Childcare For 7 Children

I think that sounds fine - presuming you think the children who are walking alongside them are mature enough not to muck about. 8 and 7 should be old enough to walk to school anyway (although I understand with 2 busy roads why you don't want them walking alone yet - I think I would feel the same).

Your SIL is a lucky, lucky woman.

I hope she gets well soon and all goes well for you over the summer.

On the upside, looking after 3 when she is well again will feel like a piece of cake

Phew! I've read all the amazing suggestions but I think you have hit the nail on the head.
You being at home must make life that bit easier for the foreseeable future!
You are doing an amazing job and one all 7 children will be incredibly grateful for as they grow, knowing you did everything you could for all of them.
Good luck with the next few months.

I do think this for the best as all your kids need you.
I would think contact as would be the way to go as SIL is going to need help when she is ready to go back to her kids . And if she is on the books al ready then you can get things in place quicker especially if things go pear shape again.

Just been reading this and you're amazing. Glad you have found a solution, these children will always value your sacrifice.

Wow op. That's a great result from your headteacher.

I'm really impressed by the way you are proactive about sorting everything out. As difficult as it may be, try to make sure you also get some respite from it all too. Easier said than done though.

I hope everything works out for the best for all concerned.

And happy Mothering Sunday!

Social services won't remove the children. But they do have a legal obligation to support you.

If the childminder is willing to take the younger children, would you be able to stretch to an au pair as well? S/he could walk the older ones to school, you could pick them up from an after school club, and you'd have her assistance in the school holidays too where I can imagine a second pair of hands for days out and housekeeping might be seriously handy.

Aupair for the 5 eldest and nursery for the 2 youngest. Aupair does drop offs and pick ups for big ones and some jobs around the house. You drop and pick up the 2 little ones from nursery. It's all legal and the most cost effective solution.

Please talk to the child minder probably. As she can put her numbers up legally or get an assistant /Appendice quite cheapy.

Also talk to charity.
And I think you going to have legal custody of SIL kids to get any kind of legal childcare. As childminder or nanny will need for their insurance. They have to have contact with the parent.

Whereabouts in the UK are you OP?

One option is to advertise somewhere like www.childcare.co.uk and see if you have any applicants for a FT nanny role?
Then in tandem you can look for alternatives.

Before you dismiss it as an idea, go back to the childminder you met and discuss it properly. A CM plus afterschool babysitter/nanny might be a very workable solution and leaves you with a permanent solution [minus the afterschool sitter] to your own childcare needs should your SIL return to health.

If I were you I think I would contact SS. I think it would be extremely unlikely they would remove the children from you unless you have some reason for them not to be with you other than just numbers. I know this is always a risk though. In my dream world they should bend over backwards to help you with the children. I really think you should contact the charity I linked to earlier, they might be able to give you some proper advice and a realistic idea of what might happen if you do ask SS for help.

Cm charge per child and likely to be least £5 area depending so if have the eldest 4 going to be £20ph so £60ish if use 3/6 each dAy

Yes a nanny will usually do light duties and children's washing etc - but rem there are 7 children so lots to do around the house with just their stuff

A nanny is per family not per child. So if you have nanny for younger ones you might as well use for older ones also as same cost

How about baby, 3yos and 5yo with childminder.

Then see if you can find a babysitter (we have a lovely local 17yo who is doing a childcare course at college 9-3) to take the 7yos and 8yo to and from school.

The 8yr will be ok as can have over 8's / the 6 is under 8

But the two 7yrs will tip her over

If she is willing to do this and break the rules then makes me think what else would she do .....

I don't think that is legal. The cm will be responsible for them while walking to school and would make her over her numbers

They will be in her care

"Walk with them"
So she is going to come to your house in the morning to collect and take all the kids to school and nursery/and then take them all home again at 3ish?

If you are at work until 4pm though then technically she will be looking after them for 1.5 hours presuming they finish at 3?

If I'm correct then whatever about the legalities of it, I suspect that the parent of the single child she has remaining is going to be none too happy.

Sorry - it's been a long day so perhaps I am just being obtuse? It sounds absolutely fine to me [legalities aside] aside from the afternoon school run.

Is she ofsted approved? If she is, she should have no trouble hiring someone to assist her so she can up her quota's?

