Objectives and accessibility

Although participation in early years is voluntary, most children attend some form of pre-school or nursery education, either full- or part-time. However, for children that do remain at home, there are no requirements for them to follow any type of learning curriculum. The provision of learning is down to parental choice.

All parents have access to childminders, however, they are usually required to fund the childminding themselves. For children that do remain at home, or are put in the care of a childminder, there are no requirements for them to follow any type of learning curriculum. The provision of learning is down to parental choice.

Childminders are usually paid on an hourly basis, at a rate agreed with the parents. Whilst NICMA can advise on recommended rates, the arrangement of hours, holiday pay and other terms and conditions are agreed between parents and childminder.

There are different financial benefits and support available to help parents pay for childcare. Working parents with children under 12 (or under 17 for children with disabilities), can open an online account to pay for registered childcare. For every £8.00 put into the account, the Government of NI adds £2.00. Working parents can get up to £2,000 for one child. If the child has a disability, parents can get up to £4,000 for one child.

Requirements for childminders and child ratios

A registered childminder is a self-employed carer who looks after children in their own home. If the carer is paid to look after children they aren’t closely related to for more than two hours in the day they must be registered with the local Health and Social Care Trust. Further information can be found here.

In Northern Ireland, a childminder can care for up to six children under 12, including their own. Only three of these may be aged under five and usually only one child below one-year old.