Becoming a Childminding Assistant in England

PACEY
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Careers in Childcare
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Childminding Assistant
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Becoming a Childminding Assistant in England

If you are interested in working with small groups of children in a homely environment, then becoming a childminding assistant could be the role for you.

Working under the supervision of, and in partnership with the registered childminder, a childminding assistant will support them in providing high quality care to the children, appropriate learning experiences, and help to ensure their safety and wellbeing. You can find out more about the role of a childminding assistant in our template childminding assistant job description.

A childminder assistants can be an employee or a volunteer in a paid or unpaid role, who works with children under a registered childminder. Therefore, to become a childminding assistant you would need to find a childminder that is looking to recruit an assistant. You may find a vacancy through word of mouth, local jobs boards, or recruitment websites.

Suitability checks

Working as a childminder assistant

Training

Suitability checks

Suitability checks
The registered childminder will need to complete the online New assistant Ofsted form. Ofsted will carry out suitability checks on new adults with council social services.

You will be contacted directly by Ofsted and must:

Have an enhanced DBS check with barred lists
Answer a few questions about your health, other names you have had, where you have lived for the last 5 years and circumstances that might affect your suitability to be in contact with children

Training

The EYFS statutory framework for childminders says that assistants must be “competent to meet their roles and responsibilities.” (3.30). If you already have experience or qualifications in early years and childcare, however, in order to demonstrate your competence, you should be prepared to undertake training.

Preparing to Work in Home-based Childcare course

Our Preparing to Work in Home-Based Childcare (HBCA) is a level 3 award that covers every aspect of being a childminding assistant, including: child nutrition; costs and charges; meeting children’s learning needs and working in partnership with parents and other professionals.

The HBCA course has been created by childcare experts to give you the very best foundations for a successful career as a childminding assistant in England.

Safeguarding training

If you work with children, you have a responsibility to help to protect them. You must be aware of your roles and responsibilities in relation to safeguarding, child protection and the welfare of children. Children are vulnerable and rely on adults to help them to feel safe and secure. You have a responsibility to ensure that children are able to grow and develop in a safe and stimulating environment.

The Safeguarding children course from PACEY has been designed to help you meet your responsibilities and is fully endorsed by CACHE. It will help ensure you have the confidence to recognise, respond to and refer a child for further help if you should have any concerns.

First aid training

An assistant that is to be left in sole charge of the children for any period of time, you must hold a current paediatric first aid certificate (EYFS 3.25).

The EYFS guidelines for childcarers state that first aid training must:

cater for practitioners caring for children in the absence of their parents
be a minimum of 12 hours
cover what to include in a first aid kit for babies and children
demonstrate resuscitation techniques using models of babies and children, and give practitioners a chance to practise on models of each age group
include how to record accidents and incidents appropriately.

PACEY works with Tigerlily Training to provide a suitable paediatric first aid qualification, ideal for your initial training.

The course is delivered by experienced tutors with an understanding of childcare settings. Their experience in delivering learning will give you the knowledge, skills and confidence required to effectively administer first aid, as well as meet the requirements of registration.

Food safety and hygiene training

All staff involved in preparing and handling food must receive training in food hygiene.

Our Level 2 food safety and hygiene for early years settings course will give you the guidance you need. Accredited by the Royal Society of Public Health (RSPH), our course provides learners with up-to-date food hygiene information, case studies, interactive exercises and videos to ensure learners are aware of their food safety responsibilities.

Working as a Childminding Assistant

Once you have successfully commenced in your role as a childminding assistant, it will be important to work through an induction process with your employer to help you understand your role and responsibilities, how the service runs, and to be able to implement the settings policies and procedures.

It will also be important to continue to learn and develop in your role through regular supervision and appraisal, and by seeking opportunities for Continuous Professional Development. PACEY Practitioner Assistant membership offers access to free training.