Childminder rates?

[Piggiesmum]

I realise there's probably a thread on it somewhere but I need some rough info fairly quickly.

Was just wondering what sort of costs i'd be looking at to use a childminder/nursery Mon-Fri - 8.30am - 6.00pm.

Just a rough quide would be appreciated so I know whether it's worthwhile even thinking about going back to work after mat leave.

what area are you in piggiesmum?

It's different for every area.

Where I am, around £3 - 3.50 per hour

Further north - £2 - 2.50

London - £5??

So it changes.

To the best of my knowledge, a childminder in my area for those hours would be around £136 a week, a nursery £165. This is really rough. Bear in mind a nursery is more reliable, a childminder more flexible.

leicester area:
nursery is £140 per week, 8-5.30
Childminder anything from £2.00 to £3.00 per hour, flexible hours. Average £120 per week

Sorry should have mentioned where I was

North West

Cheaper than me then!

Lunavix - why is a nursery more reliable?

Depends on area. I'm Reading (Berkshire) and charge £3.50 an hour (£30 a day if 8 - 6 so £5 off). I think the most people charge in my area is £4.50 an hour.

Around the midlands it's £2.50 to £3.00

I am in the east midlands (fairly small town) and round here the going rate is £2.50 - £3 per hour.
I think lunavix meant that nursuries are more reliable purely cos they do not have days off due to illness or close for a weeks holiday not the because the care that is given is any better.

You'd need to ring round to find exactly what the charges are in your area. If you take a look at

Childcare Link

you can get some info on locals, but not all minders will be on this list.

I'm near Cambridge, would cost £144 weekly excluding meals & nappies.

I'm in Yorkshire and my CM is £3.00 per hour for before/after school (DS starting school in September) but £2.60 for full days for younger children or during school holidays. Nursery (DD goes to nursery) is £30 per day and open 8 until 6.

Don't know because both of mine only go 3 days but sometimes there is a small discount for going all week.

Thanks everyone, thats been very helpful.

Must admit I'm tempted to give up work and start childminding myself. I reckon I'd probably only need to take in one or two children to be in the same position financilly as I would if I went back to work!!

Piggiesmum - you'd need lots of money for your repeat prescriptions for Valium!

PMSL at Theprisoner!!

lol Theprisoner.

Is that the voice of experience talking

ThePrisoner - yes sorry as Feelingold said, I meant that as you aren't relying on one person only, the chance of being let down at short notice is smaller. I'm all for childminding, being a CM myself, I just wanted to point out a difference

Piggiesmum - not the voice of experience, just the voice of one of the little pixies on my shoulder yelling at me to stop staying up late posting on Mumsnet

Lunavix - what amazes me is that most of us childminders carry on working in sickness and ever-worsening mental health because we don't like to let parents down! I've actually continued working with dislocated vertebrae, and even the day after being discharged from hospital with a suspected twisted colon!! (I have to add that the parents were very cross with me for trying to work, and most of them wouldn't come back till they'd spoken to my dh!!)

Here here! I've been a cm for 14 years, and hardly had any days off sick (touch wood)! Certainly far less than the mums I mind for, who are often off with colds, tiredness etc! I think we gradually become immune. I once had 3 minded children go down with a sickness bug in one day, each a few hours apart. In the eveing my son developed it too. Not me - I just did all the clearing up!

I think childminders are more reliable as mine is a treasure - NEVER had a day off sick and will take them with minor bugs, when a nursery wouldn't.

Also mine is a bargain at £110 a week including food. London area too!

I've had days when I have felt pretty manky and, if I was out in the Big Bad World doing a Grown-Up Job, wouldn't have gone in.

We tend to call these "Lazy Days" (and I really don't have them very often, honest!) and the children know that they're in for a treat, because we'll watch CBeebies all morning and a video all afternoon, I won't care if they trash the house as long as they do it quietly, and they can empty the contents of their lunch boxes in the bin (so that parents think they've eaten all their fruit!) because I'll be dossing on the settee and leaving them to it.

(I'm only kidding ... well, some of it, anyway )

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