A DIY Instruction Manual
For an Ad-hoc Crèche




Step 1:
Find a childminder

 It is essential that you have a registered childminder leading the crèche. You can find one HERE. By law, childminders must have Ofsted registration (which requires them to have safeguarding, first aid training, policies and insurance in place). Ask to see their Ofsted registration. Make copies of the childminder’s first aid training, safeguarding and insurance certificates available for parents/carers using the crèche to see. 

You should expect to pay a registered childminder to lead your crèche. Costs vary, but expect to pay at least £30 an hour for the lead childminder. For any additional paid staff, budget to pay at least £15 an hour (generally hourly rates to run a crèche will be a bit more than the normal day-to-day work of a childminder). The lead childminder will need to be paid for at least 2 hours prep time on top of the hours for running the crèche.  


Step 2:
Who & how many

Decide upon the number of children you can look after based on the budget you have and the size or type of space you’ll be running the crèche from. Make a decision on the minimum age the crèche can cater for, but try to provide care for babies and children of any age. You will need to negotiate this with the childminder providing the care. There is an expectation that children of secondary school age would be more likely to stay home alone if they didn't want to attend an event with their parents/carers. 


Step 3:
Find a space

 Find a contained space that is within the same building, or close to, the activity the crèche is accommodating. It should be big enough to fit the maximum number of children you have decided you can accommodate, plus the staff. You should be able to easily access a toilet and ideally a kitchen. You may need to pay for a space so bear this in mind when budgeting. You might also negotiate use of a space for free. Ideally you would choose a space that can accommodate disabled children and staff. Will you need tables and chairs etc? Are they available in the space or will you need to organise this too?  


Step 4:
Duration

Decide on the maximum length each session will run for (3.5 hours is a good maximum length). Alongside this, consider: the structure of the event, for example, scheduled talks, exhibition opening, event time etc; lunchtimes and crèche staff breaks; what you can afford; how long children of various ages would manage (encourage parents/careers to consider this for individual children). You might also want to split the day up into smaller sessions to accommodate more children and carers.


Session structure example 1:

Session 1: 10.00am – 1.30pm (3.5 hours)
   Lunch (1 hour)
Session 2: 2.30pm – 6.00pm (3.5 hours)

Session structure example 2:

Session 1: 10.00am – 11.30am (1.5 hours)
    Break (15 mins)
Session 2: 11.45am – 1.15pm (1.5 hours)
    Lunch (45 mins)
Session 3: 2.00pm – 3.30pm (1.5 hours)

Session structure example 3:

Session 1: 5.30pm – 7.30pm (2 hours)


Step 5:
Find volunteers

You’ll need a minimum of two volunteers to work alongside the registered childminder, even if there is only one child at the crèche and regardless of the age of the children. This is to ensure the safety of the volunteers. It also offers protection against allegations and increases the children’s feelings of safety. Your volunteers should definitely like spending time with children. Ideally, they would have an enhanced DBS certificate. This isn’t essential but people often expect it [1]. An extra bonus would be that they are First Aid trained. 

To find volunteers you could do a call-out to friends and people associated with organising the event. The venue you are running the crèche from might also have a volunteer pool you can utilise. If you want to run crèches more regularly, it would be worth putting together a personal directory of interested people who you can contact. If you do this, list extra details such as DBS certified, First Aid trained etc., and consider GDPR. 

Children to crèche staff ratio guidance:

1 - 7 children = two volunteers and one registered childminder. 

8 - 12 children = three volunteers and one registered childminder.

You need enough volunteers to ensure that there is at least 1 crèche worker to every 3 children. It is worth having an additional volunteer on standby in case the children that arrive need more support. 


Step 6:
Plan activities

Speak to the registered childminder about how they would like to run the crèche and make sure you can facilitate this. Will they run particular activities around art, performing, reading etc? Create a space that supports free play? Run off-site trips to the city farm, the park, etc (plan this based on the available time)? Make a list of what equipment the childminder will provide and what they will need from you. 


Step 7:
Money

You need to budget to pay for a registered childminder, including payment for them to run a pre-planning meeting. You’ll potentially need to pay for use of a space and equipment. NEVER CHARGE FOR A CRÈCHE. Ideally, you can apply for some funding or obtain support in-kind. Try to acquire materials for activities via donations, or cheaply through Scrap Stores etc. Decide if you’ll provide snacks - if you do you’ll need money for this too. Make sure you take care over allergens, more information on that can be found HERE.


