I am looking at starting up as a childminder - info, help & guidance reqd.

[AmeChaSar198]

Dear All,

I am looking to start as a child - minder in 2016 (September) and would love some help, info & guidance.
I have quite a bit covered already, but need advice regarding charges, policies & HMRC !!

Many thanks

[sarah707]

Have you done your introductory course yet? That's the best place to start - you will be given lots of help to develop your business

[gemma659353]

I would advise get everything sorted asap you never know what hurdles may crop up. You can leave applying to ofsted till nearer the time but great to know all the training etc is done and your rushing to get it completed

[JCrakers]

For charges, have a look around locally and price yourself within the range of what others charge. Think about food, will it be included or will you charge. Does your Local Authority (council) have a list of childminders on their website? Mine does, and prices are on there which is useful. Proces around here are between £3.25 and £4.50. I charge £3.50 with food/toddler groups included. A little low I suppose but I have a lot of children so I don't intend to put prices up.

If you are going to offer a cooked meal then think about the price of it because food is expensive nowadays. I only offer cooked meals for under 2's and then they have a packed lunch type meal. I didn't want to get into the cooking as I don't enjoy cooking and didn't want the hassle of fussy eaters. All food is free here so I keep it to sandwiches, beans/toast, etc etc. Babies have batch cooked food.
I offer a cold snack tea for afterschool children as they all have a hot school dinner. Some go home for tea. The childminder up the road charges £2 per hot meal.

I would recommend that you charge full for child absenses/holidays/sickness.

There is a lot of help about policies and everything in the Free resources at the top of the page