A childminder is someone who looks after other people’s children in the childminder’s own home. Crucially, the maximum number of children a childminder can mind in their home at any one time, is six. This means that, unlike those in centre-based childcare, children who attend childminders are minded in small groups.
Siblings of different ages can be minded together, which makes everything feel more natural to children. Best of all, it takes place in a real home, one that the childminder has gone out of their way to make homely and welcoming. Which is one more reason we think of childminding as home-from-home care.
Understanding your income possibilities and discovering the financial incentives and flexibility childminding offers will also help you in your decision making process.