Step 8:
Publicity

Share details of your crèche, including dates, times, booking link, costs, structure and information on the registered childminder. 

Here is an example of what you might put on a website informing people: 

Childcare is political. Without it, low income, working class people and precarious workers (especially women) are excluded from all sorts of activities, including work, but also leisure pursuits, cultural engagements and political involvement. That’s why (insert organisation name) are providing a crèche, so parents and carers can attend and know their children will be safely looked after.

We are excited to introduce our crèche lead (insert name of registered childminder), who is a registered childminder. (insert name of registered childminder) will be coordinating the crèche and its volunteers, all of whom will be DBS checked [delete if this is not the case].

(Insert name of registered childminder)’s relevant Ofsted and childminding registration is available here (have this viewable as a link). There will be a range of activities both on and off site.

The (insert name of organisation) crèche will be based at (insert address), one of the venues used for (insert name of event). The opening times for the crèche will be based on the event sessions. We’ve left 15 minutes travel time for parents and carers to get back to the crèche after the event has ended. If any parents, carers or children need adjustments to timings because of access issues, we will be happy to arrange that.


Step 9:
Populate it

It’s a good idea to populate your crèche by using a booking system, this way you can limit numbers in relation to your budget, amount of volunteers and the size of the space. It’s also an easier way to gather the additional information you’ll need from parents/carers. Free booking systems that enable you to do all of the above include Seatable, Ticket Source and Calendly. 

On the booking form you need to state the following: the length of time the session is running for; where and when to drop-off and pick up, and any other drop-off requirements (i.e. please bring any nappies, wipes, change of clothes, special cups, formula or breast milk); your communication policy (“If you need to cancel please email” etc.); if you’ll provide snacks and drinks; building/room access information.

The booking form should gather: the child’s name and age; parent/carer's name and contact details; emergency name and contact; if the child has any access requirements; medical information; if they have any particular dietry requirements or allegies (parents/carers should provide for these); if parents/carers are happy for the child to be taken off-site to the park etc; if parents/carers consent to photographs being taken (for GDRP you’ll have state what they’ll be used for). 

As the organiser you’ll need to provide the registered childminder with this information. 

Send a booking confirmation email and include any important reminders on times and what to bring.


Step 10:
Pre-meeting

A pre-meeting to plan the crèche, led by the registered childminder and crèche organisers, should take place. Talk through the finer details/decisions you have made based on the steps in this manual. Plan activities, put together a kit/shopping list, discuss who is responsable for what, and what roles everyone will take on. In addition to this meeting, a briefing between the childminder and volunteers should happen just before the crèche opens. 


Step 11:
Run the crèche!

Here is some additional information to give to parents/carers when they drop their child off at the crèche: they need to keep their phones on; provide them with the work telephone number of the registered childminder (if you give volunteers numbers out you’ll need to consider GDPR); remind them of the collection time; ask for details of where the parent/carer will be in case of an emergency and mobile phone connection failure; verbally double check information given on the booking form, especially if the child has any allergies or health issues.



    IMPORTANT

    Only the registered childminder should take children to the toilet. Volunteers should not, under any circumstance. 



    Endnotes: Use this information at your discretion, and if there is something you aren’t sure about, ask a childcare expert. If you follow this guide and something goes wrong we (publishers Conway and Young) take no responsibility.

    If you have a bigger budget and less time, or you’re nervous about the responsibility, you can pay for a mobile crèche service to come to your event. This is better than not providing a crèche at all.

     Footnotes:  [1] Individuals do not “hold” an enhanced DBS, but rather organisations undertake them on behalf of individuals. So, unless those individuals are subscribed to the DBS update service, requesting to see them is legally meaningless. In addition, in the case of a crèche, the only thing relevant in a DBS check is that the volunteers are safe to work with children. Anything else that will show up in a DBS check such as convictions for misdemeanour on demonstrations etc. is irrelevant and would be a significant invasion of privacy which may discourage people from volunteering. It might be, that as organisers, you see the DBS check, but do not share it with parents/carers using the crèche.