Childminder charges for DD whilst at nursery

[Boboli]

DD1 starts nursery in September. I'm just about to return to work after maternity leave for DD2.
We have a great cm for DD1 and DD2 will also be going to her when I return to work. My husband is a teacher and she doesn't charge us for school holidays which is a big bonus for us.

Perhaps naively I assumed that we would have the pain of full time childcare costs for both DDs for 1 term only until DD1 went to nursery in Sept. However, I've found out my cm will be charging me whilst my DD is at nursery.

Fully understand why this is and certainly don't begrudge paying her but the fact is that we are really going to be struggling with this. Before and after care for DD1 at the nursery works out £10 cheaper a day if I went down this route but it seems mad to have both DDs a few doors away from eachother at different places plus, then I'd be taking money out of my childminder's pocket which I really don't want to do.

My husband works down the road from the nursery and I am home based in my job so in an emergency, I'd be pretty confident that either one of us could cover it. Would it be unreasonable for me to negotiate a different financial arrangement with my cm?

I'm so rubbish at talking money with anyone...

How long per day is nursery? Is it long enough that she could reasonably take another child in that time i.e. as long as a school day?

Well I wouldn't. If money is that much of an issue, you will just have to have them in two different places. It's not unusual.

No - nursery is 3 hours per day in the morning so she couldn't take another child.

Havig them in 2 different places isnt the end of the world, thats pretty much what will happen when your DD1 is at school full time.
I dont think it would be reasonable to negotiate a different arrangement with your CM, though if you gave notice on your DD1s space then if the CM wanted they could offer a diferent arrangement.

thanks for your comments everyone. I'm sure this won't be my last childcare dilemma over the next few years!

Does DD1 have to go to nursery in the morning at all? Can she not just stay with the CM until she starts school?

if DD1 doesn't go to the nursery, your CM should be able to claim the funding for the 15 hours per week, which should significantly reduce your childcare costs. just depends how much you want your DD1 to go to nursery and if the expense is worth it to you. if so, then i certainly wouldn't expect any reduction in fees from your CM. three hours a day is no use to her, esp if she also has the hassle of a pick-up.

I am a childminder and i charge half fees when children are at nursery as i feel full fee is too much but as i cant fill the space i would lose a lot of money if i charged nothing. Why not have a chat with your childminder and tell her you are stuggling financially and that if you have to pay full fee you will have to move your child which you dont want to do and maybe offer to pay half fees (if you can afford it)

When my DD was in nursery I paid the 3 hours she was there. It ended up to be a godsend as if the nursery was closed for snow, DD was under the weather (you know, well enough for childminder but not well enough for preschool), during school holidays she was there.
Not that she would have been able to find anouther child for that time I'm sure so she would have been there anyway but I never felt guilty asking her to have DD as I was paying her already.

I felt that it was very fair given that she wouldn't be able to take anyone else during the time.

It's swings and roundabouts I think if you're planning to use the CM for a long time. i.e. When my DD was 3 months to 2 years she was a handful from 8am - 6pm, my CM must have worked her socks off for 10 hours every single day and I certainly wasn't paying her enough for that - a footballers wage wouldn't cover it in my book Then when DD started nursery/ pre-school, CM had it pretty easy: take her to preschool for 9am, fetch her again at lunchtime, feed her, 1.5 hour nap, school run for older children, and then the older one's played with DD until home time! so a pretty easy 10 hour day's pay

I'd pay her if I were you. At least with free nurssery placement you're not paying out twice.

And she's already not charging you for holidays... you've got a goodun there!

We were in a similar situation and negotiated lower fees with the cm. At the end if the day it is her business decision. She can agree to a lower rate or lose the busuness and free up a full space. You can do this in a 'nice' way where you explain that you would much prefer that the child was in her care but financially this is going to be really difficult unless there is some room for negotiation. IME cms quite often agree to 'deals' with existing parents.

Thanks everyone - it's really helpful to get some other perspectives

MyNameIsn'tWarren - ALL childminders are registered CMs and have qualifications and are assessed. Otherwise they're breaking the law. You are not permitted to charge for childcare of any sort unless you're registered.

But not all registered CMs are accredited Octavia.

minderjinx is right. Not all childminders can offer the 15 free hours. To do so they must be accredited and be able to offer education by being qualified to at least level 3

'You are not permitted to charge for childcare of any sort unless you're registered.'

That's not true. Nannies are not required to be registered. Mother's helps and au pairs will often provide some childcare and are also not registered.

Apologies MNIFW, I misunderstood your comment.

Why are you putting her in a nursery if she is with a great cm?

It seems OP is considering nursery to make the most of her 15 hrs free childcare. If it is not going to work out any cheaper, then I would leave your DC with the 'great CM'.

I get it now but yep agree with HSMM, if you're not financially better off then I see no benefits to sending her to a nursery, if your cm is doing a great job.