Nursery vs childminder

[lboogy]

Hi all
Trying to make a decision .
Do childminders structure the day?
Do they have to follow a curriculum?
How often are they assessed by ofstead?
Is it better to send a younger child to a childminder but an older one to nursery for the preschool prep?
Is a childminder much cheaper than a nursery ?

Thank you

[Apple40]

Hi, yes childminders follow the same curriculum as nursery’s EYFS it’s from birth through to the end of reception they also have Ofsted in exactly the same way as nursery’s so once every cycle which is currently 6 years due to backlog from pandemic if they have a good or outstanding grade. Those if requires improvement etc are being seen first. I am a childminder I don’t structure my day like a school mine all learn through play and there interests e..g if they love cars or dinosaurs i would use these to help tech colours, numbers etc while they were playing. Childminders are slightly cheaper than nursery’s and can be more flexible with hours. I have minimum of 8 hours a day 2 days a week policy and charge £4.60 an hour. Parents provide all food, nappies etc

[lboogy]

Thanks Apple

[SMaCM]

As Apple said - same curriculum. The children I care for stay with me until they start school. We plan the day around the interests and learning requirements of the children, which is easier to do in a smaller setting. I am not cheaper than the local nurseries, so it depends on your area.

[Fibbib]

A good childminder is great, ask how they structure their day. I know a lot of childminders who have little structure do not really follow the eyfs and meet up with friends and push their minded kids about all day in prams.
At nurseries the eyfs is followed correctly the days are structured.but again some are better than others. It's difficult at the moment as it's not easy to view different settings but ideally you would get a feel for it

[lboogy]

How much do childminder charge per month? I'm in London and nurseries for full time charge £1400 and above per month.

[greyyaa]

In London most childminders will be £6ish per hour. So full time (Monday-Friday 8-6) will be £1300/month. But you're asking very generalised questions as all settings cost and charge differently.

I used to be very pro childminder but now my daughter is in a good nursery I would never go back. I like the routine, and not having to work around a Childminder's own sickness/children's sickness/medical appointments/annual leave.

But again, depends on the nursery and depends on the childminder.

[user1493413286]

I’ve got a 3 year old and a baby; I chose to send my older DD to a childminder when I went back to work when she was 11 months as I wanted the calmer nurturing environment of a childminder and then when she turned 3 we moved over to a nursery as I felt she needed the more structured environment to be ready for school and socialising with a wider group of children. I’ll do the same with my baby and possibly do a combination depending on how many days I’m working.
It depends on area but I’ve always found childminders to be significantly cheaper than nurseries and they can be more flexible. We also don’t pay when the childminder is on holiday; the downside of that is that you either need to take your holiday at the same time or have help from family but I’ve been fine with that as the money saved gives us money for a holiday

[Pumpkinpops]

I have two DDs. The older one went to a nursery and the younger one is currently with a childminder. I much prefer the childminder and wish I'd sent my older one to her. Having said that, it very much depends on the nursery, the childminder and the child.

My older one is very sensitive, was still being breastfed when she started and I think it was all just too much for her. My younger one was also still breastfed when she started, and despite being extremely upset for the first couple of weeks, she settled quickly and has bonded really well with the childminder.

Our childminder is significantly cheaper than the nursery was. She is also more flexible in some ways. I think it's a calmer more loving environment, and easier for my daughter because it's the same person everyday. My older one had bonded with her initial keyworker at nursery well, but then she left. DD2 will go to preschool at 3, but will probably also do some hours with the childminder.

[Spottybluepyjamas]

I'm in London too, and our son's nursery is about 70 per day, and his childminder was £70 too. The only downsides that I can think of for childminders are that if the childminder is ill, or are going on holiday, then there is usually no substitute, so your child can't go.

The other thing, which may or may not be a downside is that usually the children are all different ages (up to pre-school age) so they may not be with other children of their own age range. This could be beneficial for younger ones though, it depends what you're comfortable with.

Childminder are usually great for getting out and about with the children through, and our old childminder used to take the children to parks, museums and baby classes. In nurseries the children usually stay in one room all day, but they do normally go into the garden if they have one.

[lboogy]

Thanks everyone. I don't understand how childminder are the same price as a nursery. They have lower overheads.

[Pumpkinpops]

It's worty checking how the chilmdinder charges. For a full day I think the childminder cost would be the same as the nursery, but my childminder only charges me for the time my daughter is there. At nursery we paid for a day, 7am-6pm. She was usually only there 9am-5pm. My younger one is doing shorter days because we're WFH, so no commute and she's right around the corner. She also charges a reduced rate for holidays (I think she doesn't charge for her holidays and 50% if we take DD out for a holiday. Holidays. Ha. One can dream).

I was reluctant to us a CM for the holiday/ sickness issue too, but my CM doesn't take that many holidays (I think exactly 5 weeks a year and always during school holidays, less attractive I suppose if you want to be able to go on holiday during term time!).

My point is, may be worth looking in a bit more detail at the costs.

[WhenTwoBecomeThree]

We looked at childminders and nurseries and went with a nursery. The childminder we looked at didn't really have a structured day and a lot of the children she looked after were a lot older (DD was 9 months when she started nursery) and therefore a lot of things she did/places she took them were more suited to older children so I don't think she'd of benefitted from a CM. She loves nursery and is surrounded by a lot of other babies her age, she's come on loads since starting. The CM near me was £10 per day cheaper than at nursery but we can justify the extra costs, it's an extra £80 per month to send her to nursery (2 days per week).

[Madwomanuptheroad29]

Besides the cost, also take into account that childminders get sick, plan holidays that key not correspond with yours etc.
While it is nice for a child to be in a family/home environment rather than a more institutionalised nursery environment it brings its own challenges.
My childminder once decided to take a 4 week holiday in Australia in February ....

[HandlebarLadyTash]

Childminders, have to heat and maintain the building, have insurance, buy toys, have less breaks than nursery staff overheads are still going to be high.
Childminder vs nurseries it is all dependent on the person /people.
My childminders were lovely the only issue I had was if their own child or they were sick (holidays were fine as I would get plenty of notice)
Nursery was fine but not as flexible on the hours.