Independent Childminders and... Business management
To stay registered as an Ofsted independent childminder you will need to effectively lead and manage your own business - exactly as you are doing right now! It will be increasingly important to take control of every aspect of your professionalism - your Local Authority is unlikely to offer you any support once they are disbanded in favour of agencies.
I will talk in more detail about the following areas of provision -
· Writing a portfolio
· Advertising
· Accounts
· Insurance
· Saving money
Your childminding portfolio
You need a boasting book... something to show Ofsted how good you are and something to share with children’s families about your business. Your portfolio can be your boasting book if you keep it professional and up-to-date.
My portfolio is the backbone of my business. It is where I store all my important documents and information. I review it regularly and update it at least annually... I add things to it as requirements change and when things like insurance details are updated I pop in a copy of the new document.
Include information such as -
· Your aims and objectives
· Ofsted registration certificate
· Copy of your driving licence or passport
· List of those people who live and / or work on the premises
· Copies of CRB / DBS checks
· Car documents
· Inclusion statement
· Maintenance records - gas, electricity etc
· Insurance certificates
· Environmental Health reports
· Sample documentation for parents
· All the information you must share with parents as detailed in the EYFS and Childcare Registers
· Planning permission
· Resources list
· Illness guidelines for exclusion
· Training and qualifications certificates
· References from parents
· Useful local contacts
· Menu planning
· List of your policies and procedures
It can take a while to put together a professional evidence portfolio - it doesn’t happen overnight. Plan to work on your portfolio every month, adding new pieces of information and good practice advice as you go along. You might find it useful to put a header page with your Portfolio so Ofsted and parents can find the information that interests them quickly and easily.
Advertising
Independent childminders will be, as we are now, responsible for our own advertising and marketing. This is an area I intend to focus on in detail over the coming months. We must be competitive and market ourselves strongly - we must inform parents that we are professional, independent, Ofsted registered, individually graded, well qualified, committed etc...
Every childminder should look critically at their business and ways of working and note their ‘unique selling points’ - the things about your business that make you special. Ask your current parents, ‘Why did you choose me?’ and use their comments in your advertising materials.
If you want a company with thousands of parent members to do some of the hard work for you, you can join Childcare.co.uk as either a free or a fully paid up member here - www.childcare.co.uk
I have done a lot of writing for Childcare.co.uk over the years and gold Childcare.co.uk members have access to a huge library of continued professional development documents and information guides which will help you with all aspects of your business management.
Independent childminders from every town in England and independent childminders who work on forces bases should consider coming together to make a Facebook group. It doesn’t have to be complicated. It can be used to share information about vacancies so you can point parents towards other independent childminders if you are unable to help them. I know some independent childminders are already being proactive in this area and starting up websites which they will use to sell themselves and their services.
You can then join up with other groups in your local area to advertise each others vacancies and promote training courses to each other.
If you know childminders locally who do not use social media, ask them for their email addresses and make sure you keep them updated as well. Maybe nominate one reliable person in your group to be responsible for information sharing.
A number of childminders have asked me - ‘Who will support us in the future on a local level if we have a problem or concern about a child and we do not want to join an agency?’ The answer is - you will have to support each other! You will have to speak confidentially to each other about the problems you are having and respect any information shared with you. You must be professional about it - you cannot go passing on gossip or copying Facebook posts written by upset childminders and sending them to parents - that simply shows childminders as little better than children in the playground.
Individual and group / local area websites are an excellent advertising tool. You can make one yourself using free site design companies such as webs.com or weebly.com.
Accounts
Childminders have always been responsible for their own accounts and nothing will change.
HMRC send a self employment tax return around April and you have until October to send it back. HMRC require 3 totals -
· Total (gross) income
· Total expenses
· Income - expenses = net income
The best way to ensure your accounts are ready for HMRC is to complete income and outgoings on a weekly or monthly basis. This will also allow you to regularly check that you are maintaining a sustainable business. If you notice your outgoings exceed your income during the year you can act quickly to redress the balance by advertising for a new child or stopping spending money on resources for a while until you have found the right balance again.
It is recommended that you save a percentage of your income every month ready for your tax bill. Remember that you might also have to pay National Insurance Class 4 contributions depending on how much you earn.
