Childminding is stimulating, rewarding, important and most of all enjoyable.  

Please take a look through our Becoming a Childminder Pack (pdf, 751kb) to see what is involved in being a childminder.  There are 2 routes to becoming a childminder

Route 1:

If you are currently delivering Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and hold a full and relevant level 3 childcare qualification you can follow this route (Word 136kb)

Route 2:

If you have no previous experience in delivering the EYFS or you've not got a level 3 childcare qualification, you will need to follow this route (pdf, 30kb). To be eligible for support and funding to become a registered childminder through this route you will need to hold a level 2 in Adult English Literacy or a GCSE in English (Language) graded A* - C.  If you don't currently hold this qualification please contact the Adult Learning Service on 0800 988 0308. This will take a minimum of 10 weeks before applying to register with Ofsted.

Once you have read through all the information, if you are still interested in becoming a Childminder, or would like more information, without any obligation, please call 0116 305 6555 to register your interest and obtain details about funding, support, information and training sessions available.

New childminding businesses setting up in England (those who are looking after one or more children under the age of 8 years, to whom they are not related, on domestic premises, for reward and for a total of more than 2 hours in any day) can claim upto £250 or, £500 for new childminding businesses, as above, that will provide care for disabled children (applicants will need to demonstrate that they have incurred additional expenditure in setting up their business as a result of this).

Current childminders have written their story of how they became a childminder and what they've done since first registering.  Why not read Amanda's,(PDF59kb) Holly's,(PDF42kb) Serena's (PDF 81kb) and Michelle's (PDF 38kb) journey into an enthralling and rewarding career.

The first step to becoming a childcare provider in Leicestershire, or to find out more about opening a setting, is to call 0116 305 7136 and speak to a Development Advisor.

Alternatively you can book onto a Childcare Induction Workshop.  These are run on a monthly basis by the Early Learning and Childcare Service.  These will help you to decide if you want to become a Leicestershire childcare provider.  Each workshop covers all the necessary information needed to become a childcare provider including:

Available for a one-year period with a fixed overall budget of £2 million, a flat rate start-up grant of £500 for new nursery, out of school club, or childcare on domestic premises setting up in England is available on the above link.

You may want to join the Childcare Register - voluntary part If you are interested in

Links to associated organisations providing useful infomation, including news, new initiatives and events:

National Day Nurseries Association - NDMA

Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years - PACEY (formerly NCMA)

Pre-School Learning Alliance - PLA

HM Revenue & Customs - HMRC

Early Years Foundation Stage Guidance  -EYFS