LANDLORD PERMISSION
UPDATE: The NUC wrote to the Care Inspectorate Wales about the discriminatory practice of asking tenants for written permission to childmind from their landlords. The Care Inspectorate Wales wrote back to confirm they will no longer request written permission from landlords. 👏👏👏
DfE: The NUC wrote to the DfE underlining that Ofsted has no legal power to request this permission from landords. Early Education Minister Stephen Morgan MP has responded confirming that there is no such legal power.
Ofsted: The NUC wrote to Ofsted Chief Sir Martyn Oliver about this discriminatory practice. Sir Martyn has responded stating childminders are not asked for landlord permission!
Let the NUC or your legal helpline know if an Ofsted or Care Inspectorate Wales inspector requests such permission from you.
***Coming Soon***
The National Union of Childminders (NUC) will be campaigning for fair 15/30 hr funding for 3 and 4 year old children.
Fair Funding for Childminders – Our Campaign for Change
The National Union of Childminders is urgently addressing a major issue affecting our sector: the drastic drop in funding rates for 15/30-hour funded care for 3 and 4-year-olds. This unfair policy disproportionately impacts childminders and threatens the sustainability of our profession.
The Issue
Childminders are facing significant reductions in funding rates for 3 and 4-year-olds compared to under-2s. In some local authorities, funding for under 2s is about £10 per hour, about £8 per hour for 2 year olds and then falls to about £5 per hour for 3/4 year olds! This policy fails to account for the strict ratios childminders must adhere to which means many cannot afford to care for 3/4 year olds.:
If you are affected, complete our survey today!
Nurseries: Can operate with ratios of 1:8 or 1:13 for 3 and 4-year-olds.
Childminders: Limited to a ratio of 1:3 (with very few exceptions).
This disparity means childminders receive significantly less funding per adult, despite offering the same – or often better – personalised, high-quality care.
Why This Matters
Childminders play a crucial role in early years education, yet current funding policies devalue our profession. Our settings provide:
✅ High-Quality Care – 97% of childminders are rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted – the highest of any childcare provision.
✅ Flexible & Local – Childminders support families with accessible, walkable childcare options, aligning with the government’s green agenda.
✅ Better SEND Support – Many nurseries refer families to childminders for a more suitable, tailored environment.
Despite these advantages, childminder numbers have fallen by 50% in the last decade – from 56,200 in 2013 to just 27,900 in 2023. Without urgent action, this trend will continue.
The Funding Crisis
From April 2025, government guidance will reinforce that ‘top-up’ fees or extra charges for funded places must remain voluntary. This emphasis suggests high-quality care can be provided at the current low funding rate – something entirely unsustainable for childminders.
We demand fair funding that reflects our strict child ratios. Specifically, the funding rate (amount) for 3 and 4-year-olds must increase to match that of under-2s. In the example above, 3 and 4 year old funding would remain at about £8 per hour.
Our Campaign & Next Steps
By September 2025, the full rollout of 30-hour funding is widely expected to create a crisis in early years availability. While nurseries call for a delay due to capacity concerns, childminders face a different challenge: we have the capacity but cannot afford to provide care at current funding rates.
How You Can Help
While we prepare for our official campaign launch, here’s what childminders can do now:
📢 Raise Awareness – Highlight to local authorities, regulators, and early years colleagues how the lower funding rate for 3 and 4-year-olds is affecting or will impact your setting.
End the Discriminatory Landlord Permission Requirement for Childminders in Rented Homes
At the National Union of Childminders (NUC), we are dedicated to supporting our members and championing fairness across the childminding profession. That’s why we’re launching a campaign to end the outdated and discriminatory requirement for childminders in rented properties to obtain written permission from their landlord in order to register as a childminder.
Currently, childminders who own their homes are only required to check the terms of their mortgage to ensure their agreement allows working from home. However, childminders in rented accommodation face an additional hurdle: they must secure written consent from their landlord, even if their tenancy agreement permits home-based work. This is despite childminding being defined not as a ‘business’, but as ‘working from home’.
We believe this requirement unfairly targets childminders in rented properties, who are more likely to be younger, female, and from ethnic minority backgrounds. It creates unnecessary barriers to entry at a time when the UK is facing a childcare crisis and we urgently need more qualified childminders to support families, as many landlords whilst not opposed to childminding in their properties, incorrectly feel they are accepting liability by giving written permission.
Our campaign is calling on regulators, including Ofsted, the Care Inspectorate Wales, and Health & Social Care Trusts, to remove this requirement. Instead, we want a simple, equitable rule for all childminders with those in rental properties being required to:
Check their tenancy agreement to ensure it does not prohibit working from home.
Ensure public liability insurance is in place, as already required by law.
By aligning the rules for rented and owned properties, we can create a fairer system and empower more individuals to enter this vital profession, providing much-needed childcare to their communities.
Join us in calling for change. Together, we can break down unnecessary barriers and build a stronger future for childminding in the UK.
To support our campaign, simply copy and paste the above and email it to your regulator or childminding agency.
England: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk
Wales: CIW@gov.wales
Scotland: enquiries@careinspectorate.gov.scot
Northern Ireland: Claire.McCullen@northerntrust.hscni.net/ Andria.Gormley@belfasttrust.hscni.net./ medicaldirectors.office@setrust.hscni.net.