childminders and holidays

[Sassafrass]

I'm currently looking for a job as a teacher and I was wondering how it works with a childminder and teacher's holidays. I would naturally not have my child with the childminder during summer holidays and halfterms, would she normally expect to be paid anyway or do I just pay for the actual hours she is taking care of my child? My partner works shifts so our daughter wouldn't be at the childminders full time.

I charge either a higher rate term-time only or normal rate and half fees in the holidays (either way you can't use the holidays)

But every C/Mer charges differently - some only work Termtime

Good luck

Thanks, I'm completely new to the system of childminding so I'm trying to plan ahead a bit and see what would work for us and what wouldnt.

I am a teacher and my childminder only had them term time. I paid the same as the others but did not pay during the holidays. But I think I was lucky as the norm seems to be to pay some sort of retainer for school holidays. Usually half I think.

hi i'm a childminder
if i know a childs term time only i will get another child to take their place in the hols so i'm not losing money.
but the term time has to be my term time ie cath schools when my boys are off, as i have some children term time who are not cath so hols are diff
dont charge in hols for term time only children

I currenly have teachers children to look after and charge a retainer in the holidays. It depends on what the childminder does with the other weeks of school hols. If she would usually work and you are taking a place she can't fill then there would be some sort of retainer. It varies form childminder to childminder. If she can fill the places in another way - she may not charge you.

I have a teacher's children, and we have a term-time-only contract, with no charge made for any of the school holidays or teacher training days.

Sassafrass - if your dp works shifts, will you have different hours/days each week? If so, I think you might have more of a problem with a childminder able to accommodate shift patterns than holiday care.

For under fives I charge 1/2 fees during school holidays. The place is available to you in the holidays if you want. If you don't book & I take another child and am full then I would refund the retainer paid for the time period your place is unavailable.

For over fives I charge session rates in the school term and nothing in the holidays.

Shift Workers
If you want different hours each week, the contract would specify a reserved time period each week for which you pay 1/2 fees to guarantee availability on each day/hour you may need care. You pay full fees for each booked hour & 1/2 fees for any unused part of the reserved time block.

Thank you everyone for your information. We're hoping that my partner will move on to a fixed shift, but as it is now it would be different hours each week but the same amount of hours each month if that makes sense and we'd know at least a month in advance which hours we would need the childminder. Shiftwork definately makes things more difficult.