Goodbye job hello childminding!

**Julesb** · 05-05-2012, 12:33am

Best of luck with it, Mrs C!

**Mellt13** · 08-05-2012, 01:06pm

Fantastic decision. Good Luck

**Booh** · 08-05-2012, 01:20pm

Good luck

I'm a childminder, and have been for a long old time now!

Chell was all a bit doom and gloom, tbh I doubt they will de register childminders for a very long time if at all....but thats a boring and long old argument and now isnt the time and place.

I made a VERY good living out of it, yes it is hard work, and yes there is a lot of paper work and jumping though hops. But it sounds as if you have done your homework and you know there is a need. Have you looked on childcare.co.ukk for parents needing childminders?Around here it takes about 6 month ish to get all the paper.

Today I had a a lady who was 5 1/2 months pregnant come to see me, she is going back to work in July 2013 and came today to 'book in her unborn bubba

Good luck and PM me with lots of questions xx

**Katiekipper** · 08-05-2012, 01:29pm

I don't know where Chell lives but here you struggle to find a CM. I only wanted 1 day a week and it still took a year which we split between a temporary carer and dh staying at home one day a week and making up the hours on a Sunday eve.
In the end our CM hired someone as an assistant so she could take Isis for us. There is a huge shortage of cm's here.
Now we've got a place with our minder we will cling to it to the death/starting school!!!

**CaroCaro** · 08-05-2012, 01:45pm

Good luck

**Chell** · 08-05-2012, 04:42pm

Originally Posted by Katiekipper

I don't know where Chell lives but here you struggle to find a CM. I only wanted 1 day a week and it still took a year which we split between a temporary carer and dh staying at home one day a week and making up the hours on a Sunday eve.
In the end our CM hired someone as an assistant so she could take Isis for us. There is a huge shortage of cm's here.
Now we've got a place with our minder we will cling to it to the death/starting school!!!

Definitely not the case here, my friend is having to let her assistant go in September as she can't fill her vacancies. Another friend has taken a night job at Sainsburys as she couldn't fill her spaces.

Booh, NCMA certainly seem to be taking the threat of deregistration seriously. Round here we all tend to be paid by tax credits, childcare vouchers or colleges. In fact, every child I have ever looked after has been paid by one of these three methods.

**Sadie** · 08-05-2012, 07:00pm

Best of luck.

**Booh** · 08-05-2012, 07:38pm

Originally Posted by Chell

Definitely not the case here, my friend is having to let her assistant go in September as she can't fill her vacancies. Another friend has taken a night job at Sainsburys as she couldn't fill her spaces.

Booh, NCMA certainly seem to be taking the threat of deregistration seriously. Round here we all tend to be paid by tax credits, childcare vouchers or colleges. In fact, every child I have ever looked after has been paid by one of these three methods.

Well that is why I pay my NCMA subscription so they can fight my battles for me!

Where I am childminders are like rocking horse poo, but if you drive 10miles to the nearest town there are far too many of them....lots of councils recruited far too many childminders and now its the childminders who are paying the cost. Saying that, we had a new childminder set up where I am, but she only lasted a year. I'm so busy its untrue, I've had three phone calls today, all for wrap around care for school for september, and I've had to turn them all down as I'm as full as I need to be.

**Booh** · 08-05-2012, 07:39pm

No tax credit children here, childcare vouchers yes, but one parent they are phasing them out from the company she works for and more companies I suspect are following.

**Elvisola** · 08-05-2012, 07:58pm

I am in Herts and for the last 5 years have been as full as I want to be. I have a waiting list and if I need to fill a specific space I start stalking childcare.co.uk and pay a tenner to send a few messages.

Mostly though it's word of mouth to be honest. Get it out on the school run and to everybody you speak to that your a childminder.

In the early days I also fliered most of my adjacent streets and got tons of responses.

Good luck x