help re fees

[bellbottomedtear]

hi was wondering if anyone could help me i live in sw london and am a childminder my fee is £65 a day 8-6 am i expensive?

What is included in the fee?

I am in a popular commuter area in Surrey(KT area) and my cm is £5 ph. DS goes for 8 hours so it is £40/day. So yes, £65/day seems hugely expensive to me. However I'm not sure how much cm rates vary from place to place - where in sw london?

Im in richmond everything but nappies and wipes is covered in the price I do quite alot of outings to playgroups soft play etc as well as lots of activities at home

I'm not far from Richmond at all - but cm is in a similar, expensive area. Maybe my cm is just super reasonable (?). I provide nappies and wipes for my DS. She will provide food but I prefer to provide my own. She does outings and playgroups.

She's amazing, too. I couldn't afford to pay more. But I wish I could - she's worth it!

If someone uses less hours, do you still charge for a full day or is it £6.50/hour?

I couldn't help with that as I'm in SE. I'm all inclusive INCL. wipes, nappies, sun scream etc etc. and I'm £4.30ph or £5 ph (depending on how many hours booked through the day and what hours they are).

Best thing to do is research other childminders fees in your own area and compare :)

where are you looneytune?

I think that is a bit pricey.

I am just looking into childminders in North LOndon (fairly expensive area) and have been quoted £50 per day.

Remember that people will be comparing it to the price of nurseries (Children's Centre nurseries as well as the expensive private providers).

I charge £5.50 an hour on London/Essex border which is in line with other local CM's. Parents provide food if under 12 months and always nappies and wipes.

Star - I'm in a village on the outskirts of Reading, Berks :)

Nurseries charge 80 a day for under 3s as for hours its 8-6 or 8-1 or 1-6 they are charged at 32.50 from others I speak to im in line with them just doubting myself as had an enquiry who had been paying £4 in isleworth but I wouldnt be able to do it cheaper as I still need to make a living even if it is small

Like StarExpat I'm also in Kingston (I'm a parent) and the going rate here is £5.00-£5.50 an hour for a 10 hour day. To be fair, Richmond has a slightly different demographic so there is probably a greater demand and smaller supply - I have seen CMs at £6 or even £7 an hour.

But £65 a day is a lot - if you can maintain an average 3.5 mindees over a 48 week charging year you'll be grossing about £55k a year so I don't think the "I need to make a living" argument justifies that rate to parents.

I am £6.25 an hour and I am on the sussex / surrey border.

That includes everything but nappies and wipes, all organic home cooked food, activities like tumble tots, jo jingles. I am level 4 qualified, over 15years experience.

So for what I charge I think its fair, and I have only ever had one prospective parent moan about it!

Ah, now the "this is why I am worth it" argument works every time for me :)

As I said I have only ever had one prospective parent think it was too expensive. Parents have the option of cheaper childcare, there is a childminder in my road who is only £4 an hour, and a nursery about 1/2 mile away that is £45 a day.

I am always as full as I want to be and I have children who are yet to be born 'booked in' already.

If a parent doesn't want to pay the fee, then they wont, they will go else where!!

Does it matter if you are more than the parents can afford? There are more parents out there.

It only becomes an issue when you are struggling to fill your places.

Looney we should meet sometime - you're not too far at all :)

I agree if parents can't afford then they will just go elsewhere. My cm is a bit further from Kingston in a more affluent area so I'm very fortunate that she charges £5/hour. She has no trouble filling spaces and is wonderful. I'm happy to pay for little costs of some outings rather than a higher rate as it works out much cheaper in my case that way.

You are only too expensive if you can't fill your spaces. Does that make it right? Who is to say. I am in SE London and charge 5.50 ph and am as full as i want to be. A childminder who lives on the same street as a friend of mine in surrey charges 7.50 ph. She is full with a waiting list. It is all about supply and demand and if you offer value for money. If you can get 65 per day, you are value for money and parents can afford to pay and, most importantly, you are filling your spaces, then no, you are not too expensive. If however you are having trouble filling your spaces then yes, you are too expensive and need to address your pricing.

I have 2 children myself so cant take on as many cos they are in early yrs im also up against nannies in the area im in I have 10 yrs experience and doing ou degree in early years so think im reasonable

Just wondering why you asked? Are you having difficulty filling your space?

I think i would get a nanny over a CM if it was going to cost me £65 a day tbh, sounds like too much

I pay £200 a week 8-6 in a nursery

But obv if you get people to pay then its fine, if you cant its too expensive, same as any other business

oh goodness I just re read that. Sorry my reply sounded quite unkind. I didn't mean it in a mean way.

littleducks - a nanny in that area is more likely to cost £100+ per day when you include tax, ni and employers ni. You then need to add on outing costs, mileage, heating, food and other bits and bobs,

So, it would be worth considering if you had 2 pre school children that needed full day care.

Really? Its way cheaper in Isleworth/Whitton area then! I thought costs would be comparable, sorry

Oh star - where are you then? :) Be lovely to meet up!

And back to OP, I agree that it all depends whether or not you can fill your spaces with that fee. Even though it seems expensive to me, if people pay it then you have nothing to worry about. But if you are struggling to fill spaces then yes, I would have a rethink about your overall package.