Fees- Childminders

[Telegraph]

Hi

I am just looking for some guidance! Childminders seem to vary wildly in their charging! I;ve done some research and realise that those listed good/outstanding tend to charge more. I've been quoted anything from ?5 per hour to ?6.50 per hour. What is the general price. Also - can anyone tell me what really happens in the childminder meet up groups? Are the children just left to their own devices ( as I've heard) while the childmimders just have a coffee?

Would appreciate any advice.

Thanks.

[Mellors]

If its anything like the mums meet up groups they do ;-) Actually at the playgroups I go to I have to say that the childminders/nannies always seem very involved with their charges, more so than I am half the time with my kids lol. I wonder if they are less exhausted than me and therefore more interactive?! I think it must depend on who you employ though.

I think ?5 - ?6.50 is the going rate (?40 - ?50 for an 8 hour day).

[Telegraph]

Thanks for your message and info. Can you reccommend a play group? I am looking for childminder so willing to explore all avenues. A childminder has quoted me ?65 for the day (8am - 6/6.15pm) - is that excessive. She is well qualified (though I have not seen her ofsted report yet) - and says she does a lot with the children ( she only takes 3).

Thanks

[kristymac1]

Telegraph Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Thanks for your message and info. Can you

> reccommend a play group? I am looking for

> childminder so willing to explore all avenues. A

> childminder has quoted me ?65 for the day (8am -

> 6/6.15pm) - is that excessive. She is well

> qualified (though I have not seen her ofsted

> report yet) - and says she does a lot with the

> children ( she only takes 3).

>

Registered childminders are only allowed to look after a certain number of children - certainly 3 children under 5yrs old would be the maximum anyway. ?65 does sound a little steep, although I know it's not unheard of, given that that is more than a nursery place I would certainly want a fair few details on what you were getting for your money. At the end of the day I think you just have to go on instinct and if you feel your little one will be safe, happy and stimulated then that's the most important thing. Good luck its such a difficult thing to go through.....

> Thanks

[womanofdulwich]

i would guess like a nanny share a childminder mighthave one or 2 children before and after school and one under school age either all day or before and after nursery.

[The Nappy Lady]

Make sure you ask about holidays - some childminders charge less per day, but expect you to pay them when either you, or they take a holiday, whilst others charge a higher daily rate, but don't expect holiday pay. What you don't want, is one that charges full whack AND wants paying during holidays too!!!

Other than that I think it really does come down to who 'feels' right, and what you can afford.

I really rate the childminder environment for under 2's, consider it to be better than nursery. Agree with Mellors about the 'meet up' groups etc. would say childminders mostly behave in the same way as I would - so a bit of chatting to friends, cup of tea and time spent with the children all mixed in. Even when chatting I believe they are watching the children, as I do when I'm with mine at playgroup. Since my little one got mobile at 11 months she didn't want me constantly in her wake at playgroup because of the independence thing - so you have to give them a certain amount of space, whilst being ready to step in if they are in danger, or about to beat up another toddler of course!

Good luck, hope you find someone you feel really happy with.

Molly

[new mother]

Sorry but maybe I'm too exacting - I wldn't consider employing a childminder/nanny whose attention was not focussed on my child 100%. You are not paying them to chat!

[vicki08]

your best to stay at home and look after your child yourself

[MGolden]

new mother Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Sorry but maybe I'm too exacting - I wldn't

> consider employing a childminder/nanny whose

> attention was not focussed on my child 100%. You

> are not paying them to chat!

Given that OFSTED register childminders to have up to three under 5yos I presume you are prepared to pay a huge ammount for a childminder to focus on your child 100%. What will happen if you have another child? Will you employ two childminders? My (now 8yo) went to a fabulous child minder who took him to play groups and looked after other children after school, he thrived in the environment. Other mums from the primary school my older son went to still had this childminder collect their children from school and I know they often popped in for a cup of tea on their 'non-working' days. It did my son no harm at all to socialise with other adults. Don't assume that because a childminder is talking to other people s/he isn't including your child in that.

Telegraph - does your employer support child care vouchers? They are a form of salary sacrifice which mean they are deducted from your salary at source and you don't pay tax on that part of your earnings. Many child minders will accept them and they are a way of making the money you can afford on childcare stretch a little further as it is essentially tax free child care. It's certainly worth investigating if your employer supports them.

[womanofdulwich]

i think she cannot be getting ?65 x 3 x 5 days =?975 a week - otherwise we would all be doing it .

