Sheesh. My head is frazzled. Which childcare option would be best for someone whose hours change on a weekly basis?

[EweHaveGoatToBeKiddin]

Hello all.

I'm starting full time uni late September and will need childcare for my 5yo dd who will be in her second year of school.

I've just had a look at my timetable for the year (provisional, so might change) and predictably it's sort of all over the place.

E.g. First week, I'll need someone to take dd to school one day. Then I'll also need after school care 3 days.

Second week, before school care for 2 days, after school 4 days.

Third week, before school 3 days, after school 5 days.

Fourth week, no before school care needed, 2 days after school needed.

Then jump to the eighth week, i need two weeks of full before and after school care.

I'm off for a month at Christmas.

Off for a week at Easter.

I finish late April for the summer until September again.

So, as you can see, it's not a smooth timetable at all.

Childminders are all full round here. A couple only have a few days available.

The school has no breakfast/after school club.

There's a private breakfast/after school club round the corner from it though.

I've emailed them and I'm a bit because they will still charge me a retainer fee (half the normal price) over Christmas and other holidays, even when they're not open and when I'm not using them.

I plan on withdrawing dd in late April when uni finishes then putting her back in September when i restart. But they've said i can't do this as it looks like I'm just trying to avoid paying a retainer fee over the summer.

I plan on going for a face to face chat and visit the venue in the next few weeks.

But i was just wondering if you have any advice?

I'll be using the uni's lone parent childcare grant, so will have to use a registered childcarer. No room for an au pair anyway.

I currently work self employed to fit my hours around dd's school, so never had to worry about childcare before, as my mum's always offered the odd time i was stuck. But she's unable to commit to the days I'd need her for my uni schedule.

I am a Nanny and have just been given my provisional timetable and have given it to my employer to see if she will be able to fit some hours around my timetable its a pain from the other side too!
I am an ofsted reg Nanny so I can work for people who have vouchers.
I advertise myself as someone who would suit flexible care.
Don't worry about the timetable changing, it's ususaly only the room numbers that change as opposed to the actual times.
You could advertise in the primary teaching or childcare area of the uni to see if any students with weird hours can fit with you.
You could have a few different nannies?
Good luck to both of us.