being a childminder

[lozzylou]

hi i am looking into becomming a registered childminder whe my sons start nursery and school in september. can anyone recommend any good websites to read up more about it.
also does anyone have any tips or advise that may help me.
when ofsted come out to check your house what sort of things do they check and look for.

[zzxxee]

check out your local council website all the info should be on there

[tigwig]

Hi, I have just about finished the process and am hopefully on target to be registered at the end of the month.
Your local council will have all the info you need but I can tell you my experience so far too!
I had to do a 4 day Introduction to Childminding Course even though I am a qualified nursery nurse. This teaches you the basics of what is involved and you can then go onto completing a further qualification if you need. There is some talk of all childminders having to be qualified in the future now but it is not yet definite. When Ofsted came to see me I had to show them round the areas of the house I was going to use and all I had to do was fit a stairgate and locks to the kitchen draw etc. It will just depend how safe and child friendly your house already is.
The whole process will have taken me 5 months which is 1-2 months longer than we were told. There is hours and hours of paperwork to do including filling out a booklet about the EYFS regulations and how you will meet them. You then have to do your own profile, mine is a huge lever arch folder full of everything about my service. It is a whole lot harder than I ever imagined it would be and thats before I've even started! That is the reason why lots of childminders are quitting now, since the EYFS has come in to force. I would have been so confused had I not already had an understanding of all this through my job as a nursery nurse.
I wish you the best of luck!

[lozzylou]

thankyou, yes it does sound a lot harder than i was told. at the moment i know i want to work with children but cant decide on childminding or a teaching assistant. i am looking for jobs that will allow me to be home during the school holidays as i couldnt possibly afford to pay childcare especially during the summer. i have 12 months to play with at the moment as my youngest is not 3 yet