I toyed with the idea of putting this in AIBU, but thought I would get more relevant responses here.
We have a childminder to look after 2 DDs, one school age, one pre-school. I have known her for some time and is a good childminder with no complaints generally over the last few years of using her.
Around 85% of the children she regularly looks after are of school age. All the clients have different hours/days for the care, so no one family's requirements are exactly the same.
We have an all year contract and up to 6 weeks holiday for either side (some others do have term time only and pay a higher rate accordingly). During holidays for either party she charges 0.5 the usual rate. The problem is that the childminder mainly takes her holidays in term term. Her children are teenagers, 1 is about to go to uni and they get the grandparents to stay in their house when they are way. Our relatives are not close by/have their own health issues so we are not able to do the same when she goes on holiday. Additionally, some of the other clients are foreigners with no family in this country, so it's difficult for them to do the same.
I understand that she needs to take holidays and it not an issue with the 0.5 rate, it's just that we have to take holiday in term time to cover hers. Then we have hardly any holiday left ourselves to take as a family. We can only have 2 weeks & 1 day off together this year. I don't think we we be able to both take time off around xmas as we won't have enough. She is going on a 10 consecutive day holiday in September.
How do other childminders deal with this? I do think she is taking the piss a bit, given that 85% of the children & almost all the families will have at least 1 school aged child.