Understand how to set up a home-based childcare service
Table of Contents
Case Study
Ameera has decided to become a registered childminder. She stopped working following the birth of son, now one year old, and she has another child who is at school. Ameera and her husband live with his parents. The house has a large garden at the back that is accessible through a conservatory. Ameera plans to use the conservatory as a playroom for her business and will use the big kitchen to serve the children’s meals. There is a downstairs bathroom with separate toilet.
At first, her in-laws think that the house will be full of other people’s children; it will be noisy and they will lose their privacy. Ameera tries to reassure them that this will not be the case. Her in-laws agree to see how things go for six months. Ameera meets an experienced childminder at the pre-registration meeting. She explains her concerns to the childminder. The childminder suggests that Ameera brings her in-laws to see how she runs her business and hopefully that might alleviate their concerns. Ameera and her in-laws visit the childminder’s house and they see for themselves that it is possible to run this kind of business and at the same time, keep areas of the house private.
A few weeks after Ameera is registered, she notices that her father-in-law is often around as the children are leaving, making a special point of using their names when he says goodbye. Her mother-in-law has begun cooking a few extra sweetmeats ‘for Ameera to share with the children’. Ameera now feels confident that she has the support of all her family, thanks in part to the help of an experienced childminder.
- How could Ameera ensure privacy for her in-laws?
- How might this be communicated to parents and children?
- How could Ameera capitalise on her in-laws' interest in her new business and utilise their skills?
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