Heeellllppp.. Nanny has just quit (nicely) but what do i do now????

[Wills]

We're planning to move from Hertfordshire to Kent. We've been very open about this to her and so in many ways I'm pleased that she's found something else although as we haven't sold, and given the currently climate are unlikely to sell this year and probably half of next. So what the hell do I do in the meantime? DDs are 2 and 5. I need someone to ferry dd1 to school and pickup and keep dd2 for the day or alternatively I could put dd2 in nursery but I'd still need someone to take to nursery and school and then collect. Do childminders do that?

I am a childminder and I take to/ pick up from school as well as having mindees in the day. You will find that there is a limited number of childminders who do this for each school cos obviously they can only be at one school at a time. I also do a small discount for siblings (although not all childminders do). I would ask around in the school playground if anyone knows of any childminders who have children at the school or who 'do' the school, someone may be able to recommend one to you.
Good luck with finding alternative care.

Most childminders in my area (incl myself) do school drop offs/pick ups but the child would need dropping off at the minders first. So, you'd drop both dd's off in the morning, the c/m would drop dd1 at school, pick dd1 up later and then you collect them both later. You could have a look at childcare link website for list of minders in your area. They normally have a school pickup sign next to their name if they offer this service.

Good luck

I agree with what's already been said, but would also add that childminders might be willing to start a nursery/school run even if they don't have it indicated on the website HellyBelly has mentioned.

You also need to consider school holidays!

Message withdrawn

theprisoner has a good point - my school run bit was missed off to start with!! check them all out!

OK, so I've tried the five CM's that are linked to my dd1's school and none of them have the fulltime place. Any more ideas. Nanny leaves on the 23rd which is getting ominously close.

bump

Some nurseries will take and pick up from school/nurseries around my area, have you tried this option? also does DD1's school do a before and after school club?

Were there any childminders not already linked to your school to try?

In the last few weeks, I have had many responses from: a local newsagents window; nannyjob; and gumtree. You might be close enough to count as "London" to many newcomers. I recently had a new flurry of responses from my ad that will not disappear from nannyjob, albeit for a babysitter. Maybe there are more people looking for work right now, or maybe nannyjob just advertised itself better (and are hanging onto my ad to fill up their list!). Also moaning about all my woes has got me an offer of help from a friend who lives nearby at least temporarily and when the new nanny doesn't show up.