Home based childcare advice

About home based childcare

There are many reasons why parents might want to use a childcarer who comes to the family home, perhaps:

  • You work unusual hours, such as shift working, or evenings and weekends.
  • You have a young baby or child with special needs and prefer them being at home.
  • You have several children needing childcare.

Types of home based childcare

Home Childcarers

You can find details about some Home Childcarers, who promote their availability in Brighton & Hove, on this directory.

Home Childcarers are
  • Registered with Ofsted
  • DBS checked and insured
  • Qualified in First Aid
Nanny
A nanny can be anyone who looks after children in their home, whether live-in or live-out; full-time or part-time and qualified/Ofsted registered or not.
It is important that parents check their suitability for the role if they directly employ the nanny themselves; if not, an agency can do this but they will charge a fee.

Nanny share – sometimes a family ‘share’ their nanny with another family; either at opposite ends of the week or by contributing to the nanny’s fees together and having their children cared for at the same time.

Au pair
An au pair is a young person who is provided with a place to live within the family home and study time, in return for part-time childcare duties. Speak to an agency if you are interested in using an au pair; it often works well for a family with older children, rather than babies and under 5’s.

Babysitter
Traditionally a local young person who comes to your home to supervise the evening and bedtime routine and enable parents to leave the home for a few hours.
Some babysitting agencies provide older babysitters and a qualified childcarer could also ‘babysit’ if available, so there can be a range of options.

Personal Assistant (PA)
A Personal Assistant helps a person or family to maintain their routine, go about daily activities and act as a companion and helper. As with a babysitter, this person is not necessarily qualified in childcare or registered with Ofsted.
To find a Personal Assistant, visit the Possability People website and see their PA noticeboard.

Childcare staff
You can ask at your child’s setting, (daycare settings, childminders, out of school clubs and schools) as there are sometimes staff already known to your child, who may be able to provide additional childcare hours.

There is no source of free home based childcare
Many parents looking for this, rely on informal offers of childcare from family, friends or neighbours, whom they trust.

Ofsted registration - go to this page for information on different types of Ofsted registration, including the Voluntary register for home childcarers,  and contact details for Ofsted
There are two main benefits of Ofsted registration for parents;
1. Quality of care – you can be sure that a childcarer has been police checked and required to complete an application process which usually involves a relevant qualification, first-aid training and holding a public liability insurance policy.
2. Financial support – to receive tax credits towards the cost of childcare, and with other government funding, the childcarer must provide parents with their Ofsted registration number.
Building a relationship with a home childcarer - go to this page for advice and things to think about, when arranging childcare in your home.










For all other queries please contact familyhubs@brighton-hove.gov.uk or call 01273 293545