Big list of 'what do you do's' re fees, hols, hours etc

[EvesMama]

what hours are generally the norm to mind from too(i think i am going for 8am-5.30pm)

what etra do you charge before or after set times?

do you do over night care?
if so how much per hour/night do you charge and what times do you think are acceptable?

do you charge to pick up/drop off at school/playgroups..on top of normal hourly fee

do you provide meals free? or just snacks?
if not, what do you charge and how many would you fir into a normal 8-5.30 day??breakfast, lunch, dinner???

do you charge whilst at play group / nursery?

do you work bank hols?

if yes what do you charge?

do you charge for yours/thier holidays?

phew..sorry guys but this is my lifeline at minute, i know ill get all the advice i need here..hopefully
x

hi Evesmama
i work 7.15 till 6.10 but its up to you
dont charge extra for outside hours cause i dont do them
over-night care has to be okayed by OFSTED and be on your certificate (i've not got it)
i charge per hour and dont charge parents while children are at school/playgroup but again depends on you and your numbers
i dont work bamk hols but in my poilcy have said i would if they need me but its triple time (nobody has asked) parents pay me for bank hol if its the childs normal day
i have 4 wks a yr off and parents pay me half fees, i give my hols list out bout a year advance and parents norm book same hols as me
if a child is away on hol/sick parents still pay half fees to me
hope this helps just ask if not

thats really helpful dms, you seem to waiver quite a bit but then charge for hols, i had a thread a while back about parents paying for hols and at that point it semed it was not the norm?
i personally wanted to charge 'something' and also charge for thier sickness but as i havent yet been able to speak to any c.m round here, i dont know what they do..im gunna get as much advice as i can then decide what im doing as i dont want to price myself out of the market, but also im in it to make money so its a tricky one..thankyou for your advice tho'

so sorry DMO..my finger must have jerked?!

what hours are generally the norm to mind from too(i think i am going for 8am-5.30pm)- i work mon to fri 8am til 6pm

what etra do you charge before or after set times? - i guess i should think about this one erm £4 per hour (dont really want to work over though so how much you charge depends on how much you want to do it i should think)

do you do over night care? no, apparently too much hassle plus you need a break after having them all day.
if so how much per hour/night do you charge and what times do you think are acceptable?

do you charge to pick up/drop off at school/playgroups..on top of normal hourly fee - no

do you provide meals free? or just snacks?
if not, what do you charge and how many would you fir into a normal 8-5.30 day??breakfast, lunch, dinner??? i do all three meals plus snacks and drinks at a standard rate of £2 per day

do you charge whilst at play group / nursery? - yes

do you work bank hols? - no but the parents get charged full fee.

if yes what do you charge?

do you charge for yours/thier holidays? full fee for theirs and half for mine but i do try to have hols at the same time as them and charge half fee.

i forgot to mention sick - if the child is sick its full fee if i am sick its no fee. or if one of my children are sick and the parent decides not to send child its no fee.

I work 7:30 til 6:00
I charge double before and after (as I don't want to work)
No overnight
Meals & snacks free (very high quailty - but I charge higer than most of my competition)
B,L&T
Yes I charge while not here (if I dropped & collect - if I only do one then I don't normally charge)
No Bank Holiday - charge full fee
I take 2 weeks unpaid and I also have 2 weeks at full fee (but I have only ever taken odd days of the 2nd 2 weeks)
Their holidays are their problem - They pay for the space - whether or not they use it

what hours are generally the norm to mind from too(i think i am going for 8am-5.30pm) - I work 6.45am-6.30pm at the moment but my 'core' hours are 8-6. I charge 50p more an hour outside the core hours (I wouldn't recommend working these hours, I hate it!)

what etra do you charge before or after set times? - £3.50 standard, £4 outside core hours

do you do over night care? - no because not reg'd
if so how much per hour/night do you charge and what times do you think are acceptable?

do you charge to pick up/drop off at school/playgroups..on top of normal hourly fee - no I don't but I only do nursery runs and I charge whilst they are there

do you provide meals free? or just snacks?
if not, what do you charge and how many would you fir into a normal 8-5.30 day??breakfast, lunch, dinner??? - only charge is £1.50 for evening meal

do you charge whilst at play group / nursery? - yes as drop off and collect

do you work bank hols? - available to if needed

if yes what do you charge? - standard rate if don't work, double if do work

do you charge for yours/thier holidays? - Full charge for their holiday, sickness etc, no charge for my hols, sickness. Half fees if me or ds sick but still will to work and they decide not.

