Published 4 November 2025, updated 3 August 2026

Childminding doesn’t pause for a driving course. You’re registered to care for specific children at specific times, and swapping that around for a week takes more than just telling your own diary to shift. Here’s how an intensive course actually fits into that, without pretending the logistics are simple.

Fitting a course around minded children and registration hours

Most childminders can’t simply hand their days to someone else at short notice, so the practical question isn’t whether you have time to learn, it’s which week you can clear. School holiday weeks tend to work well if the children you mind are school-age, since your hours often shrink anyway during term breaks. If you mind younger children full-time, look at whether their parents can cover a week through nursery, family, or annual leave, and book your course around that rather than around your own preference for a particular month. Give parents plenty of notice if you’re planning to take a week away from minding, since most will need to arrange alternative care and won’t thank you for a last-minute request. Booking a course a few weeks ahead, once you know which week is realistically free, beats trying to fit lessons in piecemeal around your existing hours and hoping the gaps line up. If you’re registered with an agency or work alongside another childminder who could take on extra children for a week, that’s worth exploring too, since it often opens up a wider choice of dates than relying on parents alone to rearrange their own working weeks.

Choosing your hours and understanding the deposit

If you’ve driven before, even years ago, a shorter course such as a Silver 25 package can be enough to get you road-ready again, since the habits tend to come back faster than starting completely fresh. Starting from nothing usually needs more hours, and it’s worth being realistic about that rather than booking the shortest option and hoping it stretches far enough. Either way, you’ll pay a deposit to secure your course and instructor, from £180 up to £900 depending on length, and that deposit is not the total cost. The balance is your instructor’s tuition fee, arranged after booking and due before training starts, and it changes depending on your area and whether you choose manual or automatic. There’s no fixed national total, which is why it’s worth checking the price guide before you commit a week of childcare cover to it. You’ll also pay the DVSA directly for your theory test and practical test, on top of anything you pay LPOD or your instructor, so factor both into what you’re setting aside. Courses also include three hours of car hire on test day, so you’re not left arranging a separate vehicle once training is finished, which is one less thing to organise around your existing commitments.

Booking your test since the DVSA change

Since 12 May 2026, only you can book and manage your own DVSA practical test, so it’s not something LPOD arranges on your behalf. What your instructor can do is advise you on strategy and let you know when earlier slots come up, which matters if you’re trying to line your test up with a week you’ve already cleared with the families you mind for. If you want to see how the whole course is structured before you book, it’s worth a read so the week doesn’t come as a surprise once you’ve committed the time and rearranged your registered hours around it. Once you’ve passed, you’ll have a licence that no longer depends on lifts or public transport timetables to get you and the children you care for where you need to be, whether that’s the school gate, a soft play session, or simply picking up a child whose own parents are running late.