Help with choosing childcare!

[Haily111]

Hello, this is the first time for me on Mumsnet so please bare with me!

My daughter is 11 weeks old at the moment, in January next year i will have to go back to work, three days a week. My biggest worry obviously is the childcare issue. I am not very clued up about which childcare would be best, i.e. nursery, chilminder, nanny etc. I also have the added issue of my net pay is 7.50 an hour, i know it isnt too bad but i find it hard to understand how i am going to afford childcare. I would also like to know what the pro's and con's are of all the different childcarer's and average how much they cost? I line in the South East.

Sorry about all the questions!! I hope someone can help.

Contact some agencies in your area from the phone book and they willsend you pay/duty details, local nurseries will do the same, beware nurseries can have waiting lists.

Your HV should be able to either get or put you in contact with someone who can send you the local childminder list, again they can tell you their hours and rates.

If you lean towards the nanny route then check out www.sharingcare.co.uk [link @ top of the page]it is a job site that has on jobs from parents some looking for part-time or shares, a nanny share involves a nanny caring for yours and another families child, this has advantages of reducing the cost and a playmate for the children, downside is you and the other family need to be able to communicate well and have similar child rearing attitudes.

Hope this helps a bit.

here

The nannies heading has some good information.

hi haily, im a childminder in st albans area if i can help atall with your childacre or any advice or questions plaese dont hesitate to contact me.
[email protected]

Thank you very much MatNanPlus, i shall be looking around that website tonight.

Smeeinit, sorry maybe i am being daft but where is st albans? I live in eastbourne.

I shall probably try and email you tomorrow if that is alright?

you are a fair way from st albans!
im close to hatfield,watford,hemel hempstead. that kind of area!

Given your net pay of 7.50 an hour, I would suggest that you look at Childminders.

To get a list of local childminders in Eastbourne, contact: Kites Family Information Service

KITES is open from 8.30am to 6pm every weekday, except Wednesdays when it is open from 9.00am to 4.30pm. It is also open on Saturday from 9.00am to 12.30pm.

KITES Family Information Service
Eastbourne Central Library
Grove Road, Eastbourne, BN21 4TL
Tel: 08456 010777
Tel: 01323 737294
Fax: 01323 737411
Email: [email protected]

You can also find some information about local childcare providers via Childcare Link: KITES Eastbourne
Section 1: Tick Childminders
Section 2: Tick Immediate Vacancies Only
Section 3: Click Continue
This will produce a list of childminders in Eastbourne area. Having just done the search myself, it will give you e-mail contact details for several childminders, but alas will not give you any idea of cost. So, compose an e-mail to the childminders listed, telling them when you expect to need childcare to start, the age of your child at the time of starting, and any other details you may know at this stage, such as expected time you would need to leave your child and pickup time. Ask them for details about their childminding service including details of fees.

With one child, I feel a nanny is not an option given your take home pay, you may not have much left over after paying a nanny. However, a pro of a nanny is that they work the hours you require, whereas both a childminder and a nursery will have specific hours in which they provide childcare.

Having a quick look at nurseries, cost seems to be around £27-£35 per day for a child under 2 years.
There is one nursery I located who will give discount to NHS employees (not working for the NHS are you?)

you need to look into child tax credits etc plus childcare vouchers from your employer - this all helps. if you dh/dp can get vouchers then you can have two lots.

childcare vouchers mean that you sacrifice a part of your salary and convert this to a voucher to pay childcare but you don't pay tax or NI on this amount. The government sets the limit for the month - at the moment its about £236 per month. You do have to find a childcare provider that will accept them though - they don't have to.

finding childcare - it can take a few months (took me 3mths)to find the right place. Personally, I would go for a childminder. I would start going to some toddler grps from september and ask if there's childminders there and try and get to know them

Thank you Nannynick, that is very useful, i shall do that search in a minute and see what the email brings back. Sadly i dont work for the NHS but i work for the Council:-) I know big difference!
Do childminders look after my daughter in their house or mine? And what do i do about references etc?

Lexiemum - i spoke to my Employer (which is a Council) and they said i have to be on a waiting list to get these vouchers. They said the chance is very slim of me getting them as there are a lot of people alredy on the waiting list, do you know if this is true? I thought it was a bit sad, seeing as they are always going on about trying to make it easier for mums going back to work!
Also i do not have another half (he doesnt want to know her) so it would only be me, i will be writing to the H&M revenue to see if they can give me an estimate on how much I'll get depending on how many hours i work etc.

Just another quick question. How do you know if a childminder is registered or not?

Thanks all for your help, very much appreciated!!

Hi Haily111

Look here

You can search by your area and specify childminders who will show you the registered childminders in your area who have signed up to the government site.
Not all are on the site though, but it gives a fair list.
We found our childminder here.
Childminders look after your child at their house.
My childminder costs £90.00 for a full week which is good value. She looks after my dd really well, takes her to toddler group once a week, they went out to a child orientated farm last week (it's got all baby animals that can be petted plus soft play area and a panto!). We get 6 weeks a year where we dont pay for her to take hols and for us to take hols which is lovely but not all CM's offer it.
Personally I feel that my daughter gets more from her childminder than she would at the nursery - at the nursery she'd likely be indoors / in their garden all day rather than getting to go on trips etc.

waiting lists don't seem right - I would get hold of your HR and get copies of the policies and all the info on their childcare voucher scheme. It's not costing the employer anything more than the admin costs - its your salary not theres.

cms will (in most cases) when you visit give you a folder which will have a copy of their registration certificate in, all their policies, any other certificates (including insurance policies) and a copy of their latest inspection report, they may also have copies of references. You need to see all of these.

If they don't have references available ask to speak with current charges parents.

they are cared for in the cms home.

further down the forum theres a list of questions you should ask

you'll also sign a contract which agrees the hours, payment etc. be aware that you may pay for times you don't require and also annual leave - every cm is different. you may have to provide food (I have found that you send everything for under 1's and then may get lunch provided after)

hth - it is a mindfield but you've got plenty of time to find the right one.

questions to ask cm