HTH

what hours are generally the norm to mind from too(i think i am going for 8am-5.30pm)

8 am - 6 pm

what etra do you charge before or after set times?
double fees

do you do over night care?
if so how much per hour/night do you charge and what times do you think are acceptable?
no, but noted a suggestion that you base your charge on whatever the nearest travellodge or similar costs.

do you charge to pick up/drop off at school/playgroups..on top of normal hourly fee
40p per mile plus my time as a childminder

do you provide meals free? or just snacks?
if not, what do you charge and how many would you fir into a normal 8-5.30 day??breakfast, lunch, dinner???
Breakfast £1.25, lunch £1.40 dinner £1.80. I provide mid morning and after school snacks for free & lunch in included if they book a full day.

do you charge whilst at play group / nursery?
If i've dropped off & collected from playgroup as I can't have another child in that time. If they drop off & I collect and they don't want the space in the holidays then I charge from pickup time.

do you work bank hols?
no-one has ever needed me on a bank hol.
if yes what do you charge?

do you charge for yours/thier holidays?
full fees for bank hols, 1/2 fees at xmas & easter and no charge for any other holiday I take. Full fees for any other time they don't use the place & I would have been open.

so all meals are included normally, b&l anyway?..what kind of meals are provided?..always home cooked? sandwhich/picnicky type meals?

and hols? the impression i got last thread was that people didnt charge for thier own hols as the parent will have to find alternative help during this time??

this is really interesting!

i have been advised by business guy not to charge for meals?!..but then i am thinking of just offering snack and lunch..breakfast would be axtra as would dinner.

so do a lot of you put a week hol in over christmas? as i would think a lot of parents would also get time off then too and would want their LO around?
and charge 1/2 fees for htis?

As I see it, christmas is a mutual holiday (I've never worked with a family that doesn't take time off work at xmas). I could be available over xmas and as bank holidays are chargeable it would cost the parent more to pay full fees for the holiday period. They usually are happy to pay half fees for this holiday.

The NCMA recommend you negotiate a period of holiday pay but many childminders feel uncomfortable about this as we are not employed by the parent and although they are most likely employed & receiving pay throughout their holiday what other self employed person gets holiday pay?

With the meals - I can see that it could be a selling point that meals are provided. But not all parents want a meal provided & some of those that prefer to provide their own will expect a discount for doing so.

I give parents the choice, they can pay to book a meal and save themselves the job or provide their own and reduce their payments to me. I still pay more to provide the meals than I am charging (even without considering the time it takes to prepare, plan & shop etc), so I think I could not afford to provide them without a separate charge.

Do you want them bringing in packed lunches (with food you might not give your children) if not don't charge for food - cos if tthere is a chrge there is an implication that they can provide food and not pay

iyswim

what hours are generally the norm to mind from too(i think i am going for 8am-5.30pm)

• I do 8.30 until 5.30. I have in the past started earlier if the child was collected earlier, so same number of hours, just varied times.

what etra do you charge before or after set times?

• I have a late fee of £5/hour or any part there of.

do you do over night care?

-No

do you charge to pick up/drop off at school/playgroups..on top of normal hourly fee

-No

do you provide meals free? or just snacks?

-I provide snacks and lunch (home cooked meal). If breakfast is needed its 50p and supper is £1.
breakfast, if needed, 8.35.
lunch, 11.45.
snack, 2.30 ish
supper, 5.00.

do you charge whilst at play group / nursery?

Depends on length of session and if I can fill that time with another mindee. Also on how much in total I was getting in income from that family.

do you work bank hols?

-No, but I do charge. I figure parents generally don't work, but still get paid.

if yes what do you charge?

-double!

do you charge for yours/thier holidays?

• I take four weeks unpaid leave a year. I charge for any holiday time that parents take that does not co inside with mine.

