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Once youre registered with Ofsted you must meet these ongoing requirements. We will check this if we carry out an inspection.

Child welfare

You must:

• keep the children safe from harm
• make sure that at least one person looking after children has an appropriate first aid qualification
• be present on the premises at all times while providing the childcare the only exception to this is that a childminding assistant can look after children on the premises for up to 2 hours a day if their parents have given their permission
• make sure that anyone under the age of 17 who works with children is always supervised by someone aged 18 or over
• make sure that no one smokes or consumes/is affected by alcohol or drugs on the premises during childcare hours or around any children being cared for, including medication that might affect their ability to look after children
• make sure that childrens behaviour is managed in a suitable way
• not use corporal punishment, and you must make sure that no-one else looking after children, or living or working on the premises, uses corporal punishment on a child

Safeguarding

You must have, and follow, a written policy to safeguard children from abuse or neglect.

You must not let children have unsupervised contact with anyone who does not have an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check with barred lists.

Checking suitability

You and anyone else looking after the children must be suitable to work with children. You must have an effective system in place to ensure this.

You must make sure that everyone who looks after children has obtained an enhanced DBS check with barred lists.

Anyone aged 16 or older who lives on the premises or works there during childcare hours must have an enhanced DBS check with barred lists and be suitable to be in contact with children (see People connected with Ofsted-registered childcare).

Qualifications and training

At least one person looking after the children must have either:

• a minimum level 2 childcare qualification
• training in the common core skills

Your premises and equipment

Your premises and equipment must be safe and suitable for childcare. You must:

• make sure that no child can leave the premises without someone who is providing childcare being aware, unless the child is a young child and you have agreed with the parent that they can leave by themselves; a child is a young child up until 1st September following their 5th birthday; providers and parents can use their discretion in agreeing a higher age restriction for allowing children to leave unsupervised
• make sure that no one can enter the premises without someone who is providing childcare becoming aware
• do everything necessary to minimise any health and safety risks to children and staff from the premises, equipment or activities

You must display your registration certificate on the premises. If applicable, you must also display any notice of suspension there for the period of suspension.

Organising your childcare

You must make arrangements with other childcare providers or with parents for occasions when you cannot provide childcare.

You must not refuse to look after a child or treat them less well than another child because of any of the following:

• the childs race, home language, family background or gender
• the religion or belief of the child or the childs parents
• any disability or learning difficulty that the child may have this means that you must follow your legal responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 (for example, the provisions on reasonable adjustments)

You must have public liability insurance. This covers death, injury, public liability, damage or other loss.

Looking after children on non-domestic premises

Under your childminder registration, you can apply to spend up to 50% of your time providing childcare from non-domestic premises, like a church hall or community centre.

You can provide this childcare without applying. However, you cannot offer Ofsted-registered childcare from the non-domestic premises unless you have applied and we have given approval.

Complaints

You must:

• have a written complaints policy and fully investigate each complaint
• keep written records for 3 years of any complaint, the investigation outcome and any action taken
• respond (in writing, if requested) to the parent who made the complaint, setting out the findings of the investigation and any resulting actions you must do this as soon as reasonably possible but within 28 days of the complaint being made
• provide, if we ask for it, a summary of complaints made in the last 12 months and any action taken, or a list of all complaints made in the last 3 years, within a reasonable timeframe that we specify

Keeping records and providing information

You must record the following for each child:

• their name, home address and date of birth
• their parents names, home address and telephone number
• the days and times when they attend the childcare

You must also record, as soon as reasonably possible:

• any accidents that happen on the premises
• any medicine given to a child, or that a child takes themselves, including the date, circumstances, person who gave it and the parents consent
• the name, home address and telephone number of everyone living on the premises or working there during childcare hours

You should keep this information for 2 years from the date it was recorded.

Giving parents information

You must give the following to parents whose children you look after:

• information about the childrens activities
• copies of your written policies
• information about Ofsteds role in registering and regulating childcare

Giving Ofsted information

You must tell us about any serious childcare incidents. You should do this as soon as possible but within 14 days. Find out what serious incidents you need to report and how to tell Ofsted.

You must also tell Ofsted about any changes to:

• your full name, address, telephone number
• the address where you provide childcare, working hours and number of children you look after (including any children you are related to)
• any people living on the premises or working there during childcare hours (see Childminders: report new adults in the home and Childminders: tell Ofsted about adults leaving the home)