Childcare providers

Registering

To become a childcare provider you must be registered. You can find information on registering on the GOV.UK website.

To become a childminder you can either register with Ofsted or join the @HomeChildcare agency.

How to become a childminder

Registering with Ofsted

You can apply to register with Ofsted by contacting:

telephone: 0300 123 1231
website: gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

Join the local childminding agency

You can join @HomeChildcare by contacting:

telephone: 0115 9783399
website: www.athomechildcare.co.uk

You can join Tiney Childminding Agency by contacting:

telephone: 020 4579 9034
website: https://www.tiney.co/

You can join Suffolk Childminding Agency (SCA) by contacting:

telephone: 01728 746970
website: https://scachildcare.co.uk/
email: hello@scachildcare.co.uk

Useful documents

The below documents provide additional information and advice around registering as a childminder.

Early years provision in schools

At a time when schools are considering lowering the age range to admit 2, 3 and 4 year olds, governing bodies will have to explore new delivery structures. The council has produced early years guidance for all schools including maintained, academy and free schools.

The guidance aims to set out the current opportunities to deliver the full childcare entitlement and supports schools to navigate through the process of establishing and maintaining high quality early years provision.

Nottinghamshire Early Years Guidance for Schools [PDF]

To find out more please contact early childhood services earlychildhoodservices@nottscc.gov.uk.

Training and support

You can find out about the training and support on offer to childcare providers on our early years training page.

Childcare providers registered with Ofsted are able to access support with early years provision and practice through our early years quality and attainment team. To access this support contact earlychildhoodservices@nottscc.gov.uk.

Childcare businesses

We offer advice, guidance and support to both new and existing childcare businesses to ensure that they become and remain sustainable.

For support with setting up or running a childcare business, please contact:

telephone: 0115 977 2510
email earlychildhoodservices@nottscc.gov.uk

Nottinghamshire Best Start Strategy

The Best Start Strategy 2021-2025 [PDF]sets out how the council and its partners will work together to ensure that children have the best start in life, with a particular emphasis on the first 1,001 days, from conception to the age of 2.

Further support

For further support, please visit Nottinghamshire Help Yourself.

Interested in working in childcare? If you have a passion for nurturing young children, supporting their early learning and providing play activities that enable them to explore and develop, then working in an early years role could be the career for you. Find out more about working in childcare.