Are you looking for a career that is both flexible and rewarding? Or are you looking for a job that that will work around your childcare needs? Whether you’re thinking about a career switch, want a new opportunity, or are returning to work after parental leave and need a more flexible role, becoming a childminder could provide a fantastic opportunity to achieve a fantastic work / life balance parents dream of!
Getting started is easy with support available
from the Scottish Childminding Association (SCMA) to help you on your career journey every step of the way. Here, we’ll focus on how childminding is an ideal career choice if you’d like to work from home with the freedom to design your day - we’ll cover:
- Why are more people looking for flexible jobs?
- What makes childminding a flexible career path?
- How childminding works around your own childcare needs
- Flexible working times
- Working from home or elsewhere
- Being your own boss
- Community and support available •
- Why childminding over a traditional WFH job?
Why is it important to have a flexible role?
Flexibility has become one of the most important factors when considering a change in career or job role, especially for parents or those with childcare needs. Flexible working roles have the benefit of allowing a better work-life balance and more independence which can also fit around childcare duties. Flexible working arrangements such as setting your own hours, which days you work, and lack of commuting time allows people, particularly busy parents to manage their career and their childcare duties more easily than they perhaps can in a traditional office setting.
What Makes Childminding a Flexible Career Path?
Childminding can be seen as a flexible option for many reasons. Childminders work from their own home, and can choose to work part time, full time, or to only provide before and after school care. The choice is yours! Every day differs and childminders enjoy the variety. One day you could be taking your ‘mindees’ out to explore a local park or forest, the next, visiting a museum, or planning out craft or STEM activities to do with the children. Many people choose childminding as their career because they can combine it with looking after their own family, earn a salary, get ‘out and about’ every day and learn valuable new skills which supports a fantastic new career working with children.
Childminding Works Around Your Own Childcare Needs
Childminding is a flexible way to balance work with family life, as it can allow you to care for your own children alongside the children you childmind for. As a parent or carer, this provides gives your own children the opportunity to socialise and build positive relationships with other children of a range of ages in a safe, familiar environment.
All childminders are required to register with the Care Inspectorate in order to become a childcare provider. It sets out limits for how many children you can care for at a time in your setting. There should be no more than six children under the age of twelve and no more than three which have not yet started primary school – so your own children should always be considered in your numbers when thinking about your business model.
Working From Your Own Home
Childminders operate from their own home. As long as you can provide a safe, nurturing place for children, your childminding business can operate from a detached or semi-detached house, bungalow, farm, flat or any other type of home. You don’t need a big garden - childminders are great at getting ‘out and about’ in their local community and using public spaces to ensure children spend that all-important time outside. However, if you have any concerns about whether your home could be suitable, SCMA is on hand to advise you.
Being Your Own Boss
Being your own boss means you manage your own capacity and time. The number of children you’re comfortable working within your setting the hours and days you want to work are all part of being self- employed. This is a hugely attractive part of the job. However, you also don’t have to go it alone - being self-employed can also sometimes be a bit daunting. SCMA offers support through registration and throughout your childminding career. This can include on-line events and networking opportunities, on-line learning and continual professional development and even opportunities to get involved in exciting new mentoring or peer to peer support initiatives so you can build a rapport with other childminders. Childminders are also brilliant at supporting each other and you’re highly likely to find a network of like-minded ‘colleagues’ and community to get involved with locally.
Community
Becoming a childminder opens the door to a new, likeminded community in your local area. Even before you’re registered, you can connect with other people all over Scotland on the path to becoming a new childminder via SCMA’s Facebook Group for people all on the same journey as you. It’s the perfect way to meet more people, learn about the experience of others, get tips, ideas, and plans for the future!
Support Available to Become a Childminder
There’s a fantastic package of support available to get started in a new, flexible career working from home as a childminder through the
Programme for Scotland’s Childminding Future. You receive one-to-one support from dedicated SCMA experts as well as a minimum £750 funding and training and, once you’re registered – there’s ongoing support available from SCMA throughout your career.
Why Childminding Over Other ‘Work from Home’ Jobs?
When searching for flexible jobs similar recommendations are always suggested, such as data entry roles or freelancing. While these options do allow for flexibility on time and homeworking, choosing to work with children offers a highly rewarding career path, with many opportunities to grow and develop both personally and professionally – and allows you to be there for your own children.
In a traditional WFH job you are still expected to have childcare arrangements in place. Even working a freelance position still has associated deadlines and schedules that must be adhered to, which means your own childcare arrangements still need to be considered. If you’re looking for a truly flexible working from home opportunity, which still enables you to be there for your own children – becoming a childminder could just be the answer!