Im just starting to advertise and have questions can anyone help?

[katiemacleod001]

Hi I'm Katie I am a new childminder starting up in the eastney area of Portsmouth I wounder if there are childminders out there that can help me with a couple of questions i have? firstly i have been told by ofsted that i can look after 1 under 1 and 2 under 5's what age is it when a child doesn't effect your numbers? i have been asked by a parent if i could look after her child before and after school hours and she is 9 would i need to put my name on another register to do this? whats the minimum hours we can work? and would this child effect my numbers?

[doodles]

No, over 8's dont count in your numbers so you will be fine. There are no minimum or maximum hours we can work, its your business so its up to you

[katiemacleod001]

thank you for your help doodles thats a great help, if you dont mind me asking is there a certain amount over 8's that your allowed to look after when i had my course i was 8 months pregnant so some things were clear and others just didnt stick when she said my ratio in my pre registration 1 under 1 and two under 5's does that mean two children under 5 but only one can be under 1 sorry : )

[Emz]

yes she means you can have 2 children under 5 and only one of those can be under 1 x

[pinkbutterfly]

How old is your youngest baby? Have you updated Ofsted about your new arrival?

[katiemacleod001]

my youngest is 16 months old i done the childminding course whilst i was pregnant back in january 2009 ofsted know my childrens ages. but im confused with the register bit. i know we have to be on the under 5's but if i only wanted to look after children over 5 would i need to put my name down for the other registers i cant remember what i was told:rolleyes lol

[pinkbutterfly]

Look at what your certificate says. It should mention something about under 8's. For under 8's you have to be registered. For over 8 you don't need to be registered anywhere. You can if you want to. You do have to have an insurance. You can just register for everything but choose not to take on children under 5.

[Ali56]

You'd need to check with ofsted about the numbers you can mind, it will say on your certificate(not sure how old all your children are)
With regard for over 8's your insurance covers you to mind up to 6 over 8's over and above your under 8's( including your own) so if you have fewer under 8's you can have more over 8 to a maximum of 12 children at any one time! Personally I think i'd go a bit mad if I had that many children in the house Check with ofsted tho because i'm not sure if floor space in your home matters when you add in over 8's!

Ali x

[Newbie1!]

Hia love, do you have a local radio station? We have one that is a non-profit station and a lot of the work places around us have it on during the day. It is a small admin fee to advertise on ours (something like £35 I think). May be worth trying it out as Im going to have a go when im registered?xx