Childminders: report new people in the setting
If you are a childminder, you must tell Ofsted within 14 days about new people aged 16 or over who live or work in the home where you look after children. This includes children who turn 16. If you are a childminder without domestic premises, you must tell Ofsted about new people aged 16 or over who help to provide care on the non-domestic premises.
Applies to England
Ofsted has to carry out checks on new people aged 16 or over to make sure children will be safe in the premises where you look after them.
Do not use this service if you either:
- run, or are joining, a nursery or other day care
- work with 4 or more other people at the same time to provide childcare in someone’s home (known as childcare on domestic)
You should instead read the separate guide Apply to join a nursery or other daycare organisation (EY2).
You should still read the guidance on what counts as ‘new people’ in the home if you are a childcare on domestic premises provider.
Until they have received their enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificate with barred lists (a specific type of criminal record check), anyone who counts as a new person in the home where you look after children, or who is a new person helping to provide care on non-domestic premises, cannot be left unsupervised with those children.
Do not wait for the new person’s DBS certificate to arrive to tell us about them.
What you must do
As a childminder with domestic premises, you must tell us about new people in the home where you look after children. If you are working with a maximum of 3 other people at the same time, you will do this through the service on this page.
As a childminder without domestic premises, you must tell us about new people who assist with providing childcare on the non-domestic premises. If you are working with a maximum of 3 other people at the same time, you will do this through the service on this page.
This service:
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replaces the EY2 and EY3 you would have had to do previously
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will meet your legal requirement as a childminder and a childminder without domestic premises to notify Ofsted about new people in the setting
Number of people caring for the children
If a new person means that there will be 5 or more people providing childcare at the same time in someone’s home, you will need to apply to register as a childcare on domestic provider.
If there will not be more than 4 people working together in this way at any time, you can stay as a childminder with or without domestic premises and still use this service to tell Ofsted about new people in the home where childcare takes place.
New people in the setting
New people are aged 16 or over and are:
- new household members who start to live in the home
- people already living in the home who turn 16
- new people who work regularly in the home during childcare hours, such as a cleaner
- new childminders and new childminders without domestic premises, or assistants
You must also tell us if any of these people move out or stop working in these roles.
Ofsted can take action against you if you do not tell us about these people within 14 days.
The first of the 14 days is the day the new person begins living in the home, starts working there or turns 16.
Household members and visitors
We need to check people even if they only live in the home for some of the time, for example, if they are away studying but come back during the holidays.
However, Ofsted does not need to check people if they:
- are a regular visitor (for example, a relative or friend who comes round for lunch once a week)
- stay overnight with you only occasionally
- are doing building work or repairs in the home
- work in the home outside childcare hours (for example, cleaning in the evenings or at weekends)
- work on the non-domestic premises but do not help to provide care for the children (for example, a cook working in a village hall)
You are responsible for these people during this time.
What the new people on your childcare premises must do
All new people must:
- have a specific type of DBS check – they should carefully read the guidance below on what DBS check they need
- answer a few questions about their health, other names they have had, where they have lived for the last 5 years and circumstances that might affect their suitability to be in contact with children – we will contact them directly about this
Type of DBS
They will need an enhanced DBS check with barred lists.
If they live in the home where childcare is taking place, they must make sure to select ‘yes’ on question x66 to say they are going to be in a home-based role.
DBS Update Service
Ofsted recommends new people then join the DBS Update Service to keep their details up to date.
Lived abroad
If you have lived abroad in the last 5 years, you may need a certificate of good conduct or other evidence from the relevant embassy.
Tell us about new people in the setting
Only use this service if you are a registered childminder or a registered childminder without domestic premises with no more than 3 other people helping you at the same time.
What happens next
Ofsted will carry out suitability checks on new people with council social services.
We will contact the new people directly for more information.
Childminder assistants
We will send childminder assistants a suitability letter once we have finished our checks.
Do not include them in the ratios, or leave them alone with the children until they get this letter.
Updates to this page
Published 19 February 2020Last updated 1 November 2024 + show all updates
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Page name updated to ‘Childminders: report new people in the setting’. Several updates were also made to reflect changes introduced by the Department for Education’s EYFS framework, including adding a new childcare provider type, ‘childminders without domestic premises’. We have clarified when childminders without domestic premises need to report new people in their settings. We also clarified the number of people needed for a childcare on domestic premises provision.
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Clarified that, in line with the EYFS, assistants should not be included in the ratios until they have been deemed suitable.
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Clarified the information that will be sought by Ofsted when an adult is added to a childminder's registration.
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First published.