Ofsted has today begun accepting applications for a new category of childcare provider, as part of a series of changes the Department for Education has introduced to give the early years sector more flexibility.
Childcare providers now have the option to register as childminders without domestic premises, meaning they can work solely from somewhere other than a home, such as a village hall.
Previously, childminders had to register on domestic premises and spend at least 50% of their time working from a home address. The government has now removed this limit, but those registered to provide care at someone’s home will still have to spend some of their time on domestic premises. It will be up to individual providers to decide how best to split this between settings.
The total number of people who can work together under a childminder’s registration has also increased from 3 to 4, allowing providers more flexibility to work with others, such as co-childminders and childminding assistants.
New guidance, published today, explains how these changes will impact on childcare providers and how to register under the new provider type.
Read the guidance on how to ‘Register as a childminder without domestic premises’.
Providers already registered as childcare on domestic premises can continue to operate with a minimum of 4 people working together, but from 1 November 2024 new applications for this type of provision will need a minimum of 5 people.
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