Having someone in home to watch the kids...... Cheaper than a Childminder?

[Toothache]

Just making enquiries here. I am going to move my kids from a Private Nursery to a childminder when ds starts school in August. I don't drive and the Childminder will do the school runs and also watch dd(2) all day from 8.15am to 5.30pm.

This will be 4 days per week. She has quoted me £180 per week!!!

I'm shocked by this I really thought it would be much cheaper since ds isn't there from 9-3 and she has other kids that come in 9-3 to fill the gap.

SO I was thinking that I could have a live-in child carer?

The local college here is bursting at the seems every year with people completing childcare HNCs so thought I could maybe hire one of those?

She could have a double room to herself.

What would I reasonably be expected to pay a live-in child carer? Or even not living in.... just need her 4 days a week!

TIA

er... seams!

by that i assume you mean a nanny...

a daily nanny (depending on age / experiance and area) will generally expect at least £300 NETT per week (make that about £450 by the time taxis added + employers NI contributions)

Maybe a few £s less is unexperianced or a long way out of london / out of a large city.

Even a live in nanny would be expecting a MINIMUM of £250 nett per week i guess!

Sorry if thats a bit of a shock, but thats what qualified professional nannies cost, and you really are not going to get one for £180 per week gross! Sorry

*taxes NOT taxis! (oops!)

No not a Nanny!!

More like an AuPair. And I'm a long way out of london.... as in Scotland.

The average price for a fulltime Nursery space is £30-33 per full day, to give you an idea of the cost of living here. Its not that high. I know someone who poached one of the Nursery Nurses from ds/dds Nursery to use as a live-in 'Nanny'. She was being paid £5 per hour to watch 8 kids at a time as a Nursery Nurse and she got offered about £7 per hour to watch 2 kids and jumped at the chance!!

What if she was living in??? Wouldn't there be bed/board taken into account?

Oh!

Sorry im a little confused.... normally a person who looks after your children in your home is by definition a nanny!

ofcourse you could go down the au pair route (but bear in mind that au pairs are NOT trained to look after children.... but do look after children a bit, and help with house work etc.... in exchange for 'pocket money' and the chance to go to college etc to learn english.... and live in your hosue to practise english...

It is recommened that au pairs do NOT look after babies or very young children... but are generally ok with olderish children.... (but bear in mind many dont speak english or at least may not speak it very well, and i know i personally wouldnt want to leave chidlren with a person whom they could not communicate easily with!,that just my opinion though)

yes, nannys accomodation is a factor.... whoch is why a daily nannys salary is typically more than a live in nanny

just got out my proffesional nanny magaize to check figures...

and the average nanny in the country (ie not london, home counties or large town and cities) salary for 2005 was £254 nett per week / £16910 per year gross...

that would assume a mon - fri 8 - 6 day though with normally 1 mid week babysit... AND live in

(if daily it increases to £292nett per week / £19863 per year)

as you will be needing less hours you could surely pay a bit less.... off the top of my head maybe £200 nett per week....

have you considered a nanny share.... maybe another family could use your nanny for the other day... or if you had a freind with a similar aged child the nanny could look after both children (in 1 house at a time) sometimes the use both houses / change each week etc 9whatever suits you)... if you were providing board and lodgings as well, maybe you could put £100 nett per week in the kitty, the other family £130... which would make £230 npw which would be good for 4 days work for a nanny.

Just an idea!

Goos Luck!

Thanks NannyL - I suppose I just mean that I wouldn't be going down the official Nanny route. More like getting a newly qualified local Nursery Nurse and paying her more than she'd get in a Private Nursery. I could put her up even if it was just 4 nights per week.

Where could I advertise?

AND would I still get tax credits?

hopeful

You can use childcare vouchers (are these tax credits?) to pay for your nanny as long as she is on the official nanny register thing (whatever its called)

basically she has to be qualified, have a child first aid certifictae and a recent crb cheack... then can accept child care vouchers in the same way as a nursary...

Do you realise (and im not sure if this is what you mean by official nanny route) that when you employ someone in your home you are legally obliged to become an employer etc... and as of April 2005 anyone found to not be going down the official route will be fined £3000 from inland revenue if found out...

Ie you HAVE to do it "officially"... also 'nannies' cant be self employed, so our taxes and NI (which HAVE to be paid.... or else we loose our pension rights etc) HAVE to be sorted out by you the employer. (also as an employer you have to pay employers national insurance as well) (all essential for nanny in order to recieve SSP, maternity pay etc etc!

(Sorry if thats not what you meant, but thought i should point it out...)

forgot to say you could advertise on nannyjob.co.uk (you can advertise for au pairs on that site as well as nannies / nanny shares etc)

gumtree.com

Thanks NannyL - I realise I'll have to be an 'employer' and pay NI/Tax etc. I'm self employed and pay myself dividends at the mo... I have an Admin company who could deal with that side of things for me I think.

I mean that I won't be going through an agency and the people I'll be looking to employ would probably be grateful for:
A-the experience after graduating from college and
B-to be paid more than the poxy Nursery rates around here.

Was hoping to get someone at around £7 per hour..... is that a bit ambitious?? I might put up some ads at the college, see what happens.

