To ask about childminder fees during school holidays

[Dylaninthemovies1]

Just wanting to check what the usual practice is. DD will be going to a childminder before and after school each school day. But, as I work term time only, she won’t need to go during the term. Childminder is charging for every week (regardless if DD is with her or not)

Just wanting to check if this is normal practice? Thanks

There is no normal.

I personally do not charge.

My childminder gives option of term time only or all year contract. We chose term time only with ad hoc during holidays as we family often help us out. Saves us a lot every year!

Do you have a term time only contract? When I did with a CM I didn’t pay anything during the holidays except when she went for ad hoc days. Some may charge a ‘holding’ fee though for school holidays.

We also use a childminder term time only and agree there's no normal - when we were looking some charged full price in school holidays, some charged a reduced fee and some said they would charge nothing at all for the holidays. The ones who said they would charge all or some were usually a bit cheaper per hour, but not enough to make up for it. We ended up going with one who charges half fees during the holidays, though not for that reason.

Child minder has her own terms you take it or leave it.
Some child minders will do term time only contracts if the demand for school holidays is great enough to keep their income up.
You need to ask around if someone does this.
You need to decide which child minder is best fit for you and your child in every way not just £ terms.

My childminder charged half fees during the holidays and so did my previous one. Depending on your job you may find it easier to be able to send them to the childminder during the holidays. I’m a teacher and use at least one day each holiday of childcare so that I can do some planning/marking/classroom tidying etc!

I keep my price lower and charge a retainer for the holidays. Also I work my fees out based on hours done divided by 12 months so the monthly charge is slightly less but I get the same money each month. Helps us both with budgeting.

Both of my childminders have term time only contracts.

Depends what your contract says. Some may charge in order to keep the position open for you, which is fair if they can't fill it. I used to pay my childminder if I didn't use her i.e. I went on holiday, but didn't pay her if she wasn't working i.e. bank holidays or if she had holiday.

My youngest has an annual contract with the childminder (she’s only 2), but she also picks up/drops off my eldest one day a week and that’s a term time only contract. We then pay for some ad hoc days during the holidays. No way would I pay year round, I’d use breakfast and after school club instead if they’re available.

Mine doesn't charge, but her hourly rate is slightly higher than others in the area, so it probably more or less evens out. She is amazing though, so for us it's definitely worth it.

I am a childminder and would charge half pay for the time not needed to hold the place open. X

I used a child minder for about 5 years and am a teacher.

She was very generous and put me on a term time only contract with no retainer in the holidays. However, she used to have holiday only children and made it clear she wouldn't have availability in the school holidays for my dd.

It's quite normal to be asked for a retainer of part fees. If I was paying the full fees I'd probably try to use at least some of the hours.

if you're not on a term time contract it's usual to pay during holidays. you might like having days to yourself.

we Have always paid to keep our spot regardless if we needed it any given week. Our other option would be to withdraw and hope a spot opens up when we need it again, plus pay new student sign up fees.

Some charge, some don’t. Our nursery does a term time offer where it’s half.

Mine doesn’t charge, one of the reasons I chose her instead of a nursery (none near me offered term time only). Lots of people said to me ‘it’s nice to have the time to yourself during the holidays!’ And yes, I’m sure it would be, but at £750 per month it’s quite an expensive ‘nice to have’!

I keep my price lower and charge a retainer for the holidays. Also I work my fees out based on hours done divided by 12 months so the monthly charge is slightly less but I get the same money each month. Helps us both with budgeting.

This is what I used to do. I charged half rate during the school holidays as a retainer to hold the place open. I calculated fees for the year and divided them either by 12 or 52, depending on whether the parent preferred weekly or monthly payments, so that they paid the same rate each time to make budgeting easier. Any extras such as additional hours or late fees would be invoicedas needed. At the end of the contract I added up hours used vs hours paid for, any notice periods applicable (four week paid notice regardless of whether it was used or not) and then either invoiced or refunded depending on whether they had under or over paid.

When needed my childminder term-time only, I was not charged anything for school holidays.

Now that I need the same childminder during the holidays as well, I pay half fee if I have holidays and no fee if she is on holiday.