Frequently asked questions
Read these FAQs in Welsh/Cymraeg
Some of the frequently asked questions are answered here. If you
can't see the answer to your question, get in touch and we'll do
our best to help you.
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you're a member of NCMA, you can request
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Jump to the FAQ section:
Childminders
Q. Do I have to be registered to be a
childminder?
A. If you are planning to care for
children under the age of 8 in your own home and the children
aren’t your blood relatives, you are required by law to be
registered and inspected by Ofsted in England, and the Care and
Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) in Wales (Welsh speakers
can visit http://www.aggcc.org.uk/.
Q. Is it expensive to get started as a registered
childminder?
A. As a newly registered childminder in
England or Wales, you will be able to apply for a grant to help
cover the costs of setting-up your childminding business.
Q. How many children can I look after in my
setting?
A. In England, Ofsted will set a number of children you can care
for. The maximum is six children under 8 years old, of which
usually no more than three may be under the age of 5, and of these,
usually no more than one child may be under 1 year old (although
Ofsted may grant an exception, for example, for brothers and
sisters). These numbers will include your own children if you have
any.
In Wales, the CSSIW will set the number of children you can care
for. The maximum is six children under 8 years of age, of which
usually no more that three may be under the age of 5, and of these,
usually no more than two may be under 18 months of age (although
CSSIW may grant an exception, for example, for brothers and
sisters). These numbers will include your own children if you have
any.
Q. Do I have to live in a big house to be a
childminder?
A. You don’t need to have a big house and garden to become a
childminder. You don’t even need to own your own home. The home you
childmind from simply has to be suitable and safe for providing
childcare, something that will be checked as part of the
registration process.
Q. How much will I earn as a registered
childminder?
A. Most childminders run their own business so it will be up to you
to set your own fees. You will charge an hourly, daily or weekly
fee for each childminding place that is used, so how much you earn
depends on the number of children you look after and the number of
hours you work. It is a good starting point to look at what other
childminders are charging in your area. There is information about
the fees charged
by NCMA members here.
Q: Would a child be covered by my
public liability insurance policy when going out in the
car?
A: In the majority of incidents injury
sustained by a driver or passenger while travelling in a vehicle
will be the subject of indemnity under the policyholder’s motor
insurance policy. This may involve a claim against a negligent
third party if they were responsible for the accident. You should
have made your motor insurer aware of your business. Therefore, the
motor insurer would expect you to drive with minded children in the
car and will have considered this when calculating the policy
premium.
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Over-7s
childminders
Q. Do I have to be registered?
A. Unlike registered childminders (who are usually self-employed
and work in their own homes), over-7s childminders do not currently
have to be registered or inspected.
However, you can choose, in England, to join the Ofsted
Childcare Register or, in Wales, the Childcare Approval Scheme
Wales. This will demonstrate to parents that you are committed to
the caring for children in a home-based setting to the highest
possible standards. It may also help parents gain financial
benefits.
Q. Should I become a member of NCMA?
A. NCMA is the National Childminding Association of England and
Wales. It is the leading organisation providing support to
registered childminders and home-based childcarers in England and
Wales.
If you're interested in becoming an NCMA over-7s member please
call 0845 880 0044 or email info@ncma.org.uk.
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Nannies
Q. Do I have to be registered to work as a
nanny?
A. Unlike registered childminders (who tend to be self-employed
and work in their own homes), nannies do not currently have to be
registered or inspected.
However, you can choose, in England, to join the Ofsted
Childcare Register (external link) or, in Wales, the
Childcare Approval
Scheme Wales (external link). This will demonstrate to
parents that you are committed to the caring for children in a
home-based setting to the highest possible standards. It may also
help parents gain financial benefits such as tax relief
on childcare vouchers.
Q. Should I become a member of NCMA?
A. Nannies can join NCMA for a range of professional benefits
and support. Plus, membership shows parents that their nanny
is committed to providing a quality, professional service. Find out
more about NCMA
Nanny membership here. If you're interested in becoming an NCMA
Nanny please call 0845 880 0044 or email info@ncma.org.uk.
Q. Will I be expected to do household chores for other
members of the family?
A. A nanny is not normally expected to do any household chores
for other members of the household. However, there is no legal
definition of a nanny’s roles and responsibilities, and the tasks
of a nanny can vary depending on the family. It’s essential that
your role and responsibilities are clearly defined before you start
work. There's more information about nanny contracts
here.
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Vetting and Barring Scheme
Update June 2010
The Vetting and Barring scheme is under review.
Please see this story for more details.
Q - I am thinking of becoming a registered childminder -
do I need to register with the new scheme?
A - From July 2010 all new childminders and people working with
vulnerable children or adults must be registered on the new scheme,
if you have never had a CRB check the fee is £64. If you have had a
CRB check before you will only need to pay the additional £28
fee.
Q - I employ an assistant or want to employ an
assistant, do I have to pay for their VBS check now?
