A childminder agency (CMA) can register and quality assure childminders as an alternative to them registering directly with Ofsted. Childminder agencies like tiney were specifically designed by the Government to provide extra support and services to childminders and their families.

For families, tiney acts as a high quality regulator and helpful partner. Our childcare inspections (called Quality Assurance visits) and quality bar are set to the same high standards as Ofsted, but unlike Ofsted we visit our local childminders every 12 months (rather than every 6 years).

On top of that, parents get an exceptional childcare experience with the tiney app - ensuring that payments, updates and tracking children’s learning is really easy for any enrolled family.

Tiney childminders charge competitive rates for childcare that will vary depending on location, services and contract arrangements. Across the country childminders tend to be cheaper than Nurseries - as an example, our London based tiney childminders typically charge £80-£90 per day, whereas average London Nursery charges are £90-£100 per day. Charges will be displayed on each childminders tiney profile web page.

As well as tiney childminders being more affordable than local nurseries, they also offer a more tailored level of care for your child in a smaller, family style setting. tiney childminders work from their own homes and receive a huge amount of support and inclusive services from tiney. As such, this guarantees that as well as having a high quality bar, they can retain a greater amount of their earnings than if they were employed directly by a local nursery or school.

Tiney childminders carefully compare their rates against other local providers to ensure prices are competitive for families, all while offering a customer experience that goes above and beyond what's typically available in the area. All tiney registered childminders are able to deliver Government funded childcare hours and can accept tax free childcare, and other payment schemes.

Finding a childminder with tiney is really easy. You can search tiney.co for free and find registered childminders near you that meet your specific childcare requirements. Once you’ve matched with a childminder you can message them for free through the tiney site and arrange to meet and view their childcare setting.

Hiring a childminder with tiney is simple and takes place through the tiney app. Once you’ve agreed childcare arrangements with your chosen childminder they’ll create a childcare contract. At this point, you’ll get an invite to sign the contract and onboard to the tiney app, sharing all the essential info to help your child settle in.

Hiring a tiney childminder is a streamlined process and much easier than the offline paperwork you might expect with a typical childminder or local nursery.

A nanny provides care in your own home and is an unregulated form of childcare, meaning Nanny’s do not need an Ofsted registration or formal inspections. In contrast, a tiney childminder works from their own home in your local area - caring for multiple children in a safe, family style, setting.

Tiney childminders are self-employed but supported and regulated by tiney, inline with Ofsted standards. As a regulated form of childcare childminders are different to Nannies in two more ways. Firstly, they are professional early years educators and trained to deliver the EYFS. Second, parents can also pay childminders using Government funded hours, tax free childcare and other schemes.

To find a childminder that best matches your needs you can filter by childminder offering and services on the tiney website. There are a host of vetted, regulated and trusted childminders to choose from on the tiney website, all offering their own unique personality and features.

As a regulated form of childcare, childminders must meet stringent Government standards, and all tiney childminders must also meet our high quality bar. Just like choosing an airbnb that meets your specific holiday requirements, tiney helps you find a childminder whose qualifications and home setup perfectly suit the needs of you and your child.

We believe that one of the most important aspects of determining whether a tiney home is a good fit for your child is understanding why your prospective childminder chose this career!

We’re confident that when you hear direct from our childminders about their passions and interests as Early Educators you’ll understand more about the difference that being part of a tiney home can make.

All of our tiney homes offer healthy, balanced menus that will cater to any particular dietary requirements your child may have (of course, a packed lunch that you provide may also be an option you can discuss). Your tiney childminder should be able to provide you with a sample menu, and maybe even a taster if you visit at the right time!

As part of their training, all of our childminders draw up a proposed daily schedule, incorporating the EYFS and their own ideas. Depending on their individual setting, some tiney childminders might focus more on outdoor play than others, others might go on lots of trips out, but all of them are passionate about the benefits of learning through play, as outlined in our educational philosophy.

On the tiney website you can search for childminders with a specific education interest.

First steps, potty training, weaning… our community have the knowledge and experience to work with you on taking your child through those big, important moments and are able to provide you with the advice and resources you need.

Thanks to our app, you’ll be able to follow their progress every step of the way in the Learning Journal, plus get helpful tips for supporting your child through key milestones in your own home.

All of our community are trained on the best ways to deal with conflict between children and any other common issues that might come up (and don’t worry, they’ve almost certainly seen it all before!).

Our childminders take a gentle approach and will talk to you about any problems that crop up so you can work on a solution together.