How to Become a Childminder in UK 2023
Becoming a childminder in the UK naturally comes when you think about some out-of-the-box career options. Children are the most loving creatures, but sometimes they can give you headaches.
Childminding can be an uptick if you love staying around toddlers and young ones. Do you know there are 3.78 million children below 5 in the UK?
Every single child needs someone to take care of her. So, childcare can become a lucrative business for you. What are you waiting for? We have got everything covered for you in this article.
Learn how to become a childminder and start giving your services from the comfort of your home.
Who Are Childminders?
Childminder, as its name suggests, hints at someone who understands children. It’s true in the professional case. Childminders have childcaring skills and take care of other’s children for money.
Definition: A childminder is a self-employed professional who looks after small children. Below the age of 8 or 12 for more than 2 hours in their home or other domestic premises.
There are almost 31,400 childminders in the UK as of 2022. Yet, the number has decreased because Covid-19 wreaked havoc in the industry. Meanwhile, the market is rebounding from the stress.
You can find enormous opportunities in this career, provided you have the interest and skills to get smooth sailing into childcare.
Skills to Become a Childminder
To become a childminder, you must first understand that it’s not a typical profession. In a typical job setting, people continue doing work even if they dislike it.
They willy-nilly go on the trudging path for so many reasons. But that’s not the case with childminding business.
To put your first step into the door, you must have a love for children and should show interest in taking care of others’ young ones.
Along with the inclination for children, you must possess the following skills to enter the childcare market.
- You must have a positive outlook towards the whole world, particularly children. That attitude sprouts the desire to help young ones. Also, when you have the skill of optimism, you unconsciously take action for the betterment.
- You should stay calm and cool in any depressing situation. It helps you understand what the child says. They speak broken words or use body language to convey a message. Thus, if you can’t withstand the children’s noises, you can’t understand them.
- The skill of being altruistic helps you alot, in the long run, to look ahead of yourself. That’s what’s needed in a childminder job. As you have to take responsibility for everything for a young child, you must think beyond your selfish desires to get going.
- Childminders must have good communication skills. As a business, you have to win the trust of children. That’s why you should have good verbal skills. These skills can help you interact better with children.
After honing these skills, you can kick things off more professionally.
Do You Need Any Childminder Course?
Childminding doesn’t require any special qualifications. If you want to start a business like that, you shouldn’t enroll in any degree because you are good to go without it.
However, you require some childminder courses to get your hands down on the profession. These may include pediatric first aid courses and food safety courses.
A first aid course for a toddler teaches you how to deal with unforeseen situations. Also, knowing the food safety standards can bring a plus point to your career. You learn what’s best for a small child and what’s not.
These courses will also show how dedicated you’re to your work.
Requirements to Become a Registered Childminder
There isn’t a long list of items that comes under the requirements to become a childminder. You may count them on your fingertips.
Before moving further, you must know that the UK govt registers childminders in their database officially.
Thus, you must register with Ofsted or Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services, and Skills. The authority inspects and maintains the standards of child education and care.
There are four countries in the UK, and each has different criteria for registering childminders. We will provide the basic procedure of England:
- You can register as a childminder for less than 5 years old children. This registration is called Early Years Register.
- Also, if you want to become a childminder for children aged 6-8, you must register as Childcare Register. The age limits, registering procedures, and set standards may vary in the other three countries.
A Step-by-Step Procedure to Become a Childminder
The path to becoming a childminder is no less than a rollercoaster ride that surpasses a bunch of hurdles until you get the registration card.
Getting all your ducks in a row will help you organise your journey and set the milestones for your destination. We have made it super simple for you by outlining a stepwise process. Do check it below.
1. DBS Checks
Before entering the medical and care sector, you must pass the DBS checks. These checks are important to find the relevant person for the job.
Also, it stops any irrelevant person from working with vulnerable groups. DBS checks are important to find any criminal record of a person. It may have some charges to get yourself verified from DBS checks.
Furthermore, if you are a recent immigrant or have spent time outside the UK, you must provide a good character certificate attested by the relevant embassy.
Attesting your identity is necessary for the authorities as they can’t risk others’ safety with you.
2. Pediatric First-Aid Certificate
First aid plays an important part in everyone’s life. Children are more vulnerable to accidents. Therefore, you must possess a first aid certificate to stand out from the applicants.
Bear in mind, don’t hop on a first aid course mindlessly. List down the best choices and go through their course contents.
Choose the course that best resonates with the EYFS requirements. It helps you in your childminder registration.
3. Health Declaration
Declaring your health conditions is necessary to move further with your registration procedure. It helps you know if your ongoing disease affects the childcare responsibilities you have to perform.
Thus, you must complete a declaration form and submit it to your respective authorities. You must fill out the A and B1 parts on the form and leave the C to your general physician.
Your GP may charge you a fee for the examination. He may also add comments in the form to give a complete medical verification.
4. Essential Training
Childminder training can provide the essentials or how-to guides related to your daily childcare work. However, these courses may differ depending on the type of registration.
Consult your local council to get ideas for courses. It can recommend to you the best training courses available. The training provides you with the best hand knowledge needed.
5. References
After training, you must find 2 people who can refer you as a childminder. These people should be citizens of the UK.
6. Get Inspected by the Authorities
An inspector will knock at your door once you have completed the registration process and submitted the form. It will inspect your attitude, your premises, and your plans.
After applying for Early Year Register, you get inspected. Generally, Ofsted provides notice of inspection before 5 days. But, sometimes, they can even inspect without intimating you.
There is a set criterion of inspection. You can visit the official website to find out what the inspector will seek from you. That said, we have discussed a little below:
- They would ask questions related to the early years’ stage.
- They may test you on daily care routines.
- They may check your interaction with children.
- They will also oversee the children’s mood and body language.
After inspection, they will evaluate your report and grade it from 1 to 4. If you fall under grade 4, you may be considered inadequate and again get inspected after 6 months.
7. Registration Certificate
Once Ofsted has received your credentials, it will work on the certificate generation. It may take some time. Only after getting the registration certificate can you take your first child.
Childminding As a Business
You can change your profession into a business and earn better than individual childminders. The era of social media makes it easy to set up a child-minding business plan. The following things are necessary:
- Market Research
- Competitors’ analysis
- Marketing
You can start by finding the right market for marketing. There are tons of questions that can work as guiding lights for your childminder business.
For instance, you can find out if the couples in your area are young or old. It will help you understand the market potential. Similarly, you can address those who have already adopted these services.
After knowing the market potential, you can move towards the customer’s pain points. You can develop a USP based on customer research.
After that, find what your competitor services your competitors are selling. You can add a unique selling proposition: special attention to children having dyslexia.
The last step is marketing. There are alot of platforms where you can market your services. Facebook marketing is an important one.
You can devise a marketing campaign to hit your target audience. The perfect marketing will parents to your childminder business like rain in the monsoon.
Final Words -Become a Childminder
People interested in working from their homes often search for how to become a childminder. Although it’s not a lucrative career like others, it still can be a source of satisfaction for many.
Those who love children and want to invest their time in them can become a childminder easily. However, becoming a childminder isn’t a piece of cake. You must cross certain brisks and bumps to register your name in the UK.
We have discussed every important aspect of childminding in detail. Kindly review it and let us know your feedback in the comments.
