Childminder policies

The rule: paragraph 3.6 of the childminder framework

The duty is paragraph 3.6 of the EYFS statutory framework for childminders, dated 13 July 2026 and in force from 1 September 2026: “Childminders must have and implement policies and procedures to keep children safe and meet EYFS requirements. Childminders solely registered on the early years register or with an early years CMA are not required to have written policies and procedures. However, they must be able to explain their policies and procedures to parents, carers, and others (for example Ofsted inspectors or the CMA with which they are registered). Childminders must ensure any assistants follow these policies and procedures. Policies and procedures should be in line with the guidance and procedures of the relevant Local Safeguarding Partner.” A CMA is a childminder agency.

Three things follow. The duty to have and implement the policies is a must for every childminder; only the writing is optional, and only for those solely on the Early Years Register or with an early years agency. An assistant is bound by the childminder's policies whether or not they are written. And policies “should be in line with the guidance and procedures of the relevant Local Safeguarding Partner”, so a policy bought from a national pack still needs the local referral route added.

The requirement has legal force. Regulation 3 of the Early Years Foundation Stage (Welfare Requirements) Regulations 2012 makes obligatory the provisions in section 3 of the framework that, “by virtue of their use of the word ‘must’, express requirements”. Where childminders work together, “each childminder is responsible for meeting the requirements of their own registration” (3.5), and Ofsted's early years inspection operating guide says that where co-childminders “share policies, procedures and resources”, inspectors explore how they reflect on their practice “separately and collectively”. Paragraph numbers moved in the 2026 framework, so check any policy that cites a 2024 or 2025 number. The framework applies in England only; Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own regulators and rules.

The policies and procedures the EYFS requires

This is the list of childminder policies the framework itself names, with the paragraph that requires each:

1. A safeguarding policy (3.7), often called a safeguarding and child protection policy, which “must include: The action to be taken when there are safeguarding concerns about a child. The action to be taken in the event of an allegation being made against anyone living, working or looking after children at the premises from which the childcare/childminding is provided. How mobile phones, cameras and other electronic devices with imaging and sharing capabilities are used in the setting. Procedures to follow to check the suitability of new recruits. Detail of how safeguarding training is delivered and how practitioners are supported to put this into practice.”
2. Whistleblowing procedures (3.8), if you have assistants: “Childminders must put appropriate whistleblowing procedures in place for all assistants to raise concerns about poor or unsafe practice in the setting's provision. This must include when and how to report concerns and the process that will be followed after staff report concerns.”
3. An attendance policy (3.13), shared with parents, which “must include expectations for reporting child absences and the actions childminders will take if a child is absent without notification or for a prolonged period of time”.
4. An illness and infection procedure (3.59), “which must be discussed with parents and/or carers, for taking appropriate action if children are ill or infectious”, covering “the necessary steps to prevent the spread of infection”.
5. A medicines policy and procedures (3.60): “Childminders must have and implement a policy, and procedures, for administering medicines to children. It must include systems for obtaining information about a child's needs for medicines, and for keeping this information up to date.”
6. An emergency evacuation procedure (3.80).
7. A procedure for checking visitors' identity (3.88): childminders must “take all reasonable steps to prevent unauthorised persons entering the premises, and have an agreed procedure for checking the identity of visitors”.
8. Uncollected and missing child procedures (3.99), named in the information childminders must share with parents: “the procedure to be followed in the event of a parent and/or carer failing to collect a child at the appointed time, or in the event of a child going missing at, or away from, the setting”.

Use the childminder framework's own words. A generic policy that speaks only of allegations against staff is too narrow for a home, where the people who matter include a partner, a grown-up child and anyone helping out; paragraph 3.7 says “anyone living, working or looking after children at the premises”. The device point is the one most often missing from a bought policy; our social media policy guide covers photographs, phones and parents' posts in detail.

Several other requirements are rules of practice rather than policies, and a childminder meets them by doing them: managing behaviour, including the record of any physical intervention; safer eating; safer sleep (3.86); having regard to screen use (3.93); and assessing the risks of each outing. The framework does not ask for a separate policy on any of these, but an inspector will ask how you do them, and the answer is the same kind of explanation 3.6 requires.

What must be in writing

For a childminder solely on the Early Years Register or with an early years agency, the EYFS requires no policy in writing. Complaints are the clearest example: paragraph 3.100 says “Childminders are not required to have a written procedure for handling complaints, but they must keep a record of any complaints they receive and their outcome.” Records are a different matter, and the childminder record-keeping guide lists those that must be kept.

The Childcare Register changes that. Ofsted's information for parents about its role in regulating childcare says “People who want to provide childcare for children older than the early years age group but under the age of 8 years must register on the compulsory part of the Childcare Register”, so a childminder caring for both under-fives and five to seven year olds is usually on both registers. Ofsted's requirements for childminders on the compulsory Childcare Register and the matching voluntary Childcare Register requirements say a childminder must “have, and follow, a written policy to safeguard children from abuse or neglect” and “have a written complaints policy and fully investigate each complaint”, and must give parents “copies of your written policies”. The legal basis is Schedule 3 paragraphs 6 and 18 of the Childcare (General Childcare Register) Regulations 2008, and Schedule 6 paragraphs 8 and 19 for the voluntary part.

