Flummoxed about options in Surrey

[georgyporgie]

We are moving up to the Woking area from devon in about a month, and I'm hoping to find a job after we get up there- at least 3 days a week (fingers crossed, fingers crossed) and so want to start considering options now. I have a ds who is now 8 months old.

Basically I have no idea really where to start looking as I don't know the area at all. I have ruled out nursery & childminding for various reasons (though am happy to stand corrected if there are some good providers in the area), so am looking at whether an au pair / live out part time nanny or nanny share would be possible. Does anyone have experience of using either of these and if so, whether you could give me a rough cost per week and where I can look to find this? With all the move and the logistics and things my head is all over the place, so help would be much appreciated!

Sorry but I think you are mad, there are lots of fabulous Nurseries and Child minders in the area.
An Au Pair is not supposed to do full child care just be a "mothers help" or babysitter. There are some fabulous Nannies around, but they are pretty expensive, a Nanny share can take quite a lot of finding, usually by word of mouth.
A good place to start looking is Surrey CC.

Thanks for the link! Had a look on the Surrey CC website and I suppose was just a bit lost as to where to start, that's all in terms of finding stuff. But will have another look. I understand that about Au Pairs- we'd consider that if, for example, if the situation we end up in was right for an Au Pair.

The reason why we were looking outside nurseries/ childminders was purely because we were keener on having the same person long term (ish) to look after ds on more of a one to one basis as I think we'd be more comfortable with that set up if we can.

As a nanny in the area (work near Ottershaw, live in Lightwater) I would suggest you look at childminders.
A childminder will be around £5 an hour. A nanny will be at leadt double that once all costs taken into account.

So unless you need care before 8am or after 6pm then a childminder in my view makes sense financially.

How much do you expect to earn and would that be local or commute to London?

1:1 care is costly, so does your budget prevent that option?

There is no way you should leave an 8mo in the care if an au pair 3 days a week. Even if you did you'd need to pay them well above au pair rates. The only times I could envisage an au pair working for that age are wraparound care before/after nursery or CM, or where you are at home the majority of the time.

If you don't mind an au pair why not a live in nanny? They may be able to find a live out job 2 days/week so they wouldn't necessarily be home all the time, or it might suit someone who is studying. More expensive but you might get 3 days 1:1 care for £200/week taking incidental costs into account.

A live out nanny is going to cost you at least £130/day once you take all the extra costs into account, a nanny share probably just over half that. A nanny with own child midway between the two so around £100/day.

www.playtimenannies.co.uk is a local nanny agency covering the area. www.select-nannies.co.uk I think covers the area as well.

You can self reccruit via sites like www.childcare.co.uk www.nannyjob.co.uk

There is a Surrey nannies facebook group that I could mention you job on, if you provide more details.

Didn't think au pairs were meant to look after under twos? I would personally far prefer a nursery or CM to an au pair for very young DC.

Nannies are very expensive compared to nursery and CM. In the commuter belt there are a fair few SAHMs who become CM with just a few mindees.

Most CMs I know have been doing it for years, and can really provide a long term solution. For example quite a few people I have known have used their old CM for before and after school care, or school holidays.

At least one I know works with others to provide pretty much a "Tweenies" level of care.

An aupair certainly will not provide the long term care which you are looking for. By its nature, aupairing is supposed to be a short-term stay of 6 months/year for an inexperienced childcarer. As others have mentioned, they should not be looking after under 2s sole charge.

A nanny is an expensive option for one child, great if you have a long commute or long hours at work but as you don't yet know where/when you will be working could be outside your budget. What kind of work are you looking for?

You can never guarantee hoe long someone else Will stay in a job for! An au pair is a very short term option and is certainly not suitable for sole charge of a baby.
Nanny share is an option but again may not be long term - Nanny met get new job, she or other mum may get pregnant, move away etc...

If you are looking for long term, your best bet is a well established childmminder who has had other children long term, not close to retirement and not likely to give up/go on maternity leave but like i said you can't control the lives of others and to dome extent have to take your chances.
Another option likely to be long term is a nursery which takes up to school age but i wouldn't recommend a nursery for a baby personally .

Sorry about spelling!

A nanny could stay 6 months to several years. A business (childminder, nursery) may trade for 6 months or several years.

An au-pair is likely to stay 6 months to a year. Beyond that is probably unusual.

So look at other factors such as experience the provider has, the hours care is provided, the cost, how much control over what happens during the day you want, if there are things you want beyond childcare.

Thank you everyone for the input in this- loads of food for thought. I would just like the clarify that the au pair was being considered for if I was at also home (if I did my PhD and looked for work later on) rather than as a sole childcare option if I was out of the house.

I think on balance we are now decided that nurseries won't be the option for us which leaves us to consider which will work best for us; CM or nanny based on all the factors that have been mooted. But until we get settled and decide exactly what's happening with work and my career I'll carry on looking speculatively at the options.

Nannynick- when we're up there and a little more sorted, that would be brilliant - thank you.

Hi There

I too live and work in the Woking area, I'm a nanny with own child..maybe that could also be an option for you?

If your looking for a childminder recommendation, I can pm you some details. I have used one part time as I was unable to bring my son with me all of the time. I'm really good friends with her now and both our children are going to be starting school in September together! Not sure if she has spaces but worth an ask.

Very happy to be on hand locally for babysitting once your settled! I'm also around Fridays so could help then too!

Good luck with the move
Xx

I live in "Woking area" and know some fantastic nannies, childminders, nurseries and crèches.

Maybe if you can tell us more specifically where you will be, we can help you?

Ditto. I have used childminders in Woking area and have a few that I would happily recommend.

Can I jump in and take advantage of this thread? Also z new mum in Woking, 10 week old son and needing child care from around Feb next year. Most nurseries only open 8am-6pm which is tricky with a London commute. We don't know anyone with young kids in the area to ask for recommendations, but have been thinking childminders are prob the best bet, if anyone could recommend I 'd be really grateful!

Thanks :)

Woking is on the limits of workability if you commute to London and have children in nursery when, as you have discovered, most of them close at 6. I used to work until 5.30 in Woking, then drive through town to pick my ds up before 6 at nursery and that was stressful enough! I can't imagine doing a longer commute and being at the mercy of train delays.

Do you have a partner who works closer to Woking or can you arrange that you do one end of the day and he does the other? Can you apply to work flexibly so you can shorten your working day a bit at the end and give yourself more time to get back to Woking? Otherwise, childminders often have more flexibility in their hours and you may get one who will work to 6.30. Or combine nursery and an aupair to do pick-up/drop-off - an expensive option though? If you have no local family and are worried about working late/no backup from partner/commuting delay than your best option is probably a nanny - most expensive option of all though for only one child!