What are the start-up costs to becoming a childminder?

A childminder is a self-employed small business person, working from their home and caring for other people’s children for more than 3 hours a day for payment. All childminders in England must be registered with Ofsted, insured and periodically inspected. In Wales childminders are registered with CSSIW (Care and Social Services Inspectorate) and in Scotland they are registered by the Care Commission.

Read more about the roles and responsibilities of a childminder

Childminder Start-up Costs Include:

Pre-registration training course

The cost, availability and length of course will depend on what is provided by your Local Authority (Scottish and Welsh requirements may vary – please check locally). The cost of the pre-registration training course is set locally.

DBS disclosure

Currently the DBS check for English and Welsh childminders costs £53 plus £13 annual update fee*. You will need a DBS check for everyone aged over 16 who lives on your premises.

Apply for a DBS Check

In Scotland childminders are required to complete a check by Disclosure Scotland – it currently costs £25.

Note - the following registration requirements relate to childminders in England. Please check registration requirements with your registering body if you live in Scotland or Wales.

Medical check

Your doctor will charge you a fee for completing your Health Declaration Booklet and returning it to Ofsted - price varies.

Paediatric first aid course

You must complete a 12 hour paediatric first aid course - costs vary depending on local availability.

Safeguarding training

Most Local Authorities in England require newly registering childminders to complete a Local Safeguarding Children Board approved safeguarding course before they start working with children – costs vary.

Ofsted fee

Registration currently costs £35 a year* for the Early Years register and Childcare Register and £104* if you just want to join the Childcare Register and care for over 5s. You can pay your Ofsted registration fee online.

ICO fee

Registration with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO as a data handler currently costs £35 a year*. You can register with the ICO online.

Advertising

Join Childcare.co.uk as a gold member and advertise your new childcare business. You will receive a range of valuable gold membership benefits. Don’t forget to make the most of your Chidlcare.co.uk online profile – parents are more likely to contact you if your profile stands out from the crowd. Read out free guide on writing your profile.

Public liability insurance

Childminder public liability insurance is available for FREE to Childcare.co.uk gold members.

Documentation & paperwork

You will need documentation such as contracts, permissions, child record forms and policies and procedures to help you manage your business. These are included FREE with your Childcare.co.uk gold membership.

Resources and equipment

You will need to buy resources such as toys and games and equipment such as buggies and car seats. You will find lots of resources in charity shops, car boot sales and online (car seats should be new). Make sure you keep receipts as you will be able to claim back the cost on your first tax return.

You can find more information about tax and expenses on the HMRC website.