You can register as self employed (which you must do immediately you are registered by Ofsted) and find out more information about tax thresholds and National Insurance contributions here - http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/working/intro/selfemployed.htm
You can find help for completing your accounts in Childminding Forum free resources here -http://www.childmindinghelp.co.uk/freeresources/Free%20downloads/taxinformationforchildmind.html
... and in this document here - http://www.childmindinghelp.co.uk/freeresources/Free%20downloads/taxinformation.html
... and in this document from HMRC - http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/bimmanual/bim52751.htm
Insurance
Public liability insurance - Independent Ofsted registered childminders will be responsible for sourcing and buying their own PLI - Public Liability Insurance.
You will need to think about where you buy your insurance. You can continue with your current provider of course if the policy they offer you still meets your needs or you can change to another provider if you feel that their level of service and the price they charge is better suited to your current requirements.
It is a requirement of your registration that insurance is in place - you cannot take a payment break and remain registered with Ofsted as a childminder.
We buy our insurance through our Childcare.co.uk gold membership.
House and car insurance - childminders must ensure their house (buildings and contents) and car insurance is suitable for their needs.
Note that some house insurance companies do not offer accidental damage cover to childminders for furnishings, furniture etc damaged by childminded children - you should check the details of your policy with the company before you buy.
Car insurance must be business class 1.
Saving money
I think it will be very important to plan wisely in the months ahead. We do not know how must it will cost to stay independently registered... and those childminders who want to join an agency do not know how much that will cost them either!
What we do know is that we will need to pay for some training... and stay updated with the latest information... and access CPD etc...
A lot of childminders have a special childminding account where they save money for -
· First aid training - first aid is a requirement and can cost over £100 every 3 years from an independent training company.
· Other training you might be required to attend such as safeguarding - in Cheshire East we have been told we will need to pay £35 for safeguarding training and I know online courses are a similar price.
· Books, e-books and magazines to enhance your professional development - magazines such as Nursery World are important for keeping up-to-date.
· Public liability insurance - we use Childcare.co.uk.
· Ofsted registration - currently £35 a year - we are waiting for confirmation whether this will increase.
· Ofsted inspection / re-inspection costs - we are waiting for confirmation whether this will need to be included in our savings plans.
· ICO registration - currently £35 a year, renewable annually - www.ico.gov.uk.
· Tax - currently 20% of net (after expenses) income.
· National Insurance - class 4 is currently 9% if taxable profits are above the lower profit limit. Profit is your after expenses / net figure on your tax return.
Note: you must also pay class 2 National Insurance.
I will talk in more detail about the following areas of provision -
· Writing a portfolio
· Advertising
· Accounts
· Insurance
· Saving money
Your childminding portfolio
You need a boasting book... something to show Ofsted how good you are and something to share with children’s families about your business. Your portfolio can be your boasting book if you keep it professional and up-to-date.
My portfolio is the backbone of my business. It is where I store all my important documents and information. I review it regularly and update it at least annually... I add things to it as requirements change and when things like insurance details are updated I pop in a copy of the new document.
Include information such as -
· Your aims and objectives
· Ofsted registration certificate
· Copy of your driving licence or passport
· List of those people who live and / or work on the premises
· Copies of CRB / DBS checks
· Car documents
· Inclusion statement
· Maintenance records - gas, electricity etc
· Insurance certificates
· Environmental Health reports
· Sample documentation for parents
· All the information you must share with parents as detailed in the EYFS and Childcare Registers
· Planning permission
· Resources list
· Illness guidelines for exclusion
· Training and qualifications certificates
· References from parents
· Useful local contacts
· Menu planning
· List of your policies and procedures
It can take a while to put together a professional evidence portfolio - it doesn’t happen overnight. Plan to work on your portfolio every month, adding new pieces of information and good practice advice as you go along. You might find it useful to put a header page with your Portfolio so Ofsted and parents can find the information that interests them quickly and easily.
Advertising
Independent childminders will be, as we are now, responsible for our own advertising and marketing. This is an area I intend to focus on in detail over the coming months. We must be competitive and market ourselves strongly - we must inform parents that we are professional, independent, Ofsted registered, individually graded, well qualified, committed etc...
Every childminder should look critically at their business and ways of working and note their ‘unique selling points’ - the things about your business that make you special. Ask your current parents, ‘Why did you choose me?’ and use their comments in your advertising materials.
If you want a company with thousands of parent members to do some of the hard work for you, you can join Childcare.co.uk as either a free or a fully paid up member here - www.childcare.co.uk
I have done a lot of writing for Childcare.co.uk over the years and gold Childcare.co.uk members have access to a huge library of continued professional development documents and information guides which will help you with all aspects of your business management.
