Childminder costs - how does it work?

comping_cat

Im a childminder, and i do charge full fees for the time any of my children are at nursery. The reason being, is that they will need the place with me during holidays, and also i cannot take on another child whilst the other is at nursery, so i would be available but not earning, or earning half fees. Also, the childminder tends to be first on the call list in case of any problems, as they can get to the nursery quicker than the parents (as a rule) so although the child isnt with you, you are still available if needed.

comping_cat

Spendless wrote:

Thanks. That makes sense now you've explained it. Another question is I understand now when a child attends morning pre-school/nursery that the time is charged for,as it is taking up a place but what about when a child goes to an afternoon session? Here the PM sessions are from 1pm-3.30pm. What if the mum collects the child at 3.30 and is also the first port of call should anyone be needed during the times the child is at nursery. I understand that the childminder is making a seperate trip at 1pm and should charge for that, but someone I know charges till 3.30. I don't really understand why as if the under 5 year old was being picked up by mum from the childminders house at 1pm there would be no further charge after this time or would there?
Again I've no wish to sound rude I genuinely don't understand

I wouldnt charge if i was taking the child at 1pm and not seeing the child again until the next morning, however, if the parent wanted me to be first call, in case of problems, then i would charge, but i think that would be highly unlikely!!!! I dont understand someone charging for time, unless they are reserving that time with the childminder for the holidays.

scoobydo_2

Hi I'm a childminder and I don't charge if a child is at nursery but I collect them but I make it clear to parents that if theres a problem school has to contact them and not me .I don't charge if I'm off sick or on holday as I'm not providing a service .
With regards to childcare vouchers I had parents paying with buzybee vouchers an they are not problem you just ring or contact buzybees online and they just credit your bank account .
As for holidays I wasn't taking many maybe 5weeks a year after reading others posts I maybe should put myown kids first and take more but I always felt guilty ..

SammyD_2

I pay my childminder full fees when my son is at nursery - she can't realistically take anyone else during that time (he has 2 and a half hour sessions a day) and she does the pick up and drop off, plus would be there if he needed anything (eg if he got sick). I would much rather have a happy childminder who thought she had a fair deal than one who was not entirely happy with the arrangements for the sake of a few pounds.

We also pay for 5 weeks holiday a year plus any holidays we take or if our son is sick that is also charged for. Basically, unless she is sick, we pay (and even then, we have never deducted money!)

On the plus side of the equation, we have a fantastic childminder who has had both my children since they were 8 months old, and she is very flexible as she is willing to accomodate a "shift" pattern where my husband works different shifts every week.

My childminder also takes vouchers from me, but she has to deal with both busy bees (for my husbands work) and care-4 (for my work). Makes life even more complicated.

BernadetteN

I'm a childminder and I would not charge during nursery hours unless the parent wanted me to be "on call" in which case I'd charge half fees. I have 4 children of my own under 10 years old so it's nice for me to have a break from minding sometimes so that's why I would not charge. Childminders are all different. I don't charge for my holidays either as I would not like it if I were a parent paying a childminder to go on holiday.