I have seen gumtree ads for Glasgow. Are you Fife, Toothy? (or did I dream that?)

lol Gillian76. I'm near Fife.... I'm in Falkirk.

Just found this online!!! Looks EXACTLY what I'm looking for!!!!!

A&H CHILDCARE CONSULTANCY LTD
Location: UnitA12, Whitecrook Business Centre, 78 Whitecrook Street, Clydebank, G81 1QF
Details: A&H Childcare Consultancy Ltd are providers of quality childcarers, including nannies, mother's helps, father's helps, maternity nurses and babysitters.

• Nanny is usually qualified &/or has a minimum of 2 years childcare/nannying experiences. Our fee is between £200 & £325 and their services cost up to £7 per hour part time, up to £250 per week full time live-in and up to £300 per week full time live out. Parent/carer, as employers, are liable to pay tax & national insurance contributions.

• Mother's/Father's Help is usually a very recently qualified nursery nurse or a person who has some experience of working with children and not usually left in sole charge of the children. We charge between £200 & £325 fee and their services cost up to £5.50 per hour part time, £180 per week full time live-in and up to £220 per week live out. Parent/carer, as employers, are liable to pay tax & national insurance contributions.

• Maternity Nurses are appointed by parents to care for their newborn babies in their own home. Our fee is £45 per week and their services cost up to £15 per hour and £900 per week gross.

• Babysitters are nannies, mother's/father's helps or childcare students who are registered with our agency & been thoroughly vetted. Our fee is £75 per year and their services cost £6.50 per our. One-off babysitting services cost £6.50 per our to the babysitter and our fee is £15.

They are near me.

Who's in Fife then? Nailpolish?

tooth ache.... i think that £7 per hour for scotland seems perfectly reasonable enough to me!

Good Luck... also im sure there are lots of nursary staff who would be greatful for nannying experiance... because there are lots of employers who wont employ someone without actual nannying experiance.... and we all have to start somehere!

(my boss for example! )

Good Luck.... stick some adverts on NJ (nannyjob.co.uk) my new boss, current boss and old boss got LOADS of responces from nursary staff wanting to get into nannying when they advertised on their (though we are a LONG LONG way away from Scotland!, right on the south coast)

They were all people who only wanted experianced nannies though!

Good Luck!

Oh can i say....

A&H child care are supposed to be great...

"A" worked for one of my old bosses, and they loved her to bits.... Ive chatted to her, but never met her, a she is now in scotland, and her aim is to be a proper agency... doing things right unlike so many otehr agencies that so many of us nannies (and parents) have encountered through the years!

I know my old boss thinks VERY highly of her!

.... and pictures of our old charge appear on the website!

go and see a different childminder
i'm a childminder in north west and i charge £3 per hour. discounts for siblings

Talk with Alison at A&H, as she knows all the rules regarding things like using tax credits. In Scotland, the rules are quite a bit different to in England - for one thing the nanny does not need to be registered, the parent MUST use an agency which is registered with the care commission.

£180 per week for a childminder for one child 4x full day, plus 1 child before/after school sounds about right to me... in fact perhaps a bit on the lower side. Where I am, full time place at a childminders could easily be £40 per day, with school runs costing additional £5/£10 per day, plus any childcare hours after school - so £180 easily in my area (Surrey/Berkshire border)

i dont understand how you thought cmder was too expensive at £180pw and yet you want to emply a nanny at £200 plus. I thought it was cost that was putting you off.

Oh, I really haven't got time for MNing today, but want to make a few very quick points:

1- £7 GROSS sounds reasonable for a young girl with a year or two of nursery experience to come live in your house, where so will have no living expenses except for clothes. Never never never pay a nett salary.

2- If money is an issue stay clear of agencies.

3- Pinching a girl who makes little more than minimum wage at the local nursery and giving her the salary noted above will be a nice raise for her when you account for the living expenses. This practice is ideal for people with pre-school children.

However, having a live-in nanny costs more that her salary/ tax/ NI. There are activities for the kids, expenses, etc. For example, I give my nanny £130/month to cover travel and miscellaneous (£30 of that is for her phone). Then, I pay fees for gymnastics and ballet. Soon, I will be adding a third activity for DS to do whilst DD is in school. He is only 13 months old, so currently he just tags along to her activities.

toothy, the REAL issue is having someone living with you, that's the hard part. someone young and out of college might be like taking on another kid........

why don't you try other childminders and compare?

any more thoughts on this?

well my thoughts are you get what you pay for Im afraid and if youre happy to get cheap labour in and pay them a cheap wage then youll get a cheap service. With childcare vouchers etc now I dont think you should leave your kids with someone just beacuse they are cheap.

Toothache, I give my aupair £80 pocket money per week for up to 35 hours help, plus I pay for her food & she obviously has a room in my house.
I use aupairs because I don't need a nanny & I can't afford a nanny to fill the hours between the end of my working day and her picking the children up from nursery/school.
I don't see her as cheap labour as such, more of a babysitter who does a bit or ironing & tidying. For me & the aupair it is mutually beneficial. They get to live in a reasonable area of London & go to college & enjoy the calm, serenity of my charming family !!
If your dd is only 2, that could be tricky with an aupair as they need time to go to college.