[MGolden]

womanofdulwich Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> i think she cannot be getting ?65 x 3 x 5 days

> =?975 a week - otherwise we would all be doing it

> .

If she is then she will be paying higher level tax which would give her a take home pay of about ?2000pcm. Then you need to take into consideration holiday and sick pay. Plus insurance, cost of replacing toys etc when they break or wear out, central heating, hot water etc and the children of other people entertained, safe and well looked after. Not an easy job and no I'm not a child minder!

[number 2]

MGolden Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> new mother Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > Sorry but maybe I'm too exacting - I wldn't

> > consider employing a childminder/nanny whose

> > attention was not focussed on my child 100%.

> You

> > are not paying them to chat!

>

>

> Given that OFSTED register childminders to have up

> to three under 5yos I presume you are prepared to

> pay a huge ammount for a childminder to focus on

> your child 100%. What will happen if you have

> another child? Will you employ two childminders?

> My (now 8yo) went to a fabulous child minder who

> took him to play groups and looked after other

> children after school, he thrived in the

> environment. Other mums from the primary school

> my older son went to still had this childminder

> collect their children from school and I know they

> often popped in for a cup of tea on their

> 'non-working' days. It did my son no harm at all

> to socialise with other adults. Don't assume that

> because a childminder is talking to other people

> s/he isn't including your child in that.

>

> Telegraph - does your employer support child care

> vouchers? They are a form of salary sacrifice

> which mean they are deducted from your salary at

> source and you don't pay tax on that part of your

> earnings. Many child minders will accept them and

> they are a way of making the money you can afford

> on childcare stretch a little further as it is

> essentially tax free child care. It's certainly

> worth investigating if your employer supports

> them.

i have to agree with mcgolden. i would also add that i don't think it does any child too much good to have anyone's full attention on them 100% of the time. it's good for them to socialise with other children, develop some independence, and to be honest they are perfectly able to do that while their childminder has a chat and a coffee. just as they are when you're around. childminding could be (i would have thought) a very isolating profession which is why they have these groups so they can chat and network. i've had 2 wonderful childminders so far and i sure as hell couldn't do what they do, so i'm all for them getting support from each other.

[pebbles]

I agree with mcgolden and number 2 - i rate myself as a pretty good mummy of 2 - and trust me i don't give my 2 100% attention at all times - whether that be chatting with mates at playgroups, reading the edf!!! or doing normal daily chores that most people need to do - it's good for children to learn that they have to get on with their playing without their carer watching everything that they do.

At the end of the day i don't believe any parent would send their children to anyone that they didnt' trust implicity - so go with your total gut - and definitely send you child to wherever you choose before you go back to work cos you'll want to make sure all is happy before you have the shock of work?

ps - i pay ?40/day (8.30-5.30 - lunch and tea) and we pay her 4 weeks holiday and obviously if we take holiday outside those 4 weeks we pay as well. My friend sends her twins there as well and if they're ever late or need to send them earlier due to work committments she has never charged extra - she's just fabulously flexible.

I think childminders are a fabulous option as they allow children to mix with all ages and i know my son loves playing with the big kids!!!

Good luck with whatever decision you make

[The Nappy Lady]

Well said Pebbles & others.

I was just thinking, other than a nanny/personal tutor I can't think of any situation where a child would have an adults sole attention - certainly not at nursery, childminders or school.

It is possible I guess that someone with their first newborn is not aware of how much a toddler would object to that level of constant monitoring, not to mention that you'd never manage to get anything done, including feeding/preparing meals for said child. I don't mean this in a patronising way, I just know how little I really understood what lay ahead when I had my first.

[new mother]

I think I should have phrased what I wrote a bit better. I don't mean that I play with my children all the time save naps and feeding. I would run out of things to do quite fast, I can assure you! Currently ~2 is playing in a soft play area that my husband made for her, and Im not playing with her - clearly (!). However, she is in my line of sight and that is what I expect a ch/m or nanny to do. I constantly see groups of ch/m or nannies out and about chatting to each other and paying next to no attention to the children. The children fall at some stage and a great wail goes up at which point the adult goes over to see what's happened. THat's not adequate supervision from someone paid to look after them.

I repeat - all of our children are the most precious "thing" we have and, while it's obviosuly great for children to play with others etc, i make no apology for demanding service and performacne from people ina critical area of my life. People on the whole want to do a good job and prefer not to get away with things in any event. We should not pay (quite a lot in my view) to subsdise someone else's social outings.

