C.M Club: Ratio dilemma

[EvesMama]

ok im not actually reg as yet, but i have two girls pencilled in as soon as i am..one will be two days(wed and thur) 2.45 - 5.45 and other would be 5 days poss 7-9 then 3-6.
both are under 5, and only part time fees will aply, i AM going to take them both on but really wanted a full timer too, but as my dd is also under 5, will ofsted say straight NO! or consider it with one only being in two days and other only before and after school??

any advice appreciated

If one is at school - 10 sessions a week, not at nursery but in reception, s/he will count as over 5 in your numbers, so you will be ok. If it is before and after nursery you could legitimately charge for the hours in between as she was blocking a f/t space. HTH

yeah PandaG she is there 10 sessions at reception, so thats eased my mind a bit, but i did ask a while ago about charging her parents during the time she was at school and they said a big NO!???..i suppose i could word my t&c to show price would be say £4 in stead of £3 for time she was with me due to fact im losing a fulltime place, or even ask if im to be main contact during school in which i would be paid for being on call as it where??

Aha - if in reception she then counts as school age, so is not blocking your ft place, so yes, I wouldn't charge for during the day. You can do during the holidays though, if ft care is needed then. Ofsted should be fine with you having her, your own child, the other mindee who is under 5 plus one more under 5, as long as your premises are big enough - I'm reg for 3 under 5, 5 in total under 8 including my own, rather than the full 6 under 8 that is the max you could be allowed.

When they start school they usually start off at fewer than 10 session per week. During this period they are counted as an under 5 & I charge while they are at school as I would do while they were at preschool or nursery or club etc. Because I can't afford to hold a place open for free when I could have a different child paying & attending for a full day.

Once they start attending 10 sessions you don't charge while they are at school because they are counted as an older child and are not "wasting" a space.

Can't see why you couldn't charge higher price for those who only attend before/after-school.

If you provided childcare all day during school holidays, you could be nice and lower the hourly rate, or be not so nice and keep it at the after-school rate. End of the day, it's your business you can do what you like. Though if you overprice, some parents won't use you - but a few might Pricing is always tricky.

Ratio wise, a 4 year old in 10 educational sessions = 5 years old. Once they are 5, they fall under your 5-8 ratio. There is more detail about this in one of the Guideance documents, can't recall which one at moment, if i find it, will post a link.

thanks for both of those posts..she will be doinf full days as ive already cehked so i cant charge whilst shes there, but she will be exempt from my under 5's which i hope to fill with a full timer or at least nursery school time.
have to wait for ofsted a week today, but have already got a few leads from netmums and nemums..so