Can someone explain the advances of childminder over nursery to me?

For me other advantages were that he was be able to bond with the childminder, who would hopefully be there for the whole time he was, rather than in a nursery where staff turnover can be quite high. I didn't like the idea that he would bond to his key worker and then move rooms and have to do the same thing over again.
I was also keen on the idea that there would be children of all different ages, as there would be in a family. Looking after nine babies all together is a lot harder than looking after eight children all of different ages, even if there are three of you. I liked the idea that he could play with smaller children and have bigger children play with him as he wanted - it seemed a lot more interesting for him than being with other one year olds all the time.
My childminder also has a garden which they can access whenever they want and they go out loads, which suited me, as toddlers in nurseries often don't get enough exercise. (Though obviously this depends on the nursery/minder).

My childminder is awesome. She has had DS a couple of hours a week from 6 months to give me a break.

I work full time so DS is with her 50 hours a week. With all the nurseries I visited that meant him being in one room and a garden all that time.

With CM he has several rooms in her house plus garden. Every day he visits the school he will eventually go to. Weekly they go to playgroup, the library, the park and local national trust.

In the school holidays they go out for amazing day trips.

He only has one adult to get to know.

I will acknowledge I am lucky to have in laws and parents who live far away but are willing to come help when cm has holiday.

I used a childminder until I moved overseas. We are still in contact with her.

My daughter loved her and her children were like siblings to her. She worked with another childminder and so if she was ill my daughter could go there. She would do regular trips related to what they were doing or what the children were interested in. When she knew about the move, she did a topic on the country we were moving to.

She only took holidays during school holidays which as a teacher was perfect for me.

She did settling in sessions, because of the timings we only did a couple. The first day I phoned to see how she was doing after a couple of hours and they had gone out to a park because my DD was so happy.

I do settling in sessions. I normally have parent and child for half an hour, then child alone for a couple of hours, then a morning, then an afternoon, then start. I encourage people to start a week before going back to work, so if there are any problems in the first week, the parent is around. At some point during all this, I visit the child at home, but not all parents want this.

I do charge for settling in sessions and parents can have as many as they want.

Every Childminder I know does settling in, but can vary depending on the child & parents etc. I tend to do a couple where the parent stays for a couple of hours, then one where parent stays for a little while. Maybe 30 mins & then says bye & comes back a short while after. Maybe nip for a coffee, or do a quick food shop. Then if that's all gone well we start. I don't charge for this, but if you wanted a lot of settling in some may charge.

As pp said just see as many as you can & you tend to click with someone & get a good feeling. On a side note I've been a cm for 6 years now & only taken 1 day off when my son was in hospital for a few nights. Trust us, most cm dread becoming sick. It's so awful to let a parent down. It's one of the worst feelings & stresses us out to the max. It's great if you can find a cm who knows plenty of others to help out in emergency situations. My mum is a cm too so it's nice to be able to put into my policies how she can help if needs be. So far not been needed though touch wood.

Goodluck in your quest!

I opted for a CM over nursery as I wanted the home from home setting, smaller number of children, increased flexibility, wider range of activities & knowing exactly who was looking after my DS. CM is also considerably cheaper than a nursery in my area as well but that wasn't a driver for me.

I met 4 or 5 different childminders in my area. All had slightly different set ups & pricing structures, some gave meals, some didn't etc. My cm was the only one who asked if she could give DS a cuddle & that was what sold her to me. She absolutely loves children, isn't interested in the money. She cares for them as she would her own. She also takes childcare vouchers & the 30 hours free childcare. She'll take him when he's on antibiotics or has a temp which nurseries won't do. She doesn't charge for her holidays. They're always out & about doing things, making crafts or baking. He's never bored & always has lots to tell me at pick up.

DS has been with her for over 2 years now, 10 hours a day, 4 days a week. He still gets excited to go. He runs in at drop off & if im very lucky I'll get a goodbye but at pick up he's delighted to see me & gives me a big hug, exactly how it should be.

He's starting preschool one day a week soon as he needs to get used to being in bigger groups of children ready for school. I'm currently 37 weeks pregnant and have already requested a space for the baby when I go back to work as I can't imagine going anywhere else. My only challenge will come when DS starts school as she doesn't have any school age children however I'm hoping that as he will be at the same school as her DS & the baby will be there she might make an exception for me.

As a nanny, I'd recommend having a nanny 😀
Although that's usually only cost effective with 2/3+ children.
But if you've a friend looking for childcare you could set up a nanny share and split nanny's wage.
They would look after your child in your home, and will care for poorly children.
But if nanny's sick you'd need cover or take time off.

Remember outstanding doesn't always mean they will be the best fit for your family. We have an outstanding grading, but I want parents to choose us ... not the Ofsted grading.

Visit a range and the person who loves children, is rubbish at paperwork and has a satisfactory grading might be just what you need.

I’m worried I’ll make a bad choice and my boy will end up really unhappy and won’t be able to tell me. It’s so hard.

Is outstanding quite rare because we have a few I outstanding In our area. To be honest I don’t care about all the fancy stuff, I just want them to be kind

Yes you 100% need the visit, read their prayed report too if you can. Be aware though it's very hard to get outstanding so don't judge them badly if they don't have it. Unfortunately there are some minders that aren't great or may not be a good fit for your family. Don't let this out you off and have a look at some more! You may want to look slightly out of your area too to get a bigger pool to choose from. Make sure their charges (children) look happy and content too.

