Best way to find a cm, am moving away from. Insert eck

[HateBeingCantDoUpMyJeans]

So dd will be starting school in sept and ds is 7 months. I'll be going back to work at beginning of June and an wondering if I would be better off with a cm. I could hopefully get one tgat would do school drop off and pick ups and then both could be in tge same place. But how to find someone?

Also what do I need to ask when I contact them?

Plus I need to convience dh, he thinks a nursery setting is safer.

Contact your local families information service they should be able to filter by school pick ups, some are online. Also putting a profile on childcare.co.uk may be worth a shot.

Better compared to what?

It is certainly a good idea to have both children cared for at the same location, makes it easier for you in terms of morning drop off and afternoon collection.

Your local authority will have a list of Registered Childminders. Look on their website... they may be called Family Information Service or something similar.

A nursery would not care for your dd. A nursery is often staffed with young staff, so can sometimes have a high turnover of staff and who may not be that experienced. Baby units should be run by someone experienced but some staff may not be that experienced. Whereas a childminder may have many years experience working with children of varying ages, are likely to have their own children, so will have more experience I would say in general of caring for babies as well as older children... your DS won't be a baby for ever!

Have a look at both and see what you both think of the different options available.

I know why your DH probably thinks a nursery is safer - safety in numbers and all that. BUT there is one major problem with a nursery: you cannot vet and approve every staff member who will be in contact with your child. With a childminder you can check their credentials, get references yourself, ensure they have a CRB check etc etc. We used a nursery for our first child and it was great while she was in the baby room, the staff were excellent. Then she moved up to the toddler room and it all went badly wrong. The staff that we'd met 6 months ago when we were looking around had moved on and the new ones were basically awful. Staff turnover can be high in these places and even the best Nursery Manager can get it wrong.

Visit both though and get a feel for what's in your area.

A nursery may take your dd, some do after school clubs but may be in a different room, you just need to ring round a few to see what they offer.