Guidance

Childminder agencies: registration and suitability

Guidance for childminder agencies on registering with Ofsted, including the process, fees and requirements. It sets out the legal background and the extent of our regulatory powers.

• From: Ofsted
• Published: 27 August 2014
• Last updated: 1 November 2024
  Show all updates

  1. 1 November 2024

     See 'Summary of changes'.

  2. 30 November 2023

     See 'Summary of changes' document.

  3. 9 May 2022

     Updated 'Known to Ofsted' form for childminder agencies.

  4. 5 April 2022

     Updated the 'registration and suitability' guidance to clarify that if the agency resigns the registration, certain details will remain on the Ofsted reports website for a set period of time.

  5. 23 September 2021

     Added guidance for childminders or providers of childcare on domestic premises who want to register with a childminder agency.

  6. 12 July 2021

     Added 'Known to Ofsted' form for agencies to use to contact Ofsted for information when considering an application for registration from a childminder.

  7. 17 June 2021

     Updated guidance throughout - see the summary of changes for more information.

  8. 27 August 2014

     First published.

Applies to England

Documents

Childminder agencies: registration and suitability

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'Known to Ofsted' form for childminder agencies

ODT, 79.9 KB

This file is in an OpenDocument format

'Known to Ofsted' form for childminder agencies

MS Word Document, 94.1 KB

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Summary of changes

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Details

Childminder agencies must register with Ofsted and be inspected by us (see ‘Childminder agencies: inspection guidance’). This guidance includes information about the registration process, fees, the checks that we carry out, what happens at the registration visit and how to keep us informed once the agency is registered.

View application forms for registering a childminder agency with Ofsted.

Childminders (or providers of childcare on domestic premises) who would like to register with an agency can find:

• childminder agencies’ contact information and Ofsted reports
• background information about childminder agencies on the Foundation Years site