Registered childminder costs in N Ireland?

Josie_Jump

Hi, my maternity leave is coming to an end in the Summer and have to seriously think about childcare. I've always worked full time and have had the blessing of a lot of help from Grandparents. However my Mum is not feeling that she could manage my 3 now.

I have a list of registered childminders from the Trust (preferred option) however before I contacted any I wanted to have heads up about how much generally is the charge, before I make a fool of myself.

It would be for a 9 month old, 2 year old full time 9-5 and a 4 yr old in playschool so 12-5.

Many thanks

wifeforlife

A few years ago I used a private registered childminder for 1 child, it was for 4 hours A day and was £100 per week. Generally though it was a temp measure and I've stuck with a nursery for my 2 kids now, 1 full-time and 1 for an hr before school and 3 after, plus full-time in all school holidays and currently pay £250 a week. We worked out how many weeks would be in school time and how many was holidays to allow us to pay the same amount weekly so the costs didnt spike in the summer or around Christmas.

I suppose I hope this may give you an idea on how to come to an arrangement, and don't forget to remember the childminder is required holidays too. Good luck, it's a stressful time

Cate

Golden_Anemone

NICMA should be able to give you current recommended fees. I always found them helpful to talk to.

BatCat

Hi,
You should try the netmums site as well for childminders, they have a board where they can advertise.
I use a childminder for my two boys (4 &2). She's excellent and charges 4£ an hour for one boy and 3.60£ for the other (10% discount for siblings). I pay for a standard 8 hour day for the 2 year old and whatever hours my 4 year old is there (as he's in preschool). We found it far cheaper than a nursery though it's still pretty pricey.
If you two year old is nearly 3 you might get a place for him in a playgroup next year and that might help in terms of your costs?
My childminder is one of the more expensive I contacted, one only wanted 2£ an hour but she thought Connswater was a day out.;)
Cheers,
BatCat

BOBS

Nicma also have a list of registered childminders with spaces. http://www.nicma.org/cms/find-a-childminder searchable by town/area.

Also fees depend very much on where you are - also childminders in larger towns etc tend to be more expensive than more rural childminders.

ETA Josie Jump - also sent you pm

Josie_Jump

Thanks everyone who got back to me, feel more reassured now. I've checked out the NICMA website thanks for letting me know about it. It's a hard decision especially because I don't want to have to go back to work:(

Snoozle

I don't want to be the voice of doom, but I think I will mention this......Just 'out of interest' I went to the NICMA site and searched my own area. Only two childminders came up (there are plenty of registered childminders in the area, but only two registered with NICMA), and of the two that came up, one is someone who I wouldn't leave a dog with, never mind my children.


I'm not posting this to be anti childminder, as I use a fantastic childminder myself, where my daughter is treated like one of the family. I suppose what I'm saying is that you can tick all the boxes on paper and the reality might be quite different. But when I contacted NICMA myself a few years ago when I was first searching for a childminder, they put me under great pressure to only use one off their list, as they said it was the only guarantee of quality, but honestly I would say that they only guarantee of quality is references, your gut instinct, and how happy your child is to go there. Due to the reason mentioned abobve, I am wary of NICMA's insistence that they can guarantee a better quality childminder.

dodo69

We had our children at en excellent Rural Childcare Centre that is regularly inspected by Social Services and taught our kids a lot about social interaction not always available at a Childminder. Where you can find a good one by all means use them but be open to alternatives.

leftieM

My childminder charges 3 pounds an hour but I think she's going to put that up quite a bit - she's put it up already for the ad-hoc users. She doesn't charge for the summer hols which is great. More than that though, she is a complete gem of a woman and is so kind to parents and children alike. We all adore her. We'll pay whatever she asks.

BatCat

I agree don't feel you need to only use the Nicma list. I got our childminder from the list send out by social services when Nicma just didn't have anyone suitable. I did visit 6 people on the list who were suitable and got references before we finally chose the lovely woman we went with.

bantamfan

We pay £3.50 an hour for 10 hours, 3 days a week. Slightly off topic but don't forget about childcare vouchers if your new employer / other half's do them. The vouchers are taken from your pre tax pay so I think (depending on your tax band) you get £100 of vouchers for about £70. Obviously only approved childminders can be used but it works well for us.