Independent childminders from every town in England and independent childminders who work on forces bases should consider coming together to make a Facebook group. It doesn’t have to be complicated. It can be used to share information about vacancies so you can point parents towards other independent childminders if you are unable to help them. I know some independent childminders are already being proactive in this area and starting up websites which they will use to sell themselves and their services.
You can then join up with other groups in your local area to advertise each others vacancies and promote training courses to each other.
If you know childminders locally who do not use social media, ask them for their email addresses and make sure you keep them updated as well. Maybe nominate one reliable person in your group to be responsible for information sharing.
A number of childminders have asked me - ‘Who will support us in the future on a local level if we have a problem or concern about a child and we do not want to join an agency?’ The answer is - you will have to support each other! You will have to speak confidentially to each other about the problems you are having and respect any information shared with you. You must be professional about it - you cannot go passing on gossip or copying Facebook posts written by upset childminders and sending them to parents - that simply shows childminders as little better than children in the playground.
Individual and group / local area websites are an excellent advertising tool. You can make one yourself using free site design companies such as webs.com or weebly.com.
Accounts
Childminders have always been responsible for their own accounts and nothing will change.
HMRC send a self employment tax return around April and you have until October to send it back. HMRC require 3 totals -
· Total (gross) income
· Total expenses
· Income - expenses = net income
The best way to ensure your accounts are ready for HMRC is to complete income and outgoings on a weekly or monthly basis. This will also allow you to regularly check that you are maintaining a sustainable business. If you notice your outgoings exceed your income during the year you can act quickly to redress the balance by advertising for a new child or stopping spending money on resources for a while until you have found the right balance again.
It is recommended that you save a percentage of your income every month ready for your tax bill. Remember that you might also have to pay National Insurance Class 4 contributions depending on how much you earn.
You can register as self employed (which you must do immediately you are registered by Ofsted) and find out more information about tax thresholds and National Insurance contributions here - http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/working/intro/selfemployed.htm
You can find help for completing your accounts in Childminding Forum free resources here -http://www.childmindinghelp.co.uk/freeresources/Free%20downloads/taxinformationforchildmind.html
... and in this document here - http://www.childmindinghelp.co.uk/freeresources/Free%20downloads/taxinformation.html
... and in this document from HMRC - http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/bimmanual/bim52751.htm
Insurance
Public liability insurance - Independent Ofsted registered childminders will be responsible for sourcing and buying their own PLI - Public Liability Insurance.
You will need to think about where you buy your insurance. You can continue with your current provider of course if the policy they offer you still meets your needs or you can change to another provider if you feel that their level of service and the price they charge is better suited to your current requirements.
It is a requirement of your registration that insurance is in place - you cannot take a payment break and remain registered with Ofsted as a childminder.
We buy our insurance through our Childcare.co.uk gold membership.
House and car insurance - childminders must ensure their house (buildings and contents) and car insurance is suitable for their needs.
Note that some house insurance companies do not offer accidental damage cover to childminders for furnishings, furniture etc damaged by childminded children - you should check the details of your policy with the company before you buy.
Car insurance must be business class 1.
Saving money
I think it will be very important to plan wisely in the months ahead. We do not know how must it will cost to stay independently registered... and those childminders who want to join an agency do not know how much that will cost them either!
What we do know is that we will need to pay for some training... and stay updated with the latest information... and access CPD etc...
A lot of childminders have a special childminding account where they save money for -
· First aid training - first aid is a requirement and can cost over £100 every 3 years from an independent training company.
· Other training you might be required to attend such as safeguarding - in Cheshire East we have been told we will need to pay £35 for safeguarding training and I know online courses are a similar price.
· Books, e-books and magazines to enhance your professional development - magazines such as Nursery World are important for keeping up-to-date.
· Public liability insurance - we use Childcare.co.uk.
· Ofsted registration - currently £35 a year - we are waiting for confirmation whether this will increase.
· Ofsted inspection / re-inspection costs - we are waiting for confirmation whether this will need to be included in our savings plans.
· ICO registration - currently £35 a year, renewable annually - www.ico.gov.uk.
· Tax - currently 20% of net (after expenses) income.
· National Insurance - class 4 is currently 9% if taxable profits are above the lower profit limit. Profit is your after expenses / net figure on your tax return.
Note: you must also pay class 2 National Insurance.
