Setting up a childcare business

Setting up a childcare business in Croydon and the childcare sufficiency assessment.

Maintaining a professional, well qualified and dedicated workforce

High quality childcare provision can have a significant impact on children's development, performance at school and their future life chances. If all children are to benefit, the workforce must be professional, well qualified and dedicated.

Our role in childcare businesses

Early education and childcare play a crucial role in raising educational achievement and life chances. The Childcare Act (2006) places duties on Croydon Council to manage the childcare market in the borough.

Our role is to make sure we have enough childcare for children up to 14 years old that meets the needs of parents and carers so they can take up or remain in work, or undertake training that could help them to get into work. This also includes 17 years old for disabled children or children with additional needs. 

Our role involves:

  • carrying out a sufficiency assessment
  • sufficiency action planning
  • managing the childcare market.

The Department for Education requires us to complete the assessment every three years.

What you need to do

You may need to register with Ofsted.

For more information on childcare registration, requirements and fees, go to childminders and childcare providers: register with Ofsted – GOV.UK

Visit our Childcare business hub pages on the Family Space website for information about setting up, training, funding and support available.

Childcare sufficiency assessment

The childcare sufficiency report is an assessment of sufficiency using data about the need for childcare and the amount of childcare available, along with feedback from local parents about how easy or difficult it has been for them to find suitable childcare.

If you are thinking of setting up a childcare business, the report can provide useful insights into how your business might fit into Croydon's current childcare network.

The report includes things like:

  • qualification levels in Croydon
  • Early Years funding
  • children with SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities)
  • analysis and actions
  • parent questionnaire

Croydon childcare sufficiency assessment - 2021 (PDF, 500KB)