Any child minders that can give there views?

[hannah40]

my 2 children go to a childminders at 8am for 1 hour and get taken to school the childmunder charges 2 hours minimum per child i accept this but do all child minders do this?also they charge a retainer for the holiday of 1 hour per day per child i just wondered if this is what child minders do.thank you.i only use the minders to do the morning school run and school starts at 8.40am.

[annie0000]

I think a retainer is fairly standard, but not sure ho much. I think the charging 2 hours for the morning is a bit off. If it was me, I'd charge for a breakfast/take to school place at a standard rate and then be open from say 7am - if the parent chooses to drop of at 8am then that is up to them but charge would be the same regardless, cause you'd be booking the space, not a set slot. So, in your situation, theoretically, could you use the childminder for 2 hours per day at no extra charge above what you pay for 1 hour?

[hannah40]

as i pay a 2 hr minimum i could place the children in there at 6.40 until 8.40 but i dont need childcare until 8am and that is only for 40 mins and i do have 2 children so i pay £4 an hour .so for 1 hour i pay £16 pounds .breakfast is £1 per child extra.i The retainer is £8per day for the holiday so that is fair enough.i get help from tax credits so i feel guilty claiming it back from them.

[annie0000]

to be honest, I think the Childminder is taking advantage of the fact that you can reclaim the cost to line her own pockets - to be honest, if you had to pay all that yourself, would you? Does the school not have a breakfast club or something that you could use instead, or can you get your other hour after school? £4 an hour is the going rate and I guess she cant fill the rest of the morning as she has your kids coming in at 8 and she'd go over her limit.....a tricky one.

[hannah40]

both her and her husband child mind it is there business ,they have afew children they take to school and afew under 5,s,i dont ned child care after school yes i could ask her to pick them up and keep them for an hour but my hubby is home by 3pm so he does the schooll run then,also the other day he was alittle late so called them and asked them to pick the kids up as he would be 5 mins late and walk them home and he met them at her house before she got there and she charged £16.i will enquire at the schools breakfast club just concerned about incept days doing the school club.

[hannah40]

thanks annie0000for answering.

[tigwig]

Hi, I am a childminder and I choose not to have any before & after school kids (now I'm busy with my own and the little ones) but if I did and they were being dropped off at 8am like yours I would have a set charge for a 'before school child' which is £5 and that would entitle you to drop off anytime from 7.30am. I guess this is similar to you being charged the minimum 2 hrs. Every childminder obviously sets their own rates thats why its important to understand completely and agree before a contract is signed. I'm not sure about the retainer thing as thats not something I do. I think you were charged that time your hubby was late as that was after school and a different service but it does seem a bit steep and in a one off situation like that is a little unfair to charge so much.

[Kassee]

To be fair, childminders are self employed and can charge what they like. If they overcharge too much they will soon be out of business. It is up to you as the individual to look around at local childminders, how much they charge etc etc and decide which one you are happy with.

If you are not happy then look elsewhere - there are plenty of childminders around. School runs are difficult to price up - if the childminder is walking your children to school, they may go in at 8.40 - but she has to then walk home again. If she drives them to school, then there is the cost of her petrol, wear and tear on her car etc. If you do not feel happy paying a retainer, then maybe you wont mind if she has filled your space up with other children, and has no room for your children when they start back to school after the holiday.

[hannah40]

kasee if you read my post it says i dont mind paying a retainer in fact i dont mind paying £16 an hour but im sure the tax payer who subsidises tax credits does!!.