Starting a Child Care Business

What is a childcare business?

Increasingly nowadays more and more families are struggling financially, and find it difficult to manage on a single wage packet.With rising inflation and the increased cost of living to blame, it now becomes essential for both parents to work. Hence, this is why most parents have to consider sending their children to childcare..

This not only helps children to interact with their peers and learn social bonding but also gives them a head start in academics. Children who attend childcare or day care centre are sharper and brighter and do not face separation anxiety. Earlier almost any one could start a child care business. However, these days all childcare centres need to be managed by trained and certified adults.

Types of Child Care Businesses

These days childcare is big business in the UK. There are many categories and segments of child care businesses.

Here are some of the common categories:

• Full child care: This caters to children who are less than 8 years old and stay in the child care premises for more than four hours a day. Called a nursery.

• Day care or part time nursery: This is again for children less than 8 years of age but the time spent by the child in the day care is less than four hours.

• This caters to children who have working parents and need a place to go after school. This is generally on non-domestic grounds.

• Child minders: This service caters for children below eight years of age and for duration of two hours.

Legal Side and Local Authorities in UK

According to the rules in UK, a part of Pre School is funded by the government. According to the guidelines, a fixed quota of 12.5 hours has been allotted for Pre School learning per week for children aged between three to four years. This has been scheduled   to increase to 15 hours per week from the year 2010. Once the Pre School is over the child gets into the conventional education and enrolls into the foundation stage.

What is involved In Running a Childcare Business?

From 2008, all day care centres in UK that cater to children less than five years of age are required to adhere to the curriculum prescribed in EYFS or Early Years Foundation Stage.

These guidelines guarantee that children are taught through play and parents and guardians are apprised of the overall progress made by the child. These rules are available in a handbook that needs to be reviewed by all people concerned. These rules were put into place so that when a child is ready for the mainstream school, then teachers have an up to date analysis about the child’s progress. Besides this there is a set template of 13 evaluation points on which the child is appraised.

What Qualification Do You Need When Starting a Childcare Business?

In you are just starting a day care business, then you really don’t need any qualifications. However, you need to register with Ofsted and Early Years Education and HMRC since they are the main authorities in business.Anyone that you take on to look after children must be qualified e.g. NNEB certificate, or NVQ in early years care qualified.If you also want to look after children why not find out more about getting qualified from your nearest collage who will be able to point you in the right direction.

See some real life people and read some real case studies of people who are looking after children for a lving.opens a new window just close when finished to bring you back here

What Premises Do I Need When Starting a Childcare Business?

According to the guidelines your premises should meet all the cleanliness standards and should be at least with the dimensions of:

1. 3.5 m square per child under two years of age
2 2-5 m square per child of two tears
3. 2.3 m square per child aged between 3 to 7

You also need to cater for car parking and check with your local council for all the permissions.If you plan on starting off with a private nursery using your own house then you will need to contact your local authorities. Who inform you of your legal obligations and any changes that you will have to make in your property in order for your house to be deemed suitable for child care.,Apart from this, you need educational toys and play things for toddlers. If your day care has very small babies, then you would need a Moses basket as well as other adequate equipment.

Great Earning Potential.

You can earn a good income providing childcare services as long as you provide a great service. There are also grants available that can help, in starting a childcare business - start by contacting your local council for more information authorities. You may also want to consider starting small by setting up a day care centre in your home and expand as it increases, and with any business you only get out what you put into your business.

Finally Thoughts

Starting you own childcare business can be a very rewarding experience especially when you do something that you love, and what better business to start than one that let's you work with children.Even though it's going to be very hard work attending to all those high spirited children as well as working on your business obligations it can be very satisfying.

Developing a child at such a pivotal point in their life can have a positive and lasting effect, you should view starting a childcare business as as a great responsibility that should not be taken lightly.

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