New to childminding?
Discover why tiney is the most popular route for new childminders
tiney community day
tiney gives you the training, tools, support & community to help your career thrive
Do you love the idea of working with children and want to make a difference to their lives? Excited to run your own home-based business? Looking for a rewarding career where you can earn a professional wage? If so, tiney is for you! Check out our 2024 Community Day video and see what you can expect.
Why should you become a childminder with tiney?
Change children’s lives from your living room
Work from home, set your own hours and be there for your own family; all whilst doing the rewarding work of helping children in your care develop and thrive
Earn £27k or more in your first year!
tiney childminders nationwide earn 17% more than equivalent Ofsted childminders, due to our unparalleled support, high quality bar, brand recognition, inclusive benefits and tech tools.
Fastest, most supported registration route
Your dedicated adviser will work with you to get registered as quickly as you would like. Many childminders register in just 4-6 weeks.
Join the UK’s most popular childminding community
Get support and help from our huge professional network of over 1500 childminders and trainees. Connect in person and online.
Give families a professional branded experience
98% of parents and childminders engaging with the tiney brand give us an incredible 5 star customer satisfaction score.
Access our all-in-one market leading app
The tiney app is the only tool you’ll need to run a successful childcare business - taking the headache out of payments, planning, admin and more.
How do I become a registered childminder?
Setting up a new childcare business with tiney is straightforward and fun. Here’s an overview of the most important ‘need to knows’ if you’re new to childminding.
What is the registration process?
Setting up a childminding business with tiney begins with a friendly call to a tiney advisor. You’ll then complete a short suitability questionnaire and then be invited to join training. The registration process starts at this point, and includes 3 main steps:
1
Submit background checks
Easily complete all your mandatory checks through the tiney app, including DBS, GP health, local authority, and household member forms. The app streamlines your checks process, plus you’ll get a dedicated tiney onboarding adviser throughout your journey.
2
Complete online Training
Comprehensive tiney training covers everything you’ll need as a new childminder - from delivering the EYFS and the business side of childminding, to Paediatric First Aid and food hygiene requirements.
3
Pass your theory call & home registration visit
With tiney, you’ll complete an online theory call prior to your final home registration visit. This unique step, which you won’t get with Ofsted, ensures you’re ready for your in-person visit - which is the final step in the registration process.
How long does it take to become a childminder?
New childminders can be trained and registered in as little as 6 weeks, or if it suits you better, you can work at your own pace and open for business over several months.
tiney’s online training takes about 16 hrs, plus you’ll need a further 12 hours for the Paediatric First Aid element. Ultimately, the time it takes to register as a new childminder is dependent on two factors, your pace through training and the time it takes for us to receive back all your necessary third party checks. If you want to move fast we always advise getting your checks submitted straight away, which your dedicated tiney adviser will support you with.
How much does it cost to become a childminder?
Childminding start up costs will vary depending on the registration route you choose. The average cost to register with tiney is £300. Your joining fee will depend on the pathway you pick. On top of this we recommend budgeting £20-£75 for your GP Health check, £44 for any DBS check required and £80 for the in person element of your Paediatric First Aid course (a discounted rate you’ll secure through tiney). Home setup costs will vary depending on your circumstances, but as a guide we recommend budgeting £100-£300 for resources.
Don’t forget! If you’re a brand new childminder and register before March 2025 all your setup costs can be covered by the £1200 start up grant currently on offer to new childminders joining tiney!
With tiney, you’ll get a loooooong list of benefits you won’t find anywhere else
Hear from our tiney childminders
Alicia Wilkins
Former Teacher
“I didn’t start this with a business mindset…tiney took care of the hard stuff, which is great for someone who's never been self-employed before.”
Watch video
Starting work as a childminder
Once you’re registered, here’s some important need to knows on what it looks like to work as a childminder with tiney
What happens once I’m newly registered?
Once you’re registered you’ll have some initial tasks to complete before you can start trading. tiney will support you at every stage putting your business plan into action. We’ll help you onboard any families that may have contacted you during training, or, if you’re just starting to look for your first customers, support you with marketing your setting through the tiney site and other channels.
As a guide to finding customers, 30% of tiney families come directly through the tiney.co website, 40% come through the personalised tiney marketing materials we provide and 30% come through other online directories. When you’re newly registered, we also have Welcome Webinars and other ‘getting started’ sessions that run across our community - all designed to help your childminding business journey get off to a flying start!
How will tiney support me in my first few months?
Starting up your own childminding business can be daunting, which is why your first few months with tiney are really well supported. As a new childminder you’ll get access to all the features in the tiney app for registered childminders which makes initial business tasks such as insurance, contracts, payments and policies much easier to tackle.