So if you are also on the Childcare Register, the exemption in 3.6 does not apply to you: it covers only childminders “solely registered” on the Early Years Register. You need a written safeguarding policy and a written complaints policy, and you give parents copies. The register's complaints rules are also stricter than the EYFS: respond to the parent “as soon as reasonably possible but within 28 days of the complaint being made”, “keep written records for 3 years of any complaint, the investigation outcome and any action taken”, and give Ofsted on request a summary of complaints for the last 12 months or a list of all complaints made in the last 3 years, under the regulations as amended by the Childcare (General Childcare Register) (Amendment) Regulations 2009. The same Ofsted pages say records of children, accidents and medicines should be kept for two years from the date they were recorded.

Three other things can call for writing:

• Risk assessments. Paragraph 3.90 says an outings risk assessment “does not necessarily need to be in writing; this is up to childminders”, and 3.92 says childminders “must determine where it is helpful to make some written risk assessments in relation to specific issues, to inform their practice, and to demonstrate how they are managing risks if asked by parents and/or carers or inspectors”. Separately, an employer with five or more employees must record the significant findings of its risk assessment under regulation 3(6) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, which reaches few childminders.
• Privacy information. A childminder holding children's and parents' personal data must give them privacy information, and Article 12(1) of the UK GDPR says it “shall be provided in writing, or by other means, including, where appropriate, by electronic means”. The GDPR guide for nurseries and childminders covers the rest.
• Your contract and your insurer. Neither is law about policies, but either may ask for written terms or procedures; read what yours says.

Sharing policies with parents, and what Ofsted asks

Explaining is not optional. Paragraph 3.99 says childminders “must share the following information with parents and/or carers”, including “Details of their policies and procedures, including the procedure to be followed in the event of a parent and/or carer failing to collect a child at the appointed time, or in the event of a child going missing at, or away from, the setting”. The same list covers how the EYFS is delivered, how staffing is organised (whether there is an assistant), the key person and an emergency telephone number. Childminders without domestic premises must also tell parents that they are not permitted to provide any care under that registration from domestic premises, including for drop-off and collection (3.99). Unlike the group framework, the childminder version does not add “making copies available on request”; for a childminder solely on the Early Years Register, explaining the policy to each family is the duty, and the Childcare Register adds the written copies.

Some policies carry their own sharing duty. The attendance policy is shared with parents (3.13); the illness procedure is “discussed with parents and/or carers” (3.59); and leaving a child with an assistant needs parents' permission: “Children may be left in the sole care of childminders' assistants for up to two hours in a single day. Childminders must obtain parents' and/or carers' permission to leave children with an assistant, including for very short periods of time” (3.55).

At inspection, Ofsted's early years inspection information for use from September 2026 says “inspectors may need to see the policies required by the EYFS, and other relevant information”, and that “Providers should refer to the relevant EYFS requirements to check which documents they are required to have.” For a childminder solely on the Early Years Register, seeing a policy can mean hearing it. Ofsted also says “We inspect childminder settings in a way that works for their specific contexts”, and its early years inspection toolkit says “We do not need leaders to produce documents specifically for an Ofsted inspection of their setting. This would create unnecessary workload.”

A bought pack is not wrong, but it is not neutral either. A written policy you do not follow is evidence against you: if the pack says visitors sign a book and you have no book, the inspector has found a gap you created. Adapt every policy you keep to what you actually do, add your local safeguarding partners' contacts, and delete the ones that describe a nursery rather than your home.

What a policy pack adds, and keeping policies current

Typical packs add policies for safety on outings, photography and consent, accidents and incidents, confidentiality, food and drink, sun safety, pets, smoking and vaping, equality and inclusion, special educational needs, data protection, online safety and a separate lost child policy. Mapped against the framework:

• Lost child and outings overlap with required procedures: the missing child procedure (3.99) and the outings risk assessment (3.90).
• Photography and online safety sit inside the safeguarding policy's device point (3.7).
• Accidents and incidents need a written record of accidents, injuries and first aid (3.77), not a policy; confidentiality is the duty to hold confidential records securely (3.95).
• Food and drink, food hygiene, safer eating and sleep are rules of practice in section 3; a policy is one way to explain them. Data protection is UK GDPR, not the EYFS; privacy information is the duty.
• Pets, smoking and sun safety have no policy requirement in the framework, though pets bear on risk assessment, and the 2026 framework says banned dog breeds “must not be kept or present on the premises at any time” (3.81).

