The best place to start is our 'Becoming a Childminder: Step-by-Step Guide', which provides you with an easy-to-follow overview of all things childminding - including the role of childminders and a step-by-step guide to registering with the Care Inspectorate.

Once you have signed up to receive our Becoming a Childminder: Step-by-Step Guide using the online form (see above) you will receive further information and notifications as you progress.  

We would also recommend that you take part in our Childminding Induction Support Programme, which will help you with the registration process, establishing your childminding business with confidence and get you started with strong foundations. 

There are no qualifications needed to become a childminder; however, we highly recommend that you complete our Childminding Induction Support Programme.

You will need to demonstrate your ability to provide for children’s learning and development, and our Childminding Induction Support Programme and Strong Foundations Pack can provide all the help you need to register and establish your new childminding service. The programme will also look at the business side of childminding, and how you will operate as a self-employed childminder.

In addition, if you are planning to deliver funded Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) as a partner provider with your local authority, you will need to adhere to the National Standard. One of the criteria is that you will have completed induction training. 

Childminders normally care for a maximum of six children at any one time under the age of 16, of whom no more than three are not yet attending primary school and of whom no more than one is under twelve months. You should also consider your own children, and any children in your household, and their ages – as they are always included within the maximum number of children you can care for at any one time. 

Yes, of course! However you will need to obtain written permission from your landlord, to ensure you are allowed to operate a childminding service from the premises, and have permission to do so. The written permission will be requested by the Care Inspectorate as part of the registration process.  

Ultimately the decision as to whether your home is suitable to be a childminding setting is for the Care Inspectorate to determine. However, it is important to bear in mind that they are simply looking for a typical home environment for your potential setting – they are not interested in your décor or whether you have lots of rooms to spare, or not if that is the case. 

The unique nature of childminding is that it is a home-based, family-centred childcare service – and this comes in all shapes and sizes, whether it be a two-bedroom flat in an urban area, or a large farm in the countryside. 

Having a small home shouldn’t be a barrier to becoming a childminder, and you don’t require lots of additional space. The Care Inspectorate will determine whether your home is suitable and will take this into account when deciding on the size and capacity of your future service.  

In addition, having a garden is certainly a benefit for promoting outdoor play and learning; however, it is not essential. Provided you have and make use of outdoor space of some kind, whether it be a local park or nearby green space, this should be sufficient.     

There is no requirement for you to have a dedicated playroom or specific area for your childminding service. The unique nature of childminding is that it is home-based childcare. 

You will be providing childcare from a typical family home, that is both nurturing and safe, and likely to be similar to the child’s own home. Many families find this home-based setting beneficial for children, especially when they are settling-in and transitioning to a new environment.

If you do have a playroom, or a space that you wish to use specifically for childminding – this may be useful, but it is not essential nor necessary.  

Regardless of whether you have a playroom or not, areas such as your living room, hallway, bathroom/toilet, kitchen, and garden (if available) will form your childminding setting. You may also decide that some areas are off limits, e.g., bedrooms or a formal dining room. This will all depend on your own home, which areas are suitable, and what space you want to open up to your minded children.    

The specific unique nature of childminding is that it is home-based – and as a childminder, you will be providing childcare from a typical family home that is both nurturing and safe, and likely to be similar to the child’s own home.

If you plan to provide a childcare service from a community venue, or another venue that is not a home – we would advise that you speak to the Care Inspectorate in advance and before you begin the registration process. This is because your chosen venue, or type of setting, is unlikely be classified as childminding, and you may need to register as a different form of childcare. 

Yes, of course! Many childminders have pets, and they are very much part of the family – and are certainly not a barrier to your childminding service. As your service is home-based, you may also have a pet in your family.

Childminders often observe that children find it easy to relate to animals, and they offer a further learning opportunity that children find fun and engaging. Children learn how to care for the animal, and it encourages them to take responsibility, become involved in the care of their own pets, and develop an understanding of risk and how to keep safe. 

The Care Inspectorate has published a guide to help you learn more about the benefits of pets within care settings called Animal Magic that includes a childminding-specific feature.

Whilst pets can bring many positive benefits to your childminding service, there are important things to think about regarding pets and keeping children safe within your childminding setting. There are considerations to make and things to be aware of, and these are covered in detail within our Strong Foundations pack, which you will be able to access when you sign up for our Childminding Induction Support Programme. 

Before you can start welcoming children to your childminding business, you will first need to register with the Care Inspectorate. This process could take up to six months. Further information can be found from the Care Inspectorate here.

