Childcare costs - Advice please if possible

[MrsExcited]

Hi,

I am early stages of pregnancey so getting myslf a little ahead of time here!

I have many many questions, if anyone can help me that would be great

1 - I live in gloucestershire, anyone any idea what normal cm rates would be?
2 - I am a teacher, am looking for a termtime only place, is this possible
3 - May only be looking for as little as 2 days a week, will this affect other things?
4 - So few Childminders seem to have their own websites, is this normal? there is a part of my head that says the good ones won't need to advertise!
5 - Does 9-4 seem like sensible hours, or should it be longer (child will be 6 months old when they start)

Thank you to anyone who has advice to offer

Hello and congratulations!

Your best bet is to contact your local family information service who can give you a list of childminders in the area and their contact deltails and then you can ring around and ask.

Yes, you can get term time only places - but it will depend on what the childminders in your area offer.

I have 3 mindees and all come for only 2 days each so again you are best to speak to childminders to see what they offer.

Non of the minders I know have websites, we advertise on childcare.co.uk, gumtree, netmums etc so perfectly normal.

The hours you choose are entirely up to you! Some minders charge per hour, others per session i.e. mornings, afternoons, all day. Again you will just have to contact those local to you to enquire about what hours, days they offer and what their fees are.

Good luck

hi there....and congratulations.

HoHank has given good advice.

I would like to add I have a website and i am fully booked! I am a creative soul so the website is an extension of that.

I also do term time only contracts....I like having small numbers of children in the holidays. I also offer a budget account so parents pay a fixed amount every month- my teacher parents love this as they pay a much smaller amaount every month and i like this as i know how much i have coming in (and its not all feast or famine)

I have a website and I do think parents appreciate it - I don't know why most minders don't, as it's completely free.

Different minders will do different things re term-time only and hours - you will need to contact them directly. Childcare.co.uk is a good place to look. I don't do term-time only because I can't afford to, but I might in the future. I also wouldn't do short days (ie 9-4) because there'd be no chance of filling slots either side of that but as I say, it's horses for courses.

Thank you, that was really useful,

I have now found that there are 23 Childminders within an hour of our house, I have wriiten a blanket email and have been impressed to have had 5 responces!

I am also quite impressed that people don't think me too neurotic looking into it this far ahead!!

No, don't think you neurotic but be aware if you find someone you like and want to put your childs name down for you will probably be asked for a retainer as the childminder could be turning down other children and losing business in order to keep your place open.

However if you are just looking around for ideas this won't be a problem and you can make a final choice depending on who has availabilities nearer the time.

Slight hijack, sorry! ElectricalBanana and ZuleikaD can I ask about your websites? I always presumed you had to pay for them. Are they hard to set up? I wouldn't mind having one myself! Thanks

Here you go, NoHank: Fresh Air Kids

It's just a website set up using Wordpress, which is blogging software and thus totally free. You can create pages, upload photos etc. I've actually been pretty lazy with it in terms of pictures but I plan to upgrade it a bit before going back to work in September.

I do a fair bit of work on websites for childcare providers. It's a good way for parents to get a feel of the setting when trying to narrow down CMs and a handy place (if you're tech savvy) to have an online policy bank that parents can refer to by logging on.

Depending on where you are and how early you go back to work a CM may know whether they have a baby space opening up around then, although in light of the current ratio controversy that may be a moot point!

fab website zule :) though one thing, on your product reviews, the link doesnt work, and i get redirected, may be their glitch, but thought i would emntion it :)

Ooh, thank you for that! I keep meaning to extend that section so will give it some attention.

Thank you ZuleikaD, that looks great. Can I have your recipe for banana cake

MrsExcited, good luck with your search

blondes loves banana cake

One recipe for banana cake

300g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
100g butter
200g sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 ripe bananas, mashed
4 fl oz milk
1 tsp lemon juice
100g chopped walnuts

Mix the flour and baking powder
Cream the butter and sugar, add the eggs and bananas.
Mix the lemon juice and milk (it will curdle but don't worry)
Fold in the flour mixture alternately with the milk mixture, beginning and ending with the flour.
Fold in the chopped nuts

Pour into a well-lined loaf tin and bake at 180 degrees for about an hour to an hour and a half depending on your oven.