What is a registered childminder?
A childminder is someone (other than a parent, relative, person with parental responsibility or foster parent) looking after one or more children under the age of eight years, in their own home for over two hours a day for reward. Childminders can choose the hours that they wish to offer and the ages of the children that they care for. A childminder can choose if they want to mind from their own home. Or as childminder without domestic premises’, which is a childminder who works solely from a non-domestic dwelling, such as a church hall, community hall etc.
They may wish to care for young children under five years or prefer to care for older children before and after school and in the school holidays. Childminders are able to provide a variety of flexible hours, offering anything from full day care, early mornings, late evenings, overnight or weekend care. Childminders provide care for babies, toddlers and school age children in their own home.
A childminder may care for a maximum of six children under eight years at any one time. Three of these children may be under school age and usually only one of those may be a baby under one year of age. The childminders own children are taken into account and counted in these numbers. Ofsted will assess the number of children you can care for during the registration process.
What are the benefits of becoming an Ofsted registered childminder?
As a registered childminder you will be able to:
- work from your own home
- care for your own children at the same time as you care for minded children
- choose the days and times you work to suit the needs of you, your family and local demand
- gain a childcare qualification through your local training provider
- choose to mind from their own home or a non-domestic premises such as an office or outdoor area
Becoming a Childminder
Route 1
Becoming an Ofsted registered Childminder
- Follow the government's guidance on how to register as a childminder: quick guide and specific guidance for nannies, register as a nanny: quick guide
- Complete paediatric first aid training
- Ensure you have knowledge and understanding of the early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework – on the Isles of Scilly, we recommend that you complete the Cache level 3 award in Preparing to Work in Home-based Childcare before registration
- Refer to Ofsted's pre-registration briefing and the childminders and childcare providers: register with Ofsted guidance
Once you have completed all of the above, you will be ready to start your online registration with Ofsted. Ofsted aims to complete the registration process within 12 weeks.
Route 2
Become a childminder with a registered Childminder Agency
Childminder agencies were introduced in 2016 by the Department for Education. They are private companies that register childminders as an alternative to registering with Ofsted. They choose their own business model and create a bespoke service for their childminders.
Differences between registering with Ofsted and a Childminder Agency
As a childminder, if you register with Ofsted directly, you will organise your own support, finances, record-keeping and all general administrative tasks involved in managing your own business. You will have to pay an annual fee and you will receive your first Ofsted inspection usually within 30 months, and then every 6 years afterwards as a maximum. There are no additional costs for registering with Ofsted.
If you register with an agency, you'll still be a self-employed childminder running your own business, but you will have additional support when it comes to regulation, safeguarding, finance, continuing professional development (CPD), marketing and finding new clients. Partnering with an agency typically involves paying a monthly fee or a percentage of your earnings in exchange for this support.
The table below summarises some of the main differences between these routes:
Differences between registering with Ofsted and registering with childminder agencies (CMAs) |
|
Registering with Ofsted |
Registering with CMAs |
| Fees between £35 and £103 | CMAs set their own fees |
| Inspected at least once every 6 years | Carry out quality assurance visits, one or more per year |
| Childminders must organise their own professional development | CMAs must provide their registered providers with practice support, including Continuing Professional Development |
| No other services offered | Can offer a range of additional services, such as invoicing or help finding clients |
Pacey offer further support becoming a childminder.
Alternatively, please watch the short video 'become a childminder' for more information.
In addition to any registration fees charged by the Childminding Agency, you may also be required to undertake some mandatory training (if this is not delivered by your agency), for example paediatric first aid, food hygiene, and health declaration. This is in addition to any relevant safeguarding training.
Taxation
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has a range of digital support for childminders, this includes:
- an online course for childminders to learn about national insurance, record keeping self-assessments and more
- a ready reckoner will help you budget for your tax bill
You can ask questions at any time on the HMRC's online customer forum.
Need more help?
If you have any further enquiries about becoming a childminder, please have a look at the Childcare Works toolkits sigmposted below or email familyscilly@scilly.gov.uk
Childcare Providers Toolkits
The Childcare Works toolkits bring together everything you need to grow, sustain and start childcare provision. With content curated by experts, you will find a wealth of useful and relevant information, all in one place.
The toolkits contain information specific to operating childcare provision, plus general information for businesses, childminders and charities, including expert marketing, HR and leadership and management, partnership working and more.
Content is organised into six ‘topics’ with each topic divided into sub-topics:
- Business Planning
- Business Growth
- Running of Your Childcare Provision
- Leadership and Management
- Partnership Working
- SEND and Inclusive Practice
Access the Wraparound Toolkit - Wraparound Childcare Toolkit | from Childcare Works
Access the Early Years Toolkit - Early Years Toolkit | from Childcare Works
Check an early years qualification service – available now!
Early years managers can now use the new Check an early years qualification digital service to quickly verify whether staff qualifications meet the requirements for staff:child ratios in England.
The new service can be accessed at https://check-an-early-years-qualification.service.gov.uk/?utm_source=islesofscilly&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=la
This free GOV.UK tool allows managers to check a qualification’s approval status by entering key details such as:
- course start date
- level
- awarding organisation
t the end of the process, a clear outcome is provided, which can be printed for your records.
Why use the new service?
Using the new Check an early years qualification service:
- saves time during recruitment and HR processes
- supports workforce planning ahead of the September 2025 expansion of funded childcare entitlements
- reduces confusion when checking qualifications
he service is tailored specifically for early years managers. All other user groups (for example practitioners) should continue to use the Early Years Qualifications List (EYQL) to check qualifications, and contact our supplier Ecctis if they are unable to find the qualification on the EYQL.
The Check an early years qualification service is for qualifications achieved in the UK. Holders of non-UK qualifications should continue to contact our supplier Ecctis for an assessment.
If you need help using the service you can contact DfE.