Childminder contract template: draft your parent contract from how you actually work

A contract that doesn't say what happens about holidays, sickness, late collection and notice is the one parents argue with later. A clear first draft from your own rules, checked line by line, means everyone knows the terms before the first day.

A free AI chat tool, then Word or Google Docs

Steps

1. Write your terms as a list in plain words: days and hours, fees and when they're due, payment method, holiday and sickness arrangements, what you charge when a child is away, late collection, notice either way, and what happens if fees aren't paid.
2. Decide each term yourself. Don't ask the AI what a "standard" term should be.
3. Run the prompt below to turn your list into a clear agreement with placeholders for the family's details.
4. Check each clause against your list, and compare it with a template from your professional body or your insurer's helpline if you have one. Take advice on anything about liability or ending the contract.
5. Fill in each family's details by hand, read it through with the parents and give them a copy.

The exact prompt

I'm a childminder in England. Turn my terms into a plain-English parent agreement. My terms: days and hours [list]; fees [rate and how calculated]; payment due [when, how]; holidays and sickness [my rules]; fees when a child is away [my rule]; late collection [my rule]; notice [x weeks each way]; if fees aren't paid [my rule].
Use clear numbered clauses with placeholders like [PARENT NAME] and [CHILD'S FIRST NAME] that I'll fill in myself. Use ONLY my terms. Don't add any clause I haven't given, don't add legal wording about liability and don't refer to any law or regulation.