Please help me get my head straight around this childcare issue.

[Fourandstillcounting]

I have three children - a 3 year old and two year old twins.
The sole source of childcare is my local nursery, and they go as follows:

3 year old goes for 6 sessions. A session is 5 hours and the fee includes meals. @ £27/session. £162/wk

The twins go for 2 sessions each, so that's 4x £32. So that's £128/wk

which works out as £1256/month

Would this cover a nanny, or a share of a nanny and what could we reasonably expect from her in terms of hours, activities etc?

We both use our full childcare vouchers and the monthly figure needs a bit of adjusting for DC1's 15 funded hours but those figures are about right.

We're in Herts. Any advice/thoughts would be hugely appreciated.

What would the start and finish times, plus the days be if you had a nanny?
Your twins only do 10 hours, I think, so that might be just one day that you need childcare.

Would you be at home whilst the nanny is working?

Hi four I'm a childminder in Herts so can proberly give you an idea of fees..
I charge £5 per hour including meals so rates would be cheaper than you are paying now so a childminder may be a good option for you. Obviously rates may vary depending whereabouts you are. Hth. :)

Fourandstillcounting I think it will be worth working out exacly how many hours you need plus start and finish times, number of days ect. then look at local nanny rates I think this could be a good option for you. Remember a nanny charges the same hourly rate regardless of how many children she/he cares for and can usually be very flexible. A good nanny would take your children to hte park arrange play/craft ect go to activities you wanted them to do. These activities would be at your expense. I also arrange playdates go to local toddler groups and do arts and crafts with the children. Nanny should be able to cook for them and organise meals. I expect to tidy up if we make a mess and am willing to do the childrens washing and ironing or some of it depending on the hours worked. Some parents want this some don't. It is an easier arrangement if the parents work away from home but it is becoming more common for parents to be around.

What area do you live in? It may help us to give advice on rates of pay ect. If you go for a registered nanny you may be eligable for childcare vouchers/tax reduction.

Good luck with finding childcare whichever way you wish to go.

Oops! The park not hte park!