Interesting in childminding, not sure if worth it

[kiddiecare]

Hi all, new to forum, though been reading away all afternoon.

I am booked in for my childminding briefing session for next month and really eager to get registered, I worked as a childminder 9 years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. Advice needed from anyone who is in or been in same situation. Which is......

I am currently working in a pre-school, mornings only, I used to work all day but unfortunatly the demand has gone for the afternoon sessions and my hours were cut beginning of September. So my money is down quite a bit. I have been looking for a job but so far its either 37 - 40 hours per week, which I am not prepared to do as I wont see my own kids or 24 hours a week where I wont earn enough to pay for care during the holidays.

Then brainwave become a childminder and work in your own home, spend time with own kids etc etc Fantastic done the course already before. know what to expect.

Problems are I have 3 kids 1 year old 5 year and 8 year old, and a small terraced house; living room size is 12 foot by 24 foot a kitchen diner, then I got an average size kitchen and 2 large bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs, massive 100 foot garden.

Obviously I could be registered to care for 2 under 5's and 2 over 5's but with the house being small and having an 8 year old I am worried I will go through the process, write up all my policy's get equipment in and be told no sorry your house is too small.

I also thought If i chose to do only after school and school holidays with over 5's then I could possibly carry on at the playschool, what are thoughts on that??

[theresa]

Hi kiddiecare, welcome to the forum.

First off all do not do anything to your home or buy equipment until ofsted have been out to do the pre reg check. They will tell you what you will need etc. You will need to do a wishlist of course and write down all the possible hazards around the home. Have you got a development officer? if so they will give lots of advice of what ofsted look for in the home.

I was told not to buy anything or alter anything until ofsted have visited.

Sorry i can't help on your other questions as i'm not registered yet but the other members have heaps of experience and will be happy to help you


xx

[kiddiecare]

Thanks for reply Teresa, I will follow your advice on that I have spoken to a rep from cis and have the standards book coming, but other than that the only offical advice has been 'if your keen attend the breifing session and questions wil be answered then. Don't stop me wondering though and its 7 weeks away!!!

[sarahnev707]

Hi Kiddiecare and welcome!

Theresa is right - Ofsted will not let you go through all the palavar of courses etc if they aren't going to give you a certificate! They will talk to you at your pre-reg about what you can expect to find on your certificate etc

Your 8 yr old won't count in numbers at all, your 5 yr old is in the 5 and over.....

Have you thought about doing part time minding? combining it with the pre-school - I bet there are parents at the pre-school who would love someone to offer all day care

If you're single, you get more benefits for 18 hours a week than for more... so bear that in mind as well

Sarahx

[lisaurry]

Hi Kiddicare,

Don't know if this helps, but in the National Standards it quotes the space required per child as :

under 2's = 3.5 sq meters
2years = 2.5 meters
3-7's = 2.3 meters

I mind from my parents house where I don't have use of all the rooms, so I did have to work out the square meters to work out whether I would have enough room to fill all my spaces. I did, and it has worked out well!

Good luck!

Lisa x

[lisaurry]

oops - that's square meters on all of those

Lisa x

[kiddiecare]

Thanks Lisa,
I'll have a go at converting sqaure feet to meters. Do they measure whole rooms or just available space ie ,furniture clear areas, and If you have whole house measured, ie upstairs as well or is it just down stairs???
Cheers

[lisaurry]

Hi again,

I used my mobile to do the conversion into meters, but if not here's what I had written down so may help you:

3ft = 0.9144 mtrs
6ft = 1.8288 mtrs
9ft = 2.7432 mtrs
10ft = 3.048 mtrs
11ft = 3.3528 mtrs
12ft = 3.6576 mtrs
18ft = 5.4864 mtrs

So, my conservatory was 9' x 6'.6'' (2.7432 x 2.01168) = 5.518 metres squared, so that space alone would be suitable for 2, 2 year old children. You might find that you have ample space even in a smaller house.

I would measure all the available space that you would use for the children. I even measured the hallway as it was long and thin, but the babies love sitting in there and rolling balls along! The hallway was 6'6'' x 10'3'' so that was 6.131 meters sq.

And, I measured the whole room, not just available space around furniture yes.

Hope this helps you?

Lisa x

[lisaurry]

Hi,

Just read up a bit, and if your living room is 12x24 ft, then that would be 26.756 meters squared.

Lisa x

[Pauline]

Hiya Lisa

I don't think you can include hallways/landing, kitchen and bathroom in your calculations but you will be surprised how many children you can have in a small space.

Good luck ........ oh and welcome to the forum

[lisaurry]

Hi Pauline,

Yes, didn't think of it like that. I did it as a personal calculation, as I work from my parents house which is a bungalow - and the babies like to play in the hallway alot so I thought I'd add it.

Just checked in the national standard, and you can't include 'storage, halls, landings, utility rooms or toilets'.
Lisa x

[lou]

hiya and welcome, look like everyone has already given great advice.

I personally agree that an option would be to offer childminding along side what you are already doing. Great idea.

However if you decide to go full time childminding, i have never met anyone who has not been able to register due to space. your house sounds plently big enough and you will have no problems. And like Sarah says (was it Sarah, sorry im tired) Ofsted wont let you go through with the whole process if you cant register.

Good luck, let us know what you decide to do

Lou xxx