Help with afterschool childcare choice

[Nevertooearlyforcake]

DD soon to start school, afterschool club hugely oversubscribed. Advertised for a childminder and have been inundated with replies. Choice is between someone picking up DD from school then looking after her in our house or being collected by a childminder also own children at the school. None of the respondents have been registered childminders but of the "in our house" applicants have had numerous nursery nurses and teachers looking for part time positions. On one hand 1:1 care could be easier, especially as DD will be at home, on the other hand someone who has to collect their own kids could be more reliable. Cost not too much of an issue as would be hard to add up to current nursery fees but reliability is a major requirement. Any insights from your experience would be great.

None of them are Childminders by the sound of it, as you say none are registered.

So they are either a nanny (caring for your DD at your home), or a friend (taking your DD home with them to play with their children).

The friend wouldn't be paid in money terms. So that might rule them out if they are wanting money, rather than say grocery shopping.

Hard to know how reliable anyone would be.

If you fell out with the person... someone who was nannying for you, you possibly wouldn't bump into them again. Whereas if you fell out with the 'friend' then you would keep seeing them at school.

Thanks nannynick. I don't actually know the woman with the kids at the school, the information I have about her is simply from her answer to my ad (though I did see her in the playground today so I know she exists!). It's my understanding she would expect to be paid an agreed rate per hour. I had been thinking about the inability to avoid if there was a problem. However, with a nanny-style arrangement, as it's a part time role, I am concerned we'd get dumped if a full time opportunity came along.

If she wants payment she's out of the running as The Childcare (Exemptions from Registration) (Amendment) Order 2010 does not permit it to be money.

What would the actual hours of care be? What happens on a non-school day, such as school holidays or school being shut suddenly due to heating failure?

3 til 6 pm three days a week, ten hour a week max. Only going to suit those with existing part time work or want a bit of extra cash. School holidays would have to be covered by time off from work and a range of holiday clubs, sudden closures DH or I will have to leave work and collect, in emergencies both of us can work from home.

Not sure what the insurance situation is with caters in our house, do we/they need to take any out?

You are usually covered under Employers Liability Insurance which is part of your home contents insurance - CoOp insurance we have discovered excludes it - check your policy wording to see what is covered under Employers Liability.

Someone caring for your child at your home does not have to have liability insurance. Someone Ofsted Registered should have insurance (nanny insurance typically) as it is a condition of registration.

See information on the HMRC website with regard to registering as an employer and payroll operation.

That's all really helpful, thanks!

If you want a childminder, you probably need to contact them, rather than the other way around!

Have been through every local minder on the Care Commission website and none with vacancies. No results from asking around locally, huge demand due to restricted intake as ASC. Advertising definitely not my preferred route hence asking for advice here.

Care Commission - so you are in Scotland.
Does ScottishChildcare give you the same listing? How about contacting the local authority directly... they may not list all childminders online.

Childcare legislation in Scotland can be a bit different to England. The exemptions document I linked to previously was for England, not anywhere else. So if going down the route of having someone provide care outside of your home, then you will need to check local legislation with regard to what can and can't be done legally.

Have you decided how much you would be paying someone if say they picked up your DD and brought her back to your home?

Yes, Edinburgh. I've been on that website and found it useful as it provided additional information. However there appears to be fewer childminders listed than on the Care Commission site. I think my DH has spoken to all the ones who said they collected from DD's school, no vacancies.

The going rate for childminders appears to be around £4-£4.50/hr, nanny-type positions around £8-£10/hour (where nanny agency fees aren't involved). It should be a relatively straightforward position - DD is generally pretty laid back, we live two minutes from the school and opposite a play park, we'll leave food ready to be heated up.

I'm not sure what to do about holidays. I would expect to offer an employee six weeks paid holiday. In terms of what we will need in terms of holiday childcare, it will probably be of a totally different type - holiday clubs, etc. Increasing hours to cover those usually sent in school isn't really an option - we can't afford £400/wk and the CVs of those of most interest to us suggest they wouldn't want to either.

This is far more complicated than I thought - when I placed the ad I was really just hoping to find a registered childminder I hadn't previously come across.