Welcoming a new baby or child into your family is a special and important time.
Whether you're taking maternity, paternity, parental, or adoption leave, tiney is here to support you throughout your time away—and to help you return to childminding smoothly when you're ready.
This guide explains what to do before and during your leave, what happens to your registration, and what to expect when you're preparing to reopen your setting.
Letting us know you’re taking leave
If you plan to return to childminding after your leave: Let us know your intended return date so we can pause your tiney account and support your return when the time comes.
If you don’t plan to return to childminding:Let us know so we can start the deregistration process and formally close your account.
If you’re unsure whether you’ll return: We recommend pausing your account for now. It’s much simpler to return from a pause than to go through the re-registration process later on.
Taking one of these steps helps us take the right actions and support you
Don’t forget to give your families notice and update your availability in the tiney app.
What to expect while you're on leave
While you're on leave:
Your account will be paused and you won’t be expected to complete CPD or attend events
However, you're warmly encouraged to stay connected to the tiney community—many childminders enjoy joining occasional chats, catching up on CPD when it suits them, or reading updates in the app
The tiney team may check in with you from time to time, especially as your planned return date approaches
💡 Staying connected can help your return feel smoother and keep your confidence fresh—it’s completely optional, but always available.
Returning to childminding after leave
When you’re ready to return, here’s what to expect:
Let us know your planned return date, eight weeks in advance. This allows us to support you and confirm whether a Quality Assurance visit is due, and to open up your ability to receive parent enquiries, and process contracts through the tiney app.
If you quality assurance visit was more than twelve months ago, then a visit must take place before you can reopen—this is a regulatory requirement
In these cases, tiney will carry out a shorter quality assurance (QA) visit to check that your setting is meeting the statutory requirements. You can carry out your own audit using the Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements appendix in the Quality Framework; this is what we will also use to ensure you are meeting requirements, as part of the QA process.
Make sure your safeguarding knowledge, training, and policies are fully up to date before caring for children again. To do this, you can revisit the relevant ‘Train with tiney’ units and access all CPD content available in your dashboard. We also recommend using the Professional Leadership and Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements compliance checklists in the Quality Framework to help identify any areas that may need refreshing or where there are gaps.training, and policies are fully up to date—this is essential before caring for children again
Update your availability and setting profile in the app to show you're open to new enquiries
Why visits are still required—even during leave
Regulations require all registered childminders to be visited in each year of registration. This applies regardless of whether you’re on maternity, paternity, parental, or adoption leave.
There are no automatic exemptions for periods of leave, however we take individual circumstance into account when planning visits.
✅ We’ll always take a supportive, risk-based approach to ensure your return is safe, compliant, and manageable—and to ensure that tiney continues to meet all statutory requirements as a registered childminding agency.
FAQs
Will I always need a visit before reopening?
If your Quality Assurance visit is due, yes—a visit is required before you can reopen. If it is not due, we'll assess your situation and confirm what’s needed.
Do I need to refresh my training and policies?
Yes. All childminders must have up-to-date safeguarding knowledge, refreshed training, and current policies before caring for children again. We’ll support you in reviewing anything that needs updating.
Can I return to work while caring for my own baby or newly adopted child?
Yes—many childminders successfully do so, it’s just important to adapt your ratios to account for your own children to. We can provide practical tips and support to help you balance routines and create a welcoming environment for all children in your care.
Final thoughts
Whether you're taking time away to welcome a new baby or child through birth or adoption, we’re here to support you. When you're ready to return, our team will help ensure everything is in place for a smooth, confident, and compliant restart.
Let us know your plans early so we can support you best. You can reach out to the tiney team via the app or email community@tiney.co at any time.