should i be paying my childminder less now my child is at nursery?

[ruthymum]

My childminder looks after my 2 kids one of which started nursery mid sep. My child has been building up his time at nursery and now this wk he is going full time- 9:00-13:15. I drop my kids off in the morning on my way to work & my CM brings my child to nursery &picks him up at the end of the day. My other child is younger & with the CM full time.I am really friendly with my CM which means i find talking about money difficult,i think i should have asked earlier if there would be a reduction in payment & now i feel it is too late. My CM has never mentioned it so i was wondering is it the norm to still be paying the same amount?

Normal to pay full rates unless you have agreed otherwise IME.
Your CM can't fill the space for the few hours that your LO is in nursery so they usually charge.

Yes afraid so. If shes dropping off and picking up she'd be unlikely to fill the space in between so will charge. Also would she have your dc if they were sent home sick or on a training day?

no no and no

whats your plans when the nursery if closed?

thats why its no no no

full stop

I myself am a teacher so i pay a reduced rate for summer holidays but full pay for easter, christmas & 2wks in the summer when CM goes on holiday. i do usually send my kids for a few hours each wk in the summer so they are still used to going when Sept comes.i don't want to offend my CM by asking about money as she does a supper job.

As the others have said it is fairly normal to pay in full whilst at nursery as your child takes up one of her limited under 5's spaces. I know some CM's charge 50% for the time they are at nursery but would say this is the exception rather than the rule. If your child is 3 then they get nursery sessions free anyway so it shouldn't mean double pay.

It won't offend her to ask.
Say you are planning ahead and trying to decide what nursery hours you will want in the future and that you'd like to know does she always charge full fees while they are at nursery.
I have negotiated on this issue in the past. It comes down to whether it is actually any more convenient for you CM for your LO to be in nursery. Usually they gain very little benefit from this and so it is not worth their while to take a cut in pay.

I'd imagine from your CM's point of view the extra hassle of having to take your dd to nursery and pick her up again would probably outweigh the benefit of having one less child for a couple of hours in the morning. She would be unlikely to find another child to fill that short slot and you may want to reserve it anyway for holiday dates or in case of nursery closures (though she should not accept sick children, at least certainly not if they are infectious).

In my area (lots of CMs) some don't charge for time mindees are at nursery / preschool, so what is "usual" will depend on your local market.

It's usual for CMs to charge for nursery/pre-school - it's different if they're in full time school.

You say "he is going full time- 9:00-13:15". However this is not full time. Full time is 10 sessions per week (5 days am and pm). Until your DS is attending school full time your CM cannot take on another child. You also use some time in school holidays and may need to use her service on odd days the school is closed (Inset days, adverse weather, etc.

If your CM could take another regular child on for a few hours whilst your DS is at nursery (unlikely) she might give you a discount but if it was me I would not offer that unless I had secured another said contract.

I would ask her if she would consider this. She can only say no, in which case you would then decide how you wish to proceed. I doubt you would find an alternative CM who would discount your fee for this. You would be subjecting both your children to the upheaval of changing CM if you did find someone else. Is that worthwhile if you DS starts full time school next year?