Not Sure what chilcare to go for

[Mistiek]

Hello All...

I am hoping I can get some good answers here...

I have recently become a sinlge mother of 2 beauiful children. DS 5 and DD 3. I am a full time Nurse student living on a bursary and tax credits. Im not legible for help towards my rent as I am here on a French Pass port so I am now classed as an international student and not allowed to claim!

So I am trying to the best with the little money I get... I am able to claim a portion of my childcare costs from the NHS bursary's so can get some help with CM's and nurseries that are ofsted registered.

Unfortunatley the CM I was planning to use has now said that she can only do a min of 8 hours a day for my daughter and that I would have to pay for school holidays to keep the place open..

My other option is to place my DD in Nursery and DS in an after school club... both options will cost me about 900-1000 a month which means I will have to fork out at least 300 out of my own pocket which I am still not sure I will be able to manage unless I continue to do 16 hrs of paid work over my student hours, which is now prooving to be difficult as I work as and HCA at the local hospital the hours are difficult and means I will need constant help with the kids form family.

I then had an idea - what about an Au Pair? One of my uni friends has one and so far is happy with the situation... But she can not get any help with the costs... but has stated that an AP can be registered with OFSTED has anybody else heard of this and how is it done...

ARGH!!! what do I do???

I dont want to give up my studies!

The NHS Bursary I would presume could be used for any form of Ofsted Registered childcare, so that would mean: Childminder, Nursery, Nanny (some are Ofsted registered), After-School Club / Holiday Club.

In theory an Au-Pair could be registered with Ofsted as a Nanny. This is due to many au-pairs coming from EEA countries and thus are not au-pairs but are live-in mothers helps/nannies. However someone coming to the UK to learn english may not be very suitable to care for a child all day. If you had a live-in nanny/au-pair I presume you would be wanting them to care for your DD all day.

What about looking for other childminders? Some may be willing to do you a term-time only contract.

Nannynick: DD is in Nursery until 12 every day (which is why I begrudge paying for 8 hrs to the CM when she is only there for 5hrs) The only reason I thought of an Au Pair is that as she would be living in I would not have to struggle to find help after 5:30.

As its nursing I am studing my shifts are all over the show. I often work long days from 7am - 8pm and some occasional nights 8pm-8am. so having somone live in and who is flexible with hours would be very beneficial so that my poor mom does not have to bail me out every time I have to work those hours.

You say if they come from the EEA they could be registered as a Nanny or mothers help, is it the same for those comming from places like South Africa?

I am looking at getting a South African AP (if I choose to go that way)

Tomorrow I will be looking into more chilminders... the last time I queried they were all full so I will see what they say now but I know its the going rate and many of them have min hours for under 5's, which I fully understand - but just cant afford.

My other option is to put a break on uni, claim benefits, and plod along until next year when DD starts full time school.... BUT that is not something I am willing to do. I have come so far.... 2 years of studing, college and Uni... im not about ready to put it all on hold. There must be a solution... I hope

You can't get a South African AP to my knowledge - unless they are a British National. There are immigration rules that apply... how would they get a Visa/Work Permit?

A live in nanny coming to work in the UK will need to be a British National or enter via either of the following two options:
UK border agency: EEA
UK boarder agency: Youth Mobility Scheme

I'm not sure how keen an au-pair would be to look after children over-night, or for late hours. A live-in nanny (so someone who is doing childcare for a job, not as a way to see the country/study the language) may be prepared to do flexible hours/overnight. Cost wise though it could easily be £300 Gross a week possibly more, especially with the evening/night working.

As an EU national you should be entitled to benefits in some form. You presumably don't have the stamp in your passport which says 'no recourse to public funds'

Benefits

Au pair-wise I second nannynick's advice - for that amount of care you probably don't want an au pair (who are typically fairly young, inexperienced and in it for the langauge not the job). You might be able to find a recently qualified nanny as a lot of courses have just finished and many girls are advertising for work. Newly qualified nannies are cheap because they're inexperienced but should have a good grounding from their course and placements. Nosing on your profile (and assuming you're still in the same area) there are lots of people looking for work near your postcode on www.childcare.co.uk, and your other options are your local netmums, www.nannyjob.co.uk and gumtree. If you contact a few and ask their salary expectations you might be able to find someone within your budget.

It's correct that you can't have an SA au pair unless they hold British/EU citizenship. Seeing as you need more than a traditional au pair role I adivse you to look at au pairs with unlimited working: you can have an EU national (excluding Romania and Bulgaria as they have different rules) or an Australian, NZ, Canadian or Japanese citizen under the youth mobility scheme. Romanians and Bulgarians coming as au pairs have limited working (5 hours/day) guidance in section 5 of this form and probably would't be suitable for your needs.

To be OFSTED registered your chilcarer will need a 12 hour paediatric 1st Aid certificate, at least a level 2 childcare qualification or the ICP or the MNT short course and nanny insurance (which they need to meet the cost iof themselves). Their English will need to be sufficient to cope with the courses which may have an examinable component.

Can you talk to your university? Do they have an advice centre in your Students Union? They may also be able to help you with benefits. Is there any way you can do your course part time?