A - No, you are only responsible for checking they have a valid
CRB or from July 2010 are on the VBS. It is the responsibility of
the person wanting to work with children to get their own check
done. If a childminder employs and assistant and wants to pay
for the check to be done before they start working with the
children they can do so but they are not required to by law. From
12 October 2009, it will be an offense for anyone barred from
working with children to seek employment for doing this, it is also
an offence for employers not to check their status, so it is
imperative that you double check any assistants that you employ to
ensure they are accepted by the CRB system for working with
children.
Q - Currently all members of my family have to be CRB
checked, will I have to pay for them to be checked under the new
scheme?
A - If any members of your family spend more than 28 consecutive
days caring for children they must be registered under the new
scheme. However, if they do not and voluntarily help out on the odd
occasion, such as taking children to school or watching them for
five minutes while you are out of the room they just need to be
registered as volunteers. You do not need to pay for volunteers who
work with children on an ad hoc basis but they must be
registered.
Q - Can I put the fee for the VBS check down as a
business expense?
A - Yes, this is a tax deductible fee.
Q - Will my Ofsted registration fee cover my VBS
application?
A - If you currently hold a CRB check and need to renew your
registration fee to Ofsted you will not be required to pay any
further money. If you are a newly registering childminder, your
Ofsted registration fee will continue to cover your CRB check.
Ofsted has said that they have had no guidance on whether from July
2010 all new childcare registrations will have to pay for their VBS
check separately. Currently the CRB check is covered under the
registration fee and is subsidised by the Department for Children,
Schools and Families.
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Family Information Directory
Q - What is the Family Information
Directory?
A - The Family Information Directory (formerly
the Parent Know How Directory) is an extensive online directory
offering parents and those working with them the ability to search
for information about childcare and families services in both their
local community and nationally.
In addition to Directgov and the
Information
for Families sites, the Directory is now available to parents
and families on:
Dadtalk
Parentline Plus
Becta
/ Home Access
Hampshire Local Authority
1BigDatabase
These organisations are just some of partners
who will be embedding the Directory within their online services to
families in the coming months. Through these partnerships, we are
able to promote childcare and family services more widely, reaching
parents and families who wouldn't necessarily go to government
websites for such information.
Q - The details of my childcare
provision are incorrect. Who do I contact?
A - Details of childcare services are collected and published by
your local authority using a combination of information from Ofsted
and specific local information, such as current vacancies.
Basic information on your service is provided
by Ofsted and cannot be amended by the local authority Families
Information Service (FIS). These details include provider
name, address, telephone number, fax, email, contact person, type
of childcare and registration details. If there are any errors in
your basic information, please contact Ofsted on 0300 123 1231.
Supplementary information such as the
description of your service, vacancies, additional qualification
information and special provisions are added by the local authority
and can be amended by them. If your supplementary information
is incorrect, please call 0300 123 1231 to be put through to your
local authority Families Information Service (FIS).
Q - Why are my details not appearing
when I search the Family Information Directory?
A - Details of childcare services are collected and published by
your local authority. As the system has recently changed,
some local authorities have re-issued ‘consent to publish’ forms to
their providers. If your information is not appearing at all,
it may be that the authority is awaiting the return of this form
from you.
If your information is not appearing, please
call 0800 2346 346 to be put through to your local authority Family
Information Service (FIS).
Q - How can I ensure my information is
included and my information is current?
A - You may recently have received a ‘consent’
form from your local authority asking you to complete and return it
so your information can continue to be published and made available
to parents.
Local authorities need these completed and
returned as soon as possible as they are updating their consent
forms and checking that the information they have on your services
is correct. Please return your forms as quickly as possible
to your local authority so that your services can be promoted to
parents.
Q - When I search on Directgov, why do
search results tell me I live 3 miles away from my
address?’
A - Local authorities collect and publish
service and location details of childcare providers. However,
providers such as childminders who operate from their own home
often request that their exact location is not published for safety
reasons.
In these cases local authorities will prevent
identification of their exact location by including only the first
part of the postcode in the provider record when publishing it,
e.g. SW1P, E14.
One consequence of this safeguarding approach
is that websites are not able to calculate an accurate distance
when a specific full postcode search is entered. Instead it
will show the distance as if the childminder was located at the
geographical centre of the broad postcode area e.g. E14.
If you are a childminder and are concerned
about this and believe that your postcode will not expose your
exact location you should contact your local Family Information
Service (0800 2346 346) and request that your full postcode be
uploaded to the Family Information Directory.
Q - Why is the childcarelink website
no longer available?
A - The childcarelink system was becoming
obsolete in that it was unable to handle the increased amount of
information that local authorities needed to provide to parents and
carers.
Q - Why have you changed the name of
the Directory?
A - The Family Information Directory was
formerly the Parent Know How Directory and was under the umbrella
of the broader Parent Know How programme. The programme name is now
Family Information Direct.
The names of both have been changed in
response to feedback from stakeholders and parents and to make it
clear that the services in both the programme and the directory
support a wide variety of adults involved with bringing up children
and are not restricted to parents alone.
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More help for members
Don't forget that more help and information is available for
members from NCMA on 0845 880 0044.