Existing Varations and taking on an assistant.

[Bluebell]

Hello - just wondered how variations work with taking on an assistant. I would like to take on an assistant to accomodate a further 3 children - this is the only way it would be economically viable for me to do as taking on 2 children would only just cover the costs!
However on one day I already have a variation in place so I have 4 children. Is the assistant an additional 3 children or should it be 3 children each (talking about just the under 5's here as I don't tend to work with schoolies much)
The variation is just for an hour as the morning mum had her shift changed and now overlaps with the afternoon mum. It would be a shame to turn down a 3rd child during an assistants hours because of this short overlap but I don't understand how it works.

Likewise if I am working with 6 children and an assistant and 1 of those children need an extra day or sibling to start - something that would be valid under the exceptions rules would I still be allowed to offer this?

Any advice appreciated - I am just considering all the options and pros and cons and implications of taking on an assistant.

[sarah707]

An assistant doesn't necessarily double your numbers because of floor space requirements for under 5s -

Space Requirements - EYFS 2012

Plus an assistant can't be left alone with children until they have DBS and Ofsted approval letter plus first aid which can take a while to come through / be done so it's not an instant fix.

Hth

[funemnx]

As I understand it, I can have 6 children under 5yrs when I work with my assistant (floor space ok) and we can have another 6 children over 5 yrs but I don't have the space or planning permission (plus I would probably have a nervous breakdown lol!) However, if your assistant was also registered CM then you could both go to 4 in the circumstances of a variation (continuity of care).

The only reason I have an assistant all day Monday and Wednesday morning is to cover children who have changed/added days but come other days that I work on my own. In this way I still keep the children I've had for ages and make a profit on the days I don't work with my assistant

You have to take into consideration what to do if she was off sick or on holiday - I have 2 back up assistants that are no longer working but willing to come in and help out when needed. A lot to think about...

[Bluebell]

aww thank you both - I've done the floor calculations and I could have 8 under 2's and 1 aged 2 so could have 2 assistants but no way would I have that many under 2's - just that they require the most space each so seemed easier to do the calculations for that!! (worse case scenario so to speak)

The DRB can take up to 12 weeks as I found out when I took on a placement student - I didn't realise that you could have them working for you before the DRB came through as they said I could but it was down to me but made it sound quite negative if I did this! I wouldn't leave them alone until the First Aid was done and I was really confident of them. Not only would I have to have the letter from Ofsted but all the parents consent and I think it would be best to let them get to know the person first too.

I've sent the applicants an information sheet about me and what I'm looking for - I'd had about 20 reply to the advert but only 2 reply with the questions! I've put on that I'm thinking January would be a good time to start - I could advertise my spaces to fill with children all at the same time and have a definite start date for the person. Having said that if they are currently unemployed they may not be able to afford to wait for a job that long if another one came along. I don't want to spend out on a DRB and find they have changed their mind so getting them to start asap might be good.
I am worried about holidays and sickness so I have stressed reliability in the advert and hope to get 2 p/t so that they can cover each other and also maybe do what you do and have some on flexi time!

Can I ask if I have a fellow childminder who only works 3 days a week would I be able to use her in an emergency or would I have to let Ofsted know that she would be working for me and get a separate DRB check? When I had my EYPS I had to have someone work with me for the day and another childminder came for the day and she just gave me a copy of her CRB for my records.

What I wondered was if I had an exception and the assistant could have 3 children that would take the numbers to 7 because of the excpetion - is that allowed? What do people who co-mind or work with an assistant do?