Childminding scenario - is this feasible

[SkippyYourFriendEverTrue]

Any ideas if this is feasible or reasonable to ask of a childminder:

1. Pick up DD from school, 4pm
2. Pick up DS from school, 5:30pm
3. Feed both dinner
4. Have both chidren picked up at 8pm

When I say 'picked up at 8pm', I obviously mean 'collected'.

And any idea of a cost? We are in Surrey/near London.

well of course its feasible to ask. Whether anyone would do it is entirely depending on their existing children/pick-ups.

I am in Surrey/near London - I don't know anyone locally who would go past 7pm at the absolute outside because mostly they have their own children needing to get to bed around 7.30 on a school night.

You'd just have to try lots of local childminders to find out.

You may struggle to find a childminder who is prepared to work until 8pm. However no harm in asking around. At the same time you can find out from then if they can collect from the school/schools involved at the times your children finish.

Can your children finish school at other times? 5.30pm to me sounds a little late for most children to be finishing school.

Surrey is a big area, cost will vary quite a bit, especially inside vs outside M25, London boroughs. If you are not in a London borough, then have a look on Surrey Childcare Finder to see if that will give you some indication of costs in your area. Often alas it will say to contact provider for cost details. So try entering your postcode on Childcare.co.uk (click the advert that is often on this mumsnet page) to see if that will give some cost info from Childminders near you.

Or you could post more precise location detail on here and maybe there are some childminders reading this who are near you and could give a cost indication.

Is there a college near you that does a child care course? The times you want would be ideal for a student wanting experience. Would you be happy having the person walking to your house? Are all the distances walk able.
I would ask child minders first, but as Kew has said not many work beyond 6:30.
Then if that doesn't pan out you could go down the student route or young retired person.

Thanks. I was looking at childcare.co.uk, there are some that say 'My children are grown up' and one that said 'Sadly, I don't have children' (which I thought was an odd thing to say really).

We are in the Guildford area.

Hi skippy, you can PM me if you wish. I may be able to help depending on days.
Am not a childminder though

Cost wise, I find that childminders in my area (near Woking, so not that far from Guildford) are often in the £4.50-£5.50 per hour, per child cost range. Some will have per-session fees rather than an hourly fee. If you want term-time only care, then that may cost more, or you may have to pay a retainer fee during school holiday periods.

Having a student provide after-school childcare could well work out for you. They would be your nanny, rather than a childminder, so you would be their employer - which means you can decide how much to pay them (National Minimum Wage rules will apply for a live-out nanny).

Your DS may not like being in 'group' childcare. He may get on a lot better having childcare (may be not even call it childcare given his age) at his own home, where he's happy being. Also which school he goes to could change, so you may need someone who can pick him up from Farnham/Rowledge area (have you visited the school yet?).

So maybe look at childcare on the longer term timeline - what suits you now, may not suit you next September. You don't really want to be sorting out childcare again next year, so I'd suggest that you look at having an after-school nanny, rather than a childminder. Also a nanny who drives, who may or may not have a child of their own, a nanny who may be able to do more hours during school holidays, should you need that.

How old is DD?

This comes under flexibility as some parents work shift. If you wish to work until 8pm no one can stop you but many c/ms charge 'unsociable hours' after 6pm and before 8am.

The problem with the 5.30 pick-up is that if the CM has other children she may not be able to take them out again because they will be collected at around that time so she has to be home. It also makes dinner preparation very difficult. As you have two children, I think it would be much the same cost to employ an after-school nanny in your own home. Is that feasible?

Just investigating really. Supposed to be providing care to my Grandma (in her home), which creates a consequent need for care for my DCs.

Thought has occurred to me that care for her might be cheaper/more suitable.