To ask what you pay for before and after school care? Astounded at the cost

[thinkingmakesitso]

I have a 6 & 8 year old and it is the best part of £500 to put them in before and after 5 days a week . And it doesn't even start early enough for us...

That is more than my mortgage and is just not affordable. STBEX has been providing it up to now, but the tosser has been asked to leave his accommodation and has no job, so may need to move back to his parents, 90 minutes away.

So I will need to pay all this myself and will get nothing from him either. My other option is to let him move back to the spare room but I really can't face that either and feel it would confuse the children and lead to an unpleasant atmosphere.

But those fees I just can't believe. How do people afford it? Why do people talk as if once they reach school age childcare is no longer much of an issue? I can pay it, just, but it will be the end of treats/having any savings/ feeling that we are 'comfortable'. . I get all the tax credits I am entitled to btw.

AIBU to think the cost extortionate?

'Quiet homework not quite'.
Childcare vouchers not accepted and not registered with ofsted.

Childcare vouchers are very simple. Your employer needs to sign up for the scheme, but if they are reluctant, you should point out that they benefit too. You salary sacrifice the amount you want to have in vouchers.( there is a maximum, used to be £243, but think it's gone up a bit now) ....therefore you don't pay any tax or NI on that amount....the company's costs are reduced on that amount too.

Your employer then makes the same amount deducted from your salary directly to the childcare voucher company, who then pay this directly to your child care provider. Your provider has to be Ofsted registered. There is a bit of admin for your company to start the scheme, but once it's done, it should just run like clockwork with minimum effort required from them.

Hope this helps.

He worked solidly throughout last academic year through an agency with no problem. He has decided he doesn't want to do that this year as he didn't like it. amarmai That is what he has been doing for the past year, but it won't now be possible as he no longer has accommodation in this city.

Jennifer I am seriously starting to wonder, but surely that can't be the best answer?? I give up my career, (no part-time hours at my level, and not necessarily below it either) and salary due to not affording before and after school care?? What a fucking waste of 10 years' work. And what would I do instead??

There's no answer to this. I know I sound dim, but I still don't understand the vouchers thing - or I do, but I don't know how to work out how much money it would save. Just don't know what to do.

I actually seethe when people talk about affordable childcare. It's so extortionate and outrageous. It should be tax deductible on your tax return. Now that would get people back to work.

If you are entitled to any tax credits (and actually if you are not but not much above the threshold) then you will get up to £220 for 2 x children childcare paid for.

Check what you can get here

Sorry if I sound ranty and rude- just in a panic .

Thanks for the info on vouchers - my employer does already do the scheme and the club is OFSTED registered, so that should help a bit .

Reasonable prices from what I can see. I pay £4.50 an hour for a childminder for each child so £29 a day. Our breakfast club is £1.80 a session which is pretty good compared with you lot.

Thinking, about 25% cheaper so in your case probably only £375 instead of £500

I'm sure a childminder would be cheaper too?

The vouchers wouldnt save you very much. The amount you sacrifice is based on whether you're a basic rate or higher rate tax payer but the maximum you can save is about £70 per month or thereabouts. The scheme needs to be OFSTED registered - v easy to set up but you need to check whether your employer offers them and whether the scheme is registered.

I can probably help a bit on telling you how much it saves you......I've been salary sacrificing £243 for the last 7 years, but am now not paying for childcare after school. By not having the amount deducted from my salary I am now gaining £178 per month. So the difference between £243and £178 is your saving, so £65 per month approximately. Not huge, but every little helps.

You buy your voucher before your salary is taxed so that's your saving. Less tax and ni to pay. If your a higher rate tax payer you save even more.

You don't save more if you're a higher rate tax payer - you are allowed to sacrifice a lower amount so the overall saving is about the same as a basic rate tax payer.

I'm a childminder. I charge £5.50 for breakfast and £12 for after school.

This includes a good breakfast, usually cereal, fruit, yogurts, toast on offer with a hot breakfast in colder months. After school is tea and an activity.

It costs a hell of a lot to feed the children, pay for resources, wear and tear on the house, softplays and all the little extras that keep children happy!

Do look into childcare vouchers, they can save you loads. I recommend all my clients do this.

Childcare is so expensive. Have you got any friends you can pay to do it? That's what I done with a friend of mine. Picked her 2 dc's up from school for her, but that was 20 years ago.

Thank you - that is helpful and certainly sounds to be better than nothing.

WhatifIdid I don't think I'm entitled to more - when I made the claim when ex moved out, I was told I wasn't entitled to childcare help but was to XXX that I get now - not sure what it's actually for but it's about £140 month - maybe a single-parent allowance?

There seem to be very few childminders round here, and those I have found are full .

I'm just outside of NYC and pay $800 for DD4 and $600 for DS2 for morning (7:30am - 8:25am) and aftercare (2:30 - 6pm). It isn't cheap and we are cutting back aftercare to 3:30pm this year and hired a local lady to collect and run them around the playground Monday - Thursday, feeds them dinner, starts bathtime and makes them behave. She charges $15/hr.

If you have the space consider an au pair. It is so much cheaper plus they can help with housework. Friends speak highly of the German girls they have had as au pairs. Also, see if there is a sixth former/ uni student locally who wants to earn some money.

Wait. If he's not got a job surely HE can look after them????

Our school runs a breakfast club, from 8am, which is £3 for the first child and £2 for siblings. The after school provision is £8 per child. Our school accepts the childcare vouchers too, which is handy.

We also have several after school clubs, which range from £25 to £35 per term but only run for 10 weeks of each term and only until 4.15pm.

If you have a spare room then get an au pair.

But Jeff, he's been given notice on his accommodation.

I was thinking PT hours, OP, but it sounds like that's not possible. Your ex sounds like a loser. Does he know or care about how much this costs?

my childrens school runs a breakfast club from 8am for £1.85 per child per morning and the after school club runs till 5.30pm and it £7.50 mon-thurs and £8.50 on a Friday (the school finished at 2.30pm on a Friday hence higher charge). so for 2 kids for 5 days each month would be £382. hth x

Then he can move somewhere he can afford and do his fucking parenting

Why does he get to piss off back to mummy?

Instead of having stbex more into spare room, you could have an au pair come and more in there. They usually get about 80-100 per week plus all food etc.

Much cheaper than the before and after school club and the kids get to be in their own home. Plus they can be good company.

I only use the schools breakfast club which is 20pence a day from 7:45 until 8:45. After school care is from 3pm until 6pm and costs £9 I think. This is in a deprived area.