You need to visit a few and find one who 'fits'. I work with my husband, provide all meals and nappies and don't charge for my holidays, but I charge a bit more than a CM up the road with a slightly different set up.

We are out most days and do a range of activities each day. We don't do school runs, but we do have children in the holidays (the ones we have cared for since they were babies)

Visit a few and follow up references. Remember your gut feeling is usually right

Childminders terms and conditions very as do their working hours so you are very likely to find one that fits with your working hours.

In general we don't take much sick time and holidays are planned a year in advance. Ive taken 2 days for my parents funerals, about 10 days sick and 6 afternoons going through chemo in 25 years , as I dont have young children I don't take time off for them. I take 4 weeks holiday a year always Christmas and a week Easter and 2 weeks summer booked in January. I network with other child-minders who can offer cover if needed but nobody ever has.
Cms can work with assistants or co minders - I have a co minder and an assistant but never have more than 4 under 3's.
Many cm's have higher qualifications than nursery room staff and could if they wanted run their own nurseries, personally I choose not to because I assess in nurseries and don't like the restrictions that are imposed on the children and staff such as we have planned a theme, you all sleep now etc.

Children often start at 6 months to a year old and leave at 13 or 14 years its like home from home with extra learning put in.

We have to do the same things as nurseries but I think because we are better able to individually plan for and support children we can support their learning far more effectively. In my setting it is normal for 3 year olds to be recognising their name, self dressing, and do other things that are preparation for school like group sitting and speaking many are also starting to read simple words, write their name, order numbers to 10, do 24 peace puzzles and more.
I also have children placed with me for specialist support by health visitors and social services.

Oh, and we go out loads - to the park, the farm, the woods, toddler groups and anything else that takes my/their fancy!

I’m a childminder - my key advantages (as I see it from my parents POV) are my flexibility and home-from-home environment. I have 4 children aged from 1 to 3 (though I only have 3 at a time due to ratios) and I know and love them as my own. I currently work 7.30-6.30 but have worked 6.30am-8pm when needed. I take funding for 3yos and teach all ages to the same eyfs standard as a nursery would. We are inspected and graded by Ofsted to the same criteria too. I plan activities that I know the children are interested in to meet their learning goals and I make lunches and cook a homemade meal each evening for them. That’s almost part of the problem - childminders do differ what they offer/ charge for whereas nurseries are often similar wherever you go. The only downside is when I am on holiday there is no childcare, though I am good friends with other childminders and have helped sort short-term holiday cover with them before now.

HAving said that, we met 3 and picked this one! You do need one that clicks for your family

My childminder does provide all meals (cooked) though and only charges 50% during either my holidays or hers.
She has 3 under 3 in the day, sometimes 5 when she has her assistant with her. DD has been going since age 1 and has a great bond.
They go to groups every day, do crafts etc and once a term do a bigger trip (zoo or farm or something relevant to the theme of the month)
I'm totally happy!

I had the same view as MoreProseccoNow. A child minder was too restrictive in terms of their holidays, all the ones in my area take full fees when they are on holiday. They also all told me after 3 years they recommend nursery (probably due to them not wanting rhe funded hours).

Nursery was £100/month more, doesn't close and provides all meals and nappies so I chose nursery over child minder.

I must have had a fab childminder.

She used to arrange cover with other local childminders when she took her leave (usually one my child knew because they may have gone to toddler groups together or to the park etc).

She was also very flexible with collection times if I needed to work a bit late or was stuck in traffic (motoway commute). She even had my son when he had chicken pox as her son had had it (although the agreement was if he got really 'poorly ' with it I'd collect him).

She did all sorts of activities and trips out too.

So its like everything there are good and bad and I didn't really appreciate what I had at the time as I thought it was normal.

I chose a childminder for 11 month old DS because I wanted that homely setting and the chance to go it to different places often. The nurseries I looked at often only did one visit out per term whereas my childminder takes him somewhere at least once a week. He goes to the park pretty much daily, visits soft play, nature parks, museums etc. If he isn’t feeling himself he can have a cuddly day and stay in.

My childminder has 2 under 3 during the day (11month old DS and a 2.5 year old), then her own children before and after school. She only works until 5pm and term time only though which is fine for me but may not work for others.

I’ve used both, but found CM didn’t really work for me: one had very poor quality of care (no art/baking/activities), for all 3 CM I had to provide nappies & 3 meals daily (evenings spent cooking/packing food). All 3 CM I used wanted to finish work by 5.45pm (too tight for me) & I would have to take my holidays at the same time as there was no plan B for childcare.

So I swapped to nursery, which is open 7.30-6.30, 51 weeks a year, provides 3 meals & nappies & where there are loads of activities. I can take my holidays when suits. I’m not reliant on one person.

Only downside to a childminder is if they are ill or closed for holidays. You’ll need to check if they have a few other childminders they can call on in emergency

Both my ds went to nursery but youngest hated the 2-3 room & I found him a childminder. He adored her & still wants to visit her & hes 9 now !