[Fuschia]

Going a bit offtopic..

I think any mother will get the best from the money she spends on childcare if she is aware that the person she is paying is a real person entitled to respect, and doesn't expect more of her than the mother would do herself...

It's a bit of a false saving I think, to attempt to extract far too much from a childcarer, then keep having to look around for someone new and go through the settling in all over again...

[The Nappy Lady]

Well I know I'm capable of drinking a cup of tea, chatting AND watching my children....isn't that what women do, multi-task? :-))))

[leta]

That"s more like a nanny.

Childminders have to do what nursery does,only less children.

Mind you apart from all the caring they do a lotttt of paper work as well.Thats your ofsted report based on.

As a childminder you CANT give only one child 100% of your time.What about other children?doooh

There is a policy on that as well that is compulsory to have(including all children)

And ...childminders are not robots ,they need to have a cup of tea and socialising,that doest mean that they dont know what your child is doing (they have 4 eyes :))

Childminders are mothers,parents,teachers,carers.They are there when you are not there.

65? is a bit to much.I would say 50? would be max per week 8 to 5:30 6:00.

[leta]

and by the way

ofsted reports are based on the paper work as i said early,and ,ofsted are v v unpleasent.

They give Good to a childminder gest because she did not display a certain certificat on the wall(witch was irrelevant).

Whats the point of getting Outstanding ?(!)

[souc1a]

Hi Telegraph,

Back to your original question.........we pay our childminder ?58.50 per day (7.45 - 4.45), but we have a term time only arrangement. This was the most expensive we found, but in this case we really do get what we pay for. Our daughter is very happy and loves all the groups she gets to go to so much so that on my days off she often looks perplexed if we haven't done something really fun before 11am. We also get regular picture messages documneting the fun times which can really brighten up a day at work.

As has been noted, you will know when you have found the right person, but I think my point is really that if you see someone who is charging a little over the average, find out why........it might be worth it :)

[pebbles]

I agree with leta. Obviously it's interesting to read ofsted reports however please take them with a pinch of salt. Childminders have SOOOO much paperwork and personally i would prefer a childminder who didn't necessarily fill out every form that is needed (i don't care when my son does a poo and how many peas he eats!!!) but played and had fun with the children. I actually don't know what my childminders ofsted report is however i believe the care she gives my son is 100% outstanding.

Telegraph - a friend of mine asked the childminder whether she minded if she could come to one of the playgroups she attended before she made her decision - obviously they would be on their best behaviour but you get to see the relationship between the childminder and children and obviously children are an open book and you will be able to see how happy they are and how much they love the childminder. I'm sure the cm wouldn't mind if you asked.

Good luck

[nancysmum]

Hi there

I'm a childminder and I would say that, like in all walks of life, there are good and bad practitioners. Feel free to come down to the Peckham One O Clock Club on a Wednesday morning where there is a childminders support group on. You can see the ones that are active with their children, and the ones that sit on the sides chatting to their friends. You can talk to one of Southwark Council's Childcare Services Coordinators who can put you in touch with childminders in your area. Fees vary depending on what's being offered, meals, transport, entrance fees to clubs / soft play etc. A big chunk of what we earn goes on tax, wear and tear (i have been through three double buggies in the time I have been minding). Also, some of us childminders took this route so that we could be with our children when they are young. I know I did. So I left my job in PR to childmind and needed to earn enough to pay the bills. This may be why there is a variation in the fees out there (just a thought). Also bear in mind that fees may be pitched at a certain rate as there may be times when childminders have spaces they can't fill (eg: a child finishes in December but no one is looking to place until March etc). Our income can fluctuate considerably.

My advice would be to work out your budget (don't forget you may be elligible for working tax credit), get a shortlist of childminders, visit them, ask for references and speak to past and existing clients and then go with your gut feeling.

I hope this has been of help.

[Msgee]

it's worth pointing out that the daily rate for part time mindees is normally higher than the daily rate for full time- for nurseries as well as childminders

also what everyone else said- about it not being all that great for children to have an adult constantly hovering over them and not expecting the childminder to do more than you would- I'd say every childminder I've known is more than capable of keeping an eye on charges and chatting to friends at the same time. Once you start down the "coffee mornings with mates? is that what we pay her for??" route that's when it gets all feudal- if you know what I mean:))