Writing helps even where it is not required: when you have an assistant who must follow your policies (3.6), when you want parents to sign that they have read them, or when your insurer or contract asks. A one-page summary per policy that you actually use beats a long pack you do not.

No EYFS paragraph sets a review interval; an annual review is good practice, not law. Review after any change to the framework, and the September 2026 framework brought several that touch policies: allegations to Ofsted or the agency at a threshold of harm rather than serious harm (3.11), updated safer sleep requirements (3.86), a requirement to have regard to screen use (3.93) and the bar on banned dog breeds being kept or present on the premises (3.81). A safeguarding policy that still says “serious harm” is working to the old threshold.

Where a childminder's policies are actually explained

For a childminder solely on the Early Years Register, a policy is something said rather than filed, and most of it is said in messages. The attendance expectations go to a new family in a long message the week before they start. The illness procedure is discussed by text at seven in the morning when a child has been sick overnight. The permission to leave a child with an assistant for an hour, which paragraph 3.55 requires “including for very short periods of time”, is a thumbs-up on WhatsApp. The medicine permission, the outing consent and the change to collection arrangements arrive the same way.

Those messages are the evidence that the policy was explained and agreed. When an inspector asks how a parent knew the attendance policy, or a parent disputes that they agreed to an assistant, the answer sits on the childminder's own phone, between the family's chat and the school run, in a consumer app mixed in with the rest of their own life.

The remedy is not to stop messaging parents, which is the best thing about childminding. It is to hold work messages with each family in a channel the childminder owns, separate from family chat, with parents told it is kept, so that the explanation 3.6 requires has a date and an answer. ComplyChat is designed to be that on its paid plans, where parents join as guests by their mobile number. It is not a policy template library, it does not write or review policies, and a childminder with a childminding app that already keeps parent messages may not need it. Free is a permanent personal tier: up to 25 staff members in one private group, with direct messages alongside it and three calendar months of recent history. Paid plans can include staff and guests, so Free is not the plan for messaging families. The question for your next review, alone or with your co-childminder or agency: for each policy on your list, could you show when and how you explained it to your newest family?

Questions people ask

Do childminders need written policies?

Not if they are registered only on the Early Years Register or only with an early years childminder agency: paragraph 3.6 of the EYFS framework for childminders says they “are not required to have written policies and procedures” but “must be able to explain” them to parents and to Ofsted or their agency. A childminder also on the Childcare Register must have a written safeguarding policy and a written complaints policy, and give parents copies.

What are the rules for childminders in the UK?

In England, registered childminders caring for early years children follow the EYFS statutory framework for childminders, in force from 1 September 2026, whose section 3 sets the safeguarding and welfare requirements, including policies and procedures (3.6), first aid, records and notifications to Ofsted or their agency. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own rules and regulators.

What are some examples of policies and procedures in childcare?

The EYFS framework for childminders requires a safeguarding policy (3.7), whistleblowing procedures if there are assistants (3.8), an attendance policy (3.13), an illness and infection procedure (3.59), a medicines policy (3.60), an emergency evacuation procedure (3.80), a procedure for checking visitors' identity (3.88) and procedures for a child not collected or going missing (3.99).

How do I write a safeguarding policy?

A childminder's safeguarding policy must cover the five points in paragraph 3.7: the action on concerns about a child; the action on an allegation against anyone living, working or looking after children at the premises; how mobile phones, cameras and imaging devices are used; checking new recruits' suitability; and how safeguarding training is delivered and supported. It should follow your local safeguarding partners' procedures (3.6), and it must be in writing only if you are also on the Childcare Register.

What is the 2 hour rule for Ofsted?

Care for a particular child for two hours or less a day is exempt from registration as a childminder under the Childcare (Exemptions from Registration) Order 2008, which the EYFS framework for childminders cites in a footnote. Separately, paragraph 3.55 lets a registered childminder leave children in the sole care of an assistant for up to two hours in a single day, with parents' permission.

Official guidance and your next step

The primary sources are section 3 of the EYFS statutory framework for childminders (paragraphs 3.5 to 3.8, 3.11, 3.13, 3.55, 3.59, 3.60, 3.77, 3.80, 3.81, 3.86, 3.88 to 3.93, 3.95 and 3.99 to 3.100), regulation 3 of the Early Years Foundation Stage (Welfare Requirements) Regulations 2012, Ofsted's requirements for childminders on the compulsory and voluntary Childcare Register, Ofsted's early years inspection information, toolkit and operating guide for use from September 2026, and its information for parents about its role in regulating and inspecting childcare. Your local safeguarding partnership publishes the procedures your safeguarding policy should follow. Quotations are from those pages as published on 8 October 2026.

This guide summarises published requirements for registered childminders in England and is not legal advice. Childminders in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and nannies, have different requirements.

Then do one thing: make a one-page checklist with the eight required policies and procedures down the left, and against each note whether it is written, how you explain it, and to whom you last explained it. Anything you cannot explain in two minutes is the first one to fix.