Working as a childminder or childminding assistant

Working as a childminder can be a rewarding and flexible career, helping to give children the best start in life. Childminders are early years practitioners too and provide early education and care in a safe, fun, engaging environment.

You must register as a childminder with either Ofsted or a Childminder Agency (CMA) if:

• you are paid to look after someone else’s children outside of the child’s home for over 2 hours on any day
• the children are under 8 years old
• you work alone or with up to 3 other people
• you provide your childminding service on domestic or non-domestic premises – there are now 2 different categories of childminders, which means that there are more options for those who think childminding might be the career for them

These childminders are probably what you think of when you think of a childminder. They run a childminding business from their own home (domestic premises). They also have the option to care for children at an approved non-domestic premises (like a church hall) for some of the time.

This is a new category of childminder. These childminders run a childminding business from an approved non-domestic premises all of the time. They cannot provide any part of their service in their own home. This is a great opportunity if using your home as a business has been a barrier to thinking about a career as a childminder.

Both categories of childminders can work alone or with up to 3 other people. They might choose to work in partnership with other childminders, or they might employ childminding assistants.

Childminding offers a fantastic business opportunity if you want to be your own boss - you can choose the hours you work and the services you offer. 

Like any other business you need to do your research before setting up your business – is there demand for childcare in your area?

Childminders are not babysitters – you would be inspected by Ofsted or quality assured by a Childminding Agency to make sure you are meeting the statutory requirements and standards for learning, development and care, and have the responsibility of running your own business too.

Childminders have the flexibility to care for their own children at the same time - you can look after a maximum of 6 children under the age of 8 including your own (only 3 can be under 5 years old and only 1 can be under the age of 1).

If you are not sure whether childminding is for you, you could try working as a childminding assistant first.

If you are interested in becoming a childminder, sign up to our next free information session.

This online webinar will help you understand:

• what being a registered childminder involves, including the impact this can have on family life, costs involved in setting up and other considerations
• the requirements for registering with Ofsted or a Childminder Agency
• the process for registering on the early years and/or childcare register