Childminder aibu

[mummy92]

My dd goes to childminder term time only in holidays I pay a retainer fee. This six week holiday my childminder is having a operation she is taking a week off and working rest when I collected dd today she told me she won't be able to drive for six weeks after or do heavy lifting but will tag on wth another childminder. The children she will have in holidays are over 4 so in her words pretty self sufficient. Aibu to feel pretty annoyed I'm still being made to pay a retainer when even if I wanted she wouldn't be able to look after my child as she's a baby.

I don't get it. You're paying her to keep a space for your child, and that's what she's doing...no?

(Might genuinely be missing something as have never had a child minder.)

Yabu
You have a term time contract
Your cm is not contracted to look after your child in the holidays
If you need childcare in the summer then its tough. Your cm is not obliged to offer you any childcare. Your contract is for term time only
The retainer is to keep your place

How much is the retainer as a proportion of the usual fees you pay?

Perhaps your childminder needs the operation now but has delayed it until the holidays to avoid letting many of her families down. How difficult would it be for you to work if the childminder had her operation during term time?

Childminding can be very difficult trying to please all the families she looks after and balance her own family and health too.
As far as I know the retainer is paid to ensure that your child still has a place in September.

Just to clarify, I was only saying what happened to me and where I got advice from as that would clearly be relevant to the OP. Registered childminders aren't allowed to leave children in their care with anyone other than another registered childminder, and that has to be agreed in advance unless its an emergency. Doesn't matter if they are 18 or 98. And as it happens her mother was very ill and she didn't have a nice hat like the queen does

LouBlue
I paid her during the hols so that in term time she would still have a space available for my ds. She knew that I understood the retainer fee would guarantee her services for the upcoming academic year; we had previously discussed this and she had dropped no hint otherwise. She charged me £300 to secure just 6 weeks of care.
She didn't work at all during the hols as she had her own kids at home.
But yeah I expect she thought she was perfectly reasonable too.

The retainer fee is to retain her services for after the holidays. If you want to retain her services pay the fee. If you don't want to pay the fee give notice and accept that she will find a new child to fill the space and you will have to find a new childminder after the holidays. Your choice.