We’ll plug you in to our Community Hub where you’ll meet other registered childminders, get your questions answered and find local support. Plus, you’ll get daily access to our tiney team of experts and coaches who can support you on any questions such as growing your business, becoming a great educator, developing a specialism and more!
What are the ongoing legal and training requirements?
As a new childminder you’ll be self employed and your childminder registration will be with tiney childminder agency (CMA) who’ll act as your regulator. As your regulator it’s our responsibility to come out and visit you in person at least every 12 months for your Quality Assurance visit. At this visit we’ll check your compliance with the tiney Quality Framework (something you’ll learn all about during training), assess your childcare provision, review your CPD and give you a yearly grading. Plus, if you’re struggling in any areas, we’ll build you a support plan to ensure you get the help you need.
Lots of your standard business processes such as your yearly tax calculations, your childminder insurances, and your expenses tracking are all taken care of within the tiney app. As a self employed business owner it will be your responsibility to take care of a small number of other tasks, including your self assessment tax return and registering with the ICO; with all of these tasks we’ll also give you a list and guidance of what you need to do and when.
Common FAQs
What is a childminding business?
A childminding business is where you provide childcare to families from your own home. Childminding is a regulated form of childcare, which means that to become a new childminder you must meet Government standards, pass background checks and register with either a childminder agency (such as tiney) or directly with Ofsted. Childminder agencies were designed by the Government to help new childminding businesses with enhanced support and services, so are a brilliant option for new childminders. Plus, with tiney you’ll find the most comprehensive package in the country built around the specific needs of those looking to launch a new childminding business.
How do I sell myself as a childminder?
New childminders should sell the benefits of flexibility, affordability and quality to parents - plus, tiney childminders can also stand out to families by offering a known brand and high quality app driven customer experience. Due to a critical national shortage of childcare places and nursery spaces, now is the perfect time to consider setting up a childcare business.
Childminders are currently in huge demand across the country and new childcare businesses tend to fill up fast. tiney makes it easy for childminders to sell their services. We connect new childminders with local families seeking childcare through listings on our search engine friendly tiney.co website, and we provide our registered tiney childminders with marketing resources and training. Alongside the benefits of family style home from home environments, childminders are an increasingly popular option with parents when compared with nurseries. Many UK nurseries have very long waiting lists, and parents often prefer the smaller ratios, residential locations, learning environments and mixed age groups that a childminder can offer. Taking all this into consideration, there’s never been a better time to sell childminding services to families in England - especially with tiney!
How much do childminders charge per day?
As a guide, tiney childminders tend to be 10-15% more affordable than local nursery care. For example, London based tiney childminders typically charge £80-£90 per day, whereas average London Nursery charges are £90-£100 per day. Knowing what to charge as a new childminder is really important and tiney will give you lots of guidance and tools to help you decide your rate when you open. Most childminders tend to charge or advertise a fixed daily rate, but will also have a more detailed rate card for specific hours, care types and care packages.
Childminder charges will always vary by region and provision, so it’s important that new childminders do their research and set a rate that is sustainable for their business and affordable for families. On average, tiney registered childminders tend to earn around 17% more than their directly registered Ofsted counterparts - this is due to the reduced admin, the inclusive expenses that are covered within the tiney fee and the ability for tiney childminders to offer a premium experience to parents and therefore benchmark themselves against the best local nurseries, rather than needing to undercut other local childminders to fill up.
What is the main role of a childminder?
The main role of a childminder is to provide a safe and nurturing environment for young children. The legal definition of a childminder is a person who works with children for more than 2 hours a day in their own home for reward, but of course, there’s much more to childminding than just opening your home and offering childcare services! A great childminder is passionate about their role as an early years educator, invested in seeing children flourish whilst in their care, and serious about running a professional business that is fully compliant with all the standards that the Government, and tiney, expect.
What is the difference between childminding and babysitting?
Babysitters are not registered childcare professionals and there are no regulations to govern this type of childcare. Childminders will always be registered with either Ofsted, or a childminder agency like tiney, and are trained professionals required to meet much more stringent standards and background checks than a babysitter. Babysitting occurs at the child's residence, where the babysitter comes to the family's home, while childminding takes place at the childminder's residence, where the child visits the childminder's home. Babysitting and nannying are both classed as informal care, whilst childminding and nurseries are formal childcare. Whilst some childminders may be willing to offer evening or weekend babysitting services, the roles are very distinct and should not be confused.
Do childminders have to register?
When setting up a childminding business all childminders have to register, either directly with Ofsted, or with a childminder agency such as tiney. Registration is mandatory and includes statutory checks and background requirements, which will include things such as GP Health Check, Local Authority Checks, DBS checks and more. .