SCMA’s Childminding Induction Support Programme is available as interactive/virtual sessions or e-Learning. It is worth enrolling for this at the very start of your registration process, as it will help you to complete the Care Inspectorate application form and gain in depth understanding of what is required from you to deliver an excellent childminding service. 

Once you have booked on to the Induction Programme, you will receive a ‘Strong Foundations’ pack – this will walk you through the Care Inspectorate registration process and provide advice on how to build your childminding business with confidence and get you started with strong foundations.

We would always recommend completing the Childminding Induction Support Programme prior to completing the Care Inspectorate application form as you will find that the course and the materials that you receive will help you to complete the application form to the best of your abilities.

On average, it could take up to six months to become fully registered. However, it all depends on how quickly you complete and return your application, the time it takes for your references to be returned, your PVG scheme membership takes to come in and how many childminders are applying at the time. 

Yes – membership of PVG (Protecting Vulnerable Groups) is required. You will automatically apply for PVG membership, as part of the Care Inspectorate registration process. In addition, people living in your house aged 16 or older will need to apply for an Enhanced Disclosure, as part of your childminding application. 

There is no need to start making adaptations at the start of the registration process but if you want to get an idea of what will be required to be in place before you can open your setting, please refer to The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s guidance notes available from the Care Inspectorate here.

In terms of fire regulations, all childminding settings (as with all homes in Scotland) should have interconnected alarms which can be mains-wired OR sealed tamper-proof units with long-life lithium batteries - and you will also require a fire blanket in the kitchen. 

In addition, as part of your registration with the Care Inspectorate, you are required to complete and submit a Fire Safety Checklist to your local fire authority. You will also need to submit a Fire Safety Checklist Confirmation for the Care Inspectorate, which acts as confirmation that you have sent the checklist to the local fire authority.

You should complete these documents and return them to the relevant organisation when you are ready to do so. As the checklist is a declaration that everything is in place you may wish to wait until later in the process to do this.

Yes, you should download:

• Health and Social Care Standards: My Support, My Life
• Realising the Ambition: Being Me
• Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC)
• Curriculum for Excellence
• Infection Prevention and Control in Childcare Settings
• Setting the Table
• United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)
• Management of Medication in Daycare of Children and Childminding Services

Childminders are required to have valid Public Liability Insurance; however, at this early stage, where you are still completing the application form – you do not require to hold insurance as yet. 

When prompted about insurance during your application with the Care Inspectorate, you can simply state that you don’t currently hold insurance; however, you are aware that it is a requirement for childminding, and you will ensure valid insurance is in place once your registration is complete. 

Once your registration with the Care Inspectorate is granted, you should contact SCMA to setup and activate your membership, which includes SCMA Practitioner Insurance, arranged and administered by Morton Michel and underwritten by QBE UK Limited, so you can be sure that you, your business, and the children you care for are covered.

SCMA membership costs £128 per year, or FREE when you complete our Childminding Induction Support Programme and the Care Inspectorate registration process to become a childminder. 

Please call us on 01786 445377 if you have any further questions about SCMA membership.

The cost for each childminder varies but the common costs will include:

• Care Inspectorate registration fee (currently £28)
• PVG Scheme registration fee (currently £59)
• Disclosure Scotland checks (currently £25)
• Childminding Induction Support Programme from SCMA (£200)
• Membership of SCMA (£128 or no extra cost when you complete our Childminding Induction Support Programme)
• Information Commissioner’s Office registration fee
• Cost of start-up equipment (including smoke alarms, fire blanket, toys, and safety gates)
• IT and essential equipment to support your business (e.g., a laptop)
• Business stationery such as cashbook and contracts (all available from SCMA)

*prices correct as April 2024

Childminders are self-employed, and it is up to you to set your own rates of pay. SCMA produce a guide called ‘Pay & Conditions’ for members which details the average hourly rates for childminders across Scotland.

Business Gateway may be able to offer you a small business grant and/or support.

You can find out what help is available locally by contacting your SCMA Childminding Development Officer or the Helpline on 01786 449063.

As a childminder you will be self-employed. This means you are responsible for your tax and National Insurance payments. It also means you may not be eligible for the same maternity pay or sick leave as employed workers. Check the gov.uk website for full information on your entitlements as a self-employed childminder.

For potential childminders, we would recommend that you book onto our Childminding Induction Support Programme first. When you complete the programme and register as a childminder, you will receive your first year of membership at no extra cost.

SCMA membership includes SCMA Practitioner Insurance, arranged and administered by Morton Michel and underwritten by QBE UK Limited, so you can be sure that you, your business, and the children you care for are covered.

So, once you have completed the Care Inspectorate registration, please call us on 01786 445377 and we will be happy to set up your SCMA membership (which costs £128 per year, or FREE if you have completed our Childminding Induction Support Programme).   

