cost effective childcare

TDMum

Sorry if I'm posting this in the wrong place. Feel free to move it to the right board.

I gave up work just over 3 years ago to be a stay at home mum. The fuel to my mums then to work, then back to my mums, then home again on top of normal car costs ate up pretty much my whole wage I think we were left with about £20 a month which seemed ridiculous!

We have now moved house from the country into the city and I think I want to go back to work. I love my kiddos dearly but I feel like it would be a good thing for all of us if I wasn't cooped up 24/7 with them. Also any money I earn can go into savings and enable us to hopefully get on the property ladder sooner. As of August 2 of my kids will be at school so it would only leave my 2 (then 2.5 yr old). My mum lives 20+ miles away so it wouldn't be cost effective for her to watch him, even though she would. My mother in law might but I'm not 100% sure. I don't think she would like the idea of being tied into having to do it all of the time.

I'd like to work part time while the older 2 at school so something like 9.30-2.30 or 10-2. There's a new supermarket opening here in the summer so I would love to apply there as it's not far from where I live.

Does anyone have any cheap ideas for childcare? Private nursery in these parts are £30+ per day and I would have to pay a full day as it crosses over the am/pm border.

My husband works shift work so there won't be set days per week I need childcare. Are childminders cheaper than nursery and flexible? Would advertising on gumtree for a student be beneficial? Are there any schemes etc? I've only ever had my mum look after my kids before so I'm quite clueless.

Thanks in advance

pinkshoes

£30 a day?!? In Oxfordshire they're £50+ a day!

Your best option would be a childminder. Have a look on a website like childcare.co.uk to see what's available in your area.

The Ofsted website will also list all local childminders along with a copy of their latest report.

http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/early-years-and-childcare/for-parents-and-carers/find-early-years-and-childcare-inspection-report

TDMum

£30 was the cheapest I had found. Others are £45+
With a childminder do they not like to have set days a week?

thunderbird

Do you have any friends who could help out at all?

If not, if I were you I'd wait till the youngest is at pre-school - I would have thought most of your wage from a supermarket will be taken up by childminder fees. Plus - what will you do during school holidays? (or is the supermarket offering term time only jobs?)

TDMum

I wouldn't need cover for every day I worked. My husband is on shift work so his work varies. Sometimes he works 2 days, 3 days or 5days a week. He can get up to 9 days off in a row inbetween shifts. If MIL could commit to one or 2 days rather than the full 4 or 5 then that reduces the need for care a lot as my husband could probably fill in for most of it.

We've recently moved so haven't had a chance to make new friends yet.

Pre-school would still require an element of childcare as it's only 2.5hrs per day.

I guess I either sweet talk the MIL or wait until the littley starts Primary 1.

Alternatively renting out the little lad as a chimney sweep may bring in some pennies

choccybuttons

Hi

We got given a leaflet at work for these providers

http://www.approvedhomechildcare.com/

They seem very flexible and from reading it works out cheaper if you have other children.

Don't forget you can claim tax credits or childcare vouchers too towards your costs.

If your wee one is going to a certain nursery you could ask to put up a sign for a childminder.

pinkshoes

Or your youngest could start pre-school, as they take them at 2.5 usually?

jackomdj

The problem you are going to have is your child will be using a place, regardless of if they re there or not as the nursery/childminder etc will not be able to allocate another child to that place so you will probably find it hard to get someone to take them on an adhoc basic.

TDMum

I thought that would be the case Jackomdj which is why I thought maybe a student woring towards a childcare or teaching qualification might be better? Oh I'm not sure. It's all what, if's and buts at the moment. I should probably just talk to the MIL and see what she says first.

pinkshoes: Up here they won't take children until after their 3rd birthday for government paid nursery.

Choccybuttons: Thanks I'll have a look at that link in a sec.

flipper_72

Just to let you know preschool is 3 hours per day. My ds goes to a nursery attached to a school that allows you to use the hours that work for you so he goes 9-3 twice a week and 8.45-11.45 once a week and then I pay for him to stay til 5 that day so I can do a long day at work. Not all are this flexible but it is worth asking around. However I do have to have the same days each week, not many places are flexible on this, I know 1 family who used a childminder who worked with their shifts including overnight but these are almost impossible to find. Another friend advertised for a student to do childcare and school pick ups, she was 19 and is paid for 20 hours per week to suit them, some weeks they don't need all the hours but they still pay her. Maybe worth checking if the local college has a childcare course?
Good luck sorting it all out.

TDMum

Thanks Flipper. I live in Scotland and the nursery sessions are either 9-11.30 or 12.30-3.00. My DD goes there now and the littlest will go there too. There is no option to have them stay longer etc unless your child is classed as having extra needs. There are private nurseries that allow that and they deduct the amount the government would pay for so it's maybe something I could look into later. Littley isn't due to start nursery until March next year so a wee whiley to wait for that.