That was fun.. I like mini questionairs!

thanks..all these different answers are really lots of help

what hours are generally the norm to mind from too(i think i am going for 8am-5.30pm)
8am-6pm as most people finish at 5 and might not be able to make it in half an hour

what etra do you charge before or after set times?
double fee

do you do over night care?
Not registered to
if so how much per hour/night do you charge and what times do you think are acceptable?

do you charge to pick up/drop off at school/playgroups..on top of normal hourly fee
I charge from the time I have to leave my house to get there

do you provide meals free? or just snacks?
if not, what do you charge and how many would you fir into a normal 8-5.30 day??breakfast, lunch, dinner???
I just do snacks as my 2 mindees are really fussy eaters

do you charge whilst at play group / nursery?
Playgroup yes Nursery no

do you work bank hols?
No

do you charge for yours/thier holidays?
Mine 1/2 fee (used to be full until I went full time) Theirs Full fee as I am available to work

I charge an hourly rate of £3.50 an hour or £25 a day if they want the morning session and it goes over 12.30 I charge them £25 as they are taking up the full day

I also charge a minimum of 3 hours a day all snacks and toddler groups included

Parents have to provide Lunch, nappies, suncream

what hours are generally the norm to mind from too(i think i am going for 8am-5.30pm)
I do 7-5.30 at the moment, it changes depending on which children Im watching. My mindee friends hourse range from a 6.15am start to a 8am start and finish times are between 4.30pm and 6pm.

what etra do you charge before or after set times?
No extra, normal hourly rate. I only do extra occasionally eg doctors appointments or traffic jams etc.
However If a parents days and hours vary i chrge for a minimum number of hours as I once took on a contract that started with 25 hours a week and ended up at one hour a week. Parents were students and it was as aresult of timetable changes) £3 a week for keeping a before and after school place open. I had to end it cos at the time they werent willing to pay more.

do you do over night care? Only done it twice for 1 of my mindees and that was as a friend rather than a childminder.
if so how much per hour/night do you charge and what times do you think are acceptable?
She paid £40 for a night.

do you charge to pick up/drop off at school/playgroups..on top of normal hourly fee
No extra, I just charge normal fee.

do you provide meals free? or just snacks?
if not, what do you charge and how many would you fir into a normal 8-5.30 day??breakfast, lunch, dinner??? I provide snacks and lunch for free. Mindees bring breakfast themselves if they want it (although I will give them breakfast if its occasional eg theyve slept in.) I dont do dinners ever.(for mindees that is, I feed my own children dinner, but we dont eat dinner till 6pm)

do you charge whilst at play group / nursery? yes, because their off nursery as often as they are at it, the amount of holidays they get. I have just agreed not to charge my mndees who are now starting nursery on the condition that I never have to take them and Im not an emergency contact while they are there.)

do you work bank hols? Used to Ive just stopped working all of them and now take off the ones which my own children get off school.

if yes what do you charge?
Normal rate for the ones I work.

do you charge for yours/thier holidays?
I charge full fee for theirs but nothing for mines.

Every parents contract is different and they all have different rates. It depends on how many hours they are with me. I give a slight discount if they are full time and also a small sibling discount too.
I wonly take on new contracts which are paid in advance now too (made the paid in arrears mistake and wont do it again.)
Kizzypie

so im thinking i may now do 8.30 - 6pm,
will charge £3per hour per child
but if child is just before and after school, i may charge more say £3.50 for the time they are with me as i prob wont be able to fill a space for 10am-2pm while theyre at school.
i will be asking for week/month in advance as im not going down that road of them owing me!
i will charge something for thier hols(not sure what yet, but agree..i am available, so its their choice and i suippose if its in contract to start with and they accept than they cant moan really!
i will charge full for sickness (child or parent as if theyre off they may want to keep the child off too??)
i will not charge for mine/dd's sickness as im not available
i will charge something for my hols, but again not sure what, will have to ask round here so not to over price myself
wont provide breakfast or dinner just lunch and snack, so if they do want either they can pay extra.
will cover selected playgroups(mainly the council run/cheaper ones) but get parents to pay for any other more expensive ones or day trip out.
was thinking of charging £6 per hour for over night,that would be over £60..put that will have to be looked at?
will say bank hols only available after discussion, if i dont work and theyre contracted for mondays will charge full as normal, if they want to use me b.hol, think ill charge double time, cos i dont really mind doing them initially and the extra money will be fab!