Or after school club if they will supervise homework?

Or you could book a daily babysitter to do the afternoon pick up? A colleague has a daily booking via www.babysitter.co.uk with their regular babysitter to take his son to school, then she goes on to Uni. Depends where you live though.

So by the sound of it all 7 children are in your home and your SIL is not in her home at present given the odd circumstance of your husband having her bank card.
You are both middle income workers so unlikely to have a spare room left free in that case for an au pair or three.
Your husbands hours mean that he is basically unavailable Mon-Fri though he quite possibly has two days off during the week and works weekends at least several times a month in a rota pattern.

In my view you have a few objectives to meet:
You should not factor your husband into the childcare rota formally. On a week to week basis his schedule will change and that will give you both some flexibility for emergencies but also would allow you to work late on an ad hoc basis maybe two evenings a week and burn through some prep work. With 7 kids in the house there is presumably plenty of domestic work that needs doing on his days off and his SIL to visit.
Ideally you need childcare in place that will ensure that when you get the kids home in the evening, homework is done and it is simply dinner, bath and bedtime. Another teaching professional like a TA might be useful for home after school care if you can't be sure that

You need childcare in place which meets your needs should your SIL regain her health. Employing a nanny worth her salt willing to take on the care of 7 kids is going to require a reasonable notice period and plenty of cash. FT for a year is going to cost upwards of £35k gross to you out of your taxed income assuming you do it the legal way and pay NI and register as an employer. If you don't then you are still looking at circa £500+ a week in cash.

If that's not remotely feasible financially, then I would suggest that you look for a childminder within walking distance of the school who is prepared to employ an assistant so that he/she can increase their quota of kids.

The alternative is to offer a term time position to someone to present themselves at your house at 6.30am to help get them out the door and do drop offs - 6.30 - 9.30am for example, and after school care at your home. I would put the baby and the two 3yo's into nursery until close to school pick up time and possibly the baby into nursery until 5?.
I would advertise to TA's, nursery workers and childminders.
Then the other MN mantra about outsourcing anything you can like the cleaning, ironing, etc

And I would seriously consider calling Social Services for assistance. 4 months and rising is a big commitment already. How long can you realistically do this for? Large families exist but the children tend to be more spaced out and self sufficient unless you've had a run of twins!

If you have a well drafted plan, with continuity of care and simply need financial assistance to execute it, then it's a much better proposition than someone flapping about? [I'm not suggesting you are, but I certainly would be!].

I interviewed a nanny once who worked two jobs. 6-8am / 5-8pm with one family and an 8-5 with a another family. They lived a street away so she could hop between them. The first family was simply to help with getting everyone out the door and at the other end of the day, homework dinner and bed. People do, do this sort of thing. Bloody long day but she seemed happy enough.

Your SIL is a very lucky woman to have you both in her corner.

so 3 types of childcare for your 3, what would be the cost of that, nursery,preschool and cm

then the added cost of a nanny for all 7

no way should you give up your jobs as you have worked long and hard

agree an au apir may help with the overload and takeing/picking up from school, plus some cooking/cleaning while nanny is there

how long will they be with you? tho how long is a piece of string :(

few months or possibly in sept? when all older 6 will be at school and just your baby, who will be a toddler daytime

myusernameisgreat

it is highly unlikely that you will get any fostering monies for your SIL children - it will be classed as kinship care and therefore no monies are paid. you are right also, it means social services starts looking at your ability to care for them and may decide you are not able to care for them and begin proceedings to bring them into local authority care - the children will then become LAC - looked after children.

if you can afford to go ahead and hire somebody and go back to work that may be best.

alternatively - you can transfer the child benefit into your name, and then claim tax credits - it may then become financially possible for one of you to give up work in order to care for the children.

hth.

Is there any way you and Dh can adjust work hours? Not give up but alter

So one of you starts very early and back by 3pm for after school. The other starts later so can do school and nursery runs and works later. That way you would only need care for youngest 3 term time 9-3pm approx. And nothing for elder ones to save costs. Or even if you need just after school or morning care rather than both it would help

I would contact social services though for help. It's far cheaper they pay for some childcare for 3 than full time fostering. They will want them to stay with family if possible