 

It is recommended that you complete our Childminding Induction Support Programme prior to registration, as you will need to demonstrate your ability to provide for children’s learning and development. Completion of induction training is also an expectation of the Care Inspectorate.

Our Childminding Induction Support Programme and Strong Foundations Pack can provide all the help you need to register and establish your new childminding service. The programme will also look at the business side of childminding, and how you will operate as a self-employed childminder.

In addition, if you are planning to deliver funded Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) as a partner provider with your local authority, you will need to adhere to the National Standard. One of the criteria is that you will have completed induction training. 

Our Childminding Induction Support Programme costs £200. Please call our Learn with SCMA team on 01786 445377 to find out more and make your booking.

The Learn with SCMA team will be able to advise if there are any local funding options available to you – if not, you can always self-pay using a credit/debit card at the time of booking. In addition, there may be other funding options available such as a small business grant and/or support through Business Gateway.

Our Childminding Induction Support Programme costs £200. Please call our Learn with SCMA team on 01786 445377 to find out more and make your booking.

Our Childminding Induction Support Programme covers everything you need to know, and includes: 

• Our 'Childminding Induction Learning Course' as a flexible e-Learning course.
• Our Strong Foundations Pack, which explains what you need to do when establishing your new childminding setting.
• Access to tailored support for potential childminders from our Helpline team.
• Once you have completed the programme you will receive your first year of SCMA membership for FREE (which automatically includes SCMA Practitioner Insurance), which will be allocated to you when you complete the Care Inspectorate registration process.  

Both our interactive/virtual course and e-Learning programme cover the same topics which are:

• The unique role of the childminder, the role of the Care Inspectorate and requirements of the registration and inspection process
• Knowledge on how to help children progress in their learning and development
• Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) practice guidance to enable childminders to adopt a child-centred approach
• Meeting the needs of children
• Positive Behaviour Management and marketing your childminding service
• Risk Assessment
• Health and Safety considerations
• Running your childminding business

After you have booked onto the Childminding Induction Support Programme, you will receive access to your Strong Foundations Pack, via the online portal.

Our easy-to-use e-Learning programme is split up into nine modules, and because it’s online you can complete the course at a time and pace to suit you. We would recommend allowing around 7.5 hours to complete the full course. This does not have to be done all in one go and progress can be saved as you work through the programme.

If you take part in our interactive/virtual sessions, they are delivered across three 2.5 hour interactive sessions delivered over three weekday evenings/two Saturdays.

Experience in looking after children is always useful when you are thinking about becoming a childminder; however, it is worth bearing in mind that childminding is very different from working in a school or nursery setting. 

As a childminder, you are entirely responsible for the setting and the service delivered. You will be self-employed, and will need to manage your finances, contracts with parents, the everyday running of the service and work within the relevant guidance.

Yes – absolutely! Once you have completed the Childminding Induction Support Programme you will always have access to the learning materials covered in the course and can refer back to it. 

The course is designed to help and guide you through the Care Inspectorate registration process and into your first year as a childminder and beyond so there may be parts that you will want to read again even over a year later.

SCMA recommends that you access the programme on a PC or laptop with an up-to-date Internet browser such as Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome.

Our e-Learning programme is very user-friendly, quick to access and allows you to work at a time and pace to suit you. 

If you have any problems, please give the Learn with SCMA team a call on 01786 445377 and we will be able to help.

To be considered as a funded ELC partner provider, you will need to meet the National Standard - a set of mandatory quality criteria set by the Scottish Government which includes the following:

• childminders delivering the funded hours must have obtained the benchmark qualification for ELC practitioners – which is an SVQ III in Social Services (Children and Young People).

or

• if you are still within your first five years of delivering funded hours, you must be working towards achieving this qualification.

The introduction of a minimum qualification requirement for childminders delivering the funded hours will provide reassurance, in respect of quality of provision, for parents and carers when they are making their choice of ELC provider as they will hold (or be working towards the same qualification level as a practitioner working in any other ELC setting.

If a childminder is unable to obtain a place on a qualification course and is, therefore, unable to start working towards their benchmark qualification, they must provide evidence of application and response from the training provider.

Read more HERE to find out more about the qualification you will need to hold or be working towards.

Our Childminding Induction Support Programme costs £200. Please call our Learn with SCMA team on 01786 445377 to find out more and make your booking.

The Learn with SCMA team will be able to advise if there are any local funding options available to you – if not, you can always self-pay using a credit/debit card at the time of booking. In addition, there may be other funding options available such as a small business grant and/or support through Business Gateway.