A person who works at home looking after children aged under 8 years for more than 2 hours a day and for payment or reward must register as a childminder with the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted).
It does not count as childminding if it is in the home of one of the children being cared for, unless the care is for more than 2 different families at the same time.
Registering as a childminder
GOV.UK has a useful guide to registering as a childminder
1. Request our childminder briefing
Your first step towards become a childminder in Merton is to read about the steps you need to take in detail. The briefing will tell you all about:
- registering with Ofsted
- legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Framework
- being self-employed
- training required
- and more
If you would like to read the childminder presentation, please email your name, address and contact telephone number to fsd@merton.gov.uk and we will send it to you
2. Registration requirements
There are a number of things you must do before you register with Ofsted. Once you have covered these you can register on the GOV.UK website
- Check the GOV.UK website for registration requirements
- Paediatric First Aid training. Below are some course providers, but you can choose any provider of this training.
- Tiger Lily Training www.tigerlilytraining.co.uk
- Surrey First Aid Training www.surreyfirstaid.com
- St Johns Ambulance www.sja.org.uk
- Introductory Childminding Training
- London Borough of Merton runs an Introduction to Childcare Practice (ICP) Course. The cost of the Merton ICP course is £125, payable in advance of the course date. You can book a place once you have read through the Childminder Briefing and are sure you wish to proceed.
- Health declaration
- Understanding the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Framework
- Make sure your premises are safe – conduct a risk assessment of your home. For information and advice about fire safety, please visit Fire safety in the home
- You and any other adults living or working in your home will be required to complete a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Check as part of the Ofsted registration process.
3. Ofsted Registration visit
Ofsted will arrange to visit you in your home.
4. Registration complete
Ofsted will send you a registration certificate if they are satisfied that you are suitable to be a childminder. They will notify London Borough of Merton of your registration and we will then email you about early education funding, promoting your service on the Family Services Directory, training and professional development and other services we can offer. Once you are registered, you can find ongoing support, information, training and networking opportunities in the Support for Childcare Providers section of this website.
Visit our Setting up childminding page for information about things you will need to arrange before you start caring for children, including insurance, policies and procedures and for a quick guide to toys and equipment that you might need.
Useful Websites
- The Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years (PACEY) Website has a childminding section containing information about what childminders do, how much it could cost to register and working with other childminders: PACEY - Working in Childcare - Childminders
- The Gov.uk website has a guide to registering as a nanny
Contact details
Early Years, Childcare and Children's Centre Service
10th Floor, Civic Centre
London Road
Morden
SM4 5DX
fsd@merton.gov.uk