified nursery practitioner helps..

Another concern i had was if i never got any children? i would depend on the wage, i know it will be different in different areas/towns etc but has anyone ever had a problem with having no children?

I really want to do this so much but feel im thinking about too many negative things .. My friends/parents and the girls i work with have told me i should go for it since its what i really want to do etc.. but in my head i feel its just a dream and will never happen...

Im nearly finished filling out the registration form so will get that sent away, also have to do the fire safety on my home, on the first visit after i send away my registration what do they look for? any advice would be greatly appreciated..
also is it all very complicated? im scared i dont understand some of the process and i dont want to look stupid :blush:

Sorry for being a pain :cool:

:)

[Louise0208]

Hi :D

just a few things i had to look into myself before re-registering last year

have you checked out the competition? see what they offer & try to offer a different or flexable service EG temp or emergency care, part timers

are there lots of minders in your area? i have 2 minders on the same road but 1 has a bad rep & the other only takes full timers

are you in a low work/high benefits area? could work in or against your favour, i live on a lousy council est with high single young mums so working families are hard to come by, though now the goverment is making the difference by getting them into work/courses once LO is 7 yrs old (though around here they just pop out another kid)

Can you continue to work until you find your first mindee? this might keep a wage till business comes your way.

You will be fine :thumbsup:

[tulip0803]

Hrllo and welcome:D


Hello everyone,

Im new here and new to this whole thing and tbh honest dont have clue what im doing..:panic: I have got the registration forms which im in the process of filling out..

Im currently a Nursery Practitioner and have been qualified for 3.5 years, ive always wanted to do childminding though and work for myself.. I live in a flat which is fairly small, i phoned the SCMA though and they reassured me that it doesnt matter how small your house is, i have a fairly big private enclosed garden though and if i do become a childminder im hoping to be out and about most of the time:) and if not do art activities/baking etc.. My concerns about this though would be if it puts parents off when they see how small my flat is? is anyone else in a smallish flat? if so have you had any problems with this? When I first started minding I was in a small house and used one room to mind from, I also only had a small garden. There are minders who work from flats without gardens or shared ones so you have a bonus on them. Size of the flat may affect the total number of children that you care forbut I had a restriction to 3 mindees when I first started as I had no experience other than my own children so you have plenty more experience that I first had. Parents all look for different things when they come and it is impossible to please everyone. Some parents may be put off but others will be fine.

Another concern of mine was my age.. im 23... i feel people may feel im too young? im hoping with my experience in childcare and being a qualified nursery practitioner helps..There are many childminders that are younger and do not have a problem. It again depends on parents but you have a proven experience record so sell it. You do not have to tell parents your age.

Another concern i had was if i never got any children? i would depend on the wage, i know it will be different in different areas/towns etc but has anyone ever had a problem with having no children?Don't give up you job until you have children to mind. I have started twice in 2 areas the first time I got a full-time preschool & fulltime after school the week my certificate arrived. The 2nd time I spent nearly 18 months caring for a succession of children for one day a week for up to 8 hours one at a time:(. t does help if you are willing to work part-time somewhere else if needed. Many years ago I worked in a pub in the evenings as one mum with 2 children got made redundant and another with 2 finished her course leaving me with 1 very part-time child. It is not necessarily secure work. It does depend on demand in your area

I really want to do this so much but feel im thinking about too many negative things .. My friends/parents and the girls i work with have told me i should go for it since its what i really want to do etc.. but in my head i feel its just a dream and will never happen...Go for it and see what happens. It can take a while to get registered and start minding so as I said before hang on to your job till you have someone ready to start

Im nearly finished filling out the registration form so will get that sent away, also have to do the fire safety on my home, on the first visit after i send away my registration what do they look for? any advice would be greatly appreciated..First visits tend to be to discuss your application and advise you of anything else that you need to do. I am not sure exactly what SCWIS do as I have minded in England & Wales
also is it all very complicated? im scared i dont understand some of the process and i dont want to look stupid :blush: Ask any questions you want on here. It can seem complicated when you first start and the paperwork & applications can be a pain but I have continued to do it for many years so I would recomend it but it isnt for some people

Sorry for being a pain :cool: You are not!!!:thumbsup:

:)

Good luck

[HBCMS]

Thanks very much for the advice, :)

How would I find out about childminders in my area? By just phoning around or can I get the information from somewhere else?

I think I'm just going to try, if I don't try ill never know :) and atleast if it doesn't work out in the end I still have my qualification to fall back on, I will stay in my job until I get children, I'm just hoping everything goes ok. I'm just need to stop thinking about all the negative and concentrate on possitive :)

Thanks again, were very helpful x

[Jiorjiina]

I started out using google, and then childcare.co.uk, and then the local council family information service to find out how many childminders were in my area.

A word of warning though - most databases that childminders are registered on only use the first part of a postcode, and then list all the childminders in that area. When I first looked, it seemed like there were loads but a bit more research (looking at locations of schools picked up from, etc) showed that most were actually not that close to me at all.

You get more information from the pre registration meetings.