to think you can earn a decent living from being a child minder?

[slipperandpjsmum]

Is it possible putting the hours in?

Are there childminders on here who are making a good income from the job?

I expect it's possible but not easy. If you work long hours, are always full and in an area where demand is high/pay is good.

What do you call good??

I work 50 hrs a week with children and around 10 on paperwork/prepping/cleaning after they've gone/training courses.

I'm full with 3 under 3 every day plus one after schooler.

In the south east and charge £4.50ph

After expenses last yr i made £9,800

Pretty shit if you ask most full time workers if they'd work for that salary they'd laugh in your face!

The ones around here run with lots of kids a use "assistants". I have a friend who was a specialist nurse who is now a childminder and she tells me she earms more as a childminder. She is forever trying to convince me to do it.

Oh and she always has one day off a week

NickNacks that sounds like hard work! That would not be what I would call a great wage given the amount you are working. Feel tired just reading your post!

at the moment i bring in about £1200 a month. this is going up to £1700 from September.
With creative accounting you can opt out of the tax paying club!
it's long hours and hard work, but personally, I think it's great money considering I also don't have to pay for childcare for my 2 pre school children of my own.
in fact, we've worked out that to bring in the same money factoring in childcare costs, I'd have to be on a wage of at least £40,000 which up here in NW is a very good wage.
( I am knackered by 8 pm and ready for bed though!

I've been Childminding for 12 yrs and agree 100% with NickNacks post.

I get occasional bonuses from working overnight and weekends.

I have considered taking on an assistant, but what if they phone up sick? I still have to maintain adult/child ratios. What if children leave and I end up paying an assistant more than they are earning me (because they will be on minimum wage).

Also the Government are providing more and more discounted childcare schemes for school children and making it harder and harder for CMs to provide the free 15 hrs.

I wouldn't do anything else, because I love the job and the children, but if I really wanted to pay some money off my mortgage, I would 'go back to work' (as my mother would say) . I have a Foundation Degree in Early Years, which I feel gives me the edge on filling vacancies, but doesn't earn me any more money.

Lots of the subsidised school clubs will be going soon due to cutbacks round here.
Woohoo to the age of austerity!
unfortunately, lots of businesses are also shutting and if my parents are out of work, so am I.
I'd say only do it if you can manage without the money ( iYSWIM).
We can just about manage on OH's wage. It would be a miserable existence but we can do it.

You probably can't earn a "decent living" - but you may earn more than "wages minus chidcare" in a job where you have to pay for childcare for your own child.

strange not to ask this in the childminder section

Do school age children qualify for 15 hours free childcare or have I read that bit wrong HSMM?

Yes, if they have more than one child on the books. Most income gets taken up as "expenses" so whilst it looks very little on paper its actually far more. Add onto that that there is no own childcare cost, a percentage of the mortgage/rent/bills/toys/art etc can be claimed so yes its a good money making job.

I can think of easier ways!!!

I think looking after the kids would be fine, it's the parents I imagine who are the hard work!! Not a fortune to be made in it either!

If you are full then you can make a decentish living from it but ONLY if you are quite full. You never know whats going to happen from one month to the next, recently 2 different mindees parents have been made redundant, luckily they have both found another job but they could so easily had to give me notice and then you lose a huge chunk of your income and its not always easy to find new mindees. Luckily because i am the only childminder in my village i usually keep busy but i know quite a few minders who are not.

I work 45 hours per week minding and then there is all the cleaning and paperwork to do too so you need to factor that in. I do however love my job and as a single parent its and ideal job for me.

I think you have to be canny, and have the funds to set up as a larger business. One of my friends employs 2 assistants which boost her income as she can take more children and had an inheritence that she used to bring her house up to standard. Her business is more of a flexible mini-nursery and she earns great money from it (though long hours and she does overnights and weekends most weeks).

For ME its not a career/job option that would pay very well given the size of the house and my inflexibility with hours, and we rent so couldn't modify the house.

So I think it CAN be a good, well paid career, but mostly its probably more like NickNacks experience!!

i want to becoming registered and already have some mindees lined up, only wanna do 16 hrs a week though can that be done?

I am about to go on the training sessions with my council to start up child minding, I have a dd and want to be at home with her so this choice just kind of fits in with our way of life.

We live in a rented house however have a fantastic landlord who fully backs what I want to do, we are also lucky enough to have the space to keep private / minding separate so we don't loose our home as such, not sure I would do it if we didn't have the space.

I am not sure what money I will make but a couple of hundred a month will do us fine really.

hey hellospoon, how did u start up about this?

mrsdrowenhunt most councils have a dedicated early years team, if you call your council and ask them about their open evenings as you are interested in becoming a childminder.

The sessions with the council is 2 evenings of 2 hours each, it gives you all the information about ofsted and tells you about the courses you need to be doing and which register you need to be on. When you have put your name down they will send you like a information pack which details the registers and which companies they expect you to use for first aid courses etc.

They have told me the register takes about 6 weeks to complete, so I have signed up to a first aid course which I start on the 9th july, the first aid course costs around £80 ish and is a 12 hour course which you do over 2 days (usually saturdays). Also I have been told by my council that they do subsidise the cost of the courses etc but you need to meet the criteria (I am not sure what the criteria is yet)

I am also considering other things which you need to be ready for, if you contact ofsted they will tell you which of their publications you need to read in order to prepare for your inspections with them (I don't know off hand but I can look if you want me to)

Wow that's long, if you want to know anything else feel free to pm me

Sorry .. no I meant, we are losing school children to cheap Government schemes and we are losing pre school children because it is hard for CMs to provide the free 15 hrs. I wasn't very clear.