It sounds like an easy question, but who signs your contract matters more than most childminders realise. It affects who you can share information with, who can make decisions about the child and who you can ask to pay.
Parental responsibility
Parental responsibility is the legal term for the rights and responsibilities a parent has for a child. A child's mother always has it. A father usually has it if he was married to the mother when the child was born, or if he's named on the birth certificate for a birth registered after December 2003. Others, such as step-parents, grandparents or guardians, can get it through a court order or a formal agreement.
You need to know who holds parental responsibility for each child, because it decides who can consent to things like emergency treatment, who can collect the child and who you can share records with.
Who should sign
Ideally both parents or carers who hold parental responsibility and are arranging the childcare should sign. If only one parent signs, only they are bound by the contract, and that's usually fine if the other parent has nothing to do with the arrangement.
Who pays
Whoever signs the contract agrees to pay. If two people sign, your contract can say each of them is responsible for the full fees, so you aren't caught in the middle if they disagree about who should pay. That matters most when parents separate.
Separated parents
When parents live apart, get clear information from the start: who has parental responsibility, who'll be collecting, whether any court orders affect contact, and who's paying. Ask for a copy of any court order that restricts who can collect the child, and keep it securely. Treat both parents with parental responsibility fairly and stay out of their disagreements.
Keep it current
Families change. Ask parents to tell you in writing straight away if anything about parental responsibility or collection changes, and go over the information at least once a year.
The family form asks each family to list every parent or carer, who has parental responsibility and who can collect.