After school pick-ups

[emsiewill]

I just wondered if I could ask you friendly childminders a couple of question. Probably really stupid questions, so apologies in advance for that.

I need to have my 2 dds picked up from school at 3:30 and then looked after until about 4:30 every day. So only 1 hour per day = 5 hours per week.

Is this the kind of job a childminder would be interested in, or is it just too "bitty" to be useful to anyone?

To complicate matters, the school is not a catchment school, and a lot of kids travel by bus, so there aren't a lot of people going there anyway to pick kids up. My dds get the bus currently, so can't ask around at the school gates, as I am never there.

Also, how much do you think someone would charge for this? We're in South Wales btw.

Apologies if these questions are too vague...

i would usually say min 2 hours per day but i would do it.

How much would you charge, if you don't mind me asking?

i charge £4.00 per hour so £8.00 per day in your case. dont know the rate in your part of the world, i am in surrey

Hmm, so probably a bit less here - just trying to work out whether it is worth me going full time (from 30 to 37.5 hours per week - so 2 hours extra at work a day, taking into account enforced 1/2 hour break).

£8 per day = £40 per week = approx £173 per month, would only leave me £150 per month better off. Not sure if it's worth the stress for less than £35 per week...

Some childminders will charge a fixed amount for a school run, which may or may not include some actual childcare.

In my area (surrey/berkshire border) I know of a childminder who charges £5 per school run, plus £1 per mile. It is per-child, with a sibling discount of £0.50 per mile. If school run plus childcare was wanted, then it would be a 3 hour minimum charge £4.50 per hour, plus £2 per collection.
I would expect South Wales to be cheaper, though it may not be!

Best to get a list of Childminders in your area. Not totally sure how you do that, but a starting point may be CSIW which certainly lists some basic contact details for childminders - use the Directory Search (MAP) facility, on Right side of their home page.
ChildcareLink list contact details for local Children's Information Service (CIS). Call your local CIS and they should be able to give you a list of childminders. If you explain the situation, and give postcode of the school, they may be able to send you a list of childminders who are near the school, if that's better than a childminder near your home.

I think you will find childminders interested in this who don't work full-time, probably depends on the childminder. Ours in Wiltshire (so maybe a bit more similar to Wales) charges £3 per hour if you do more than 10 hours per week, otherwise it's £4 per hour. There are a number of childminders who live near to our school, however, who specifically do school dropoffs and pickups, maybe that might be harder to find around your school from what you say? On the other hand I also know another mother who uses a school 7 miles away and found a childminder to collect her dd and drive her back home so maybe you could find a childminder near to your home who will drive to the school for you.

HI can I add 2p's worth....cant comment but this is my policy..

I would take on 5 morns or 5 nights NO less (cant fill vacant place you leave if you only want 2 nights / 3 morns)

I charge £3 per hour 5 sessions a week MIN..so that would be

1 hour a night 2 kids £6 an hr 5 nights £30 IF I HAD THE PLACES coz if you take 2 places every night you leave me with 2 places EVery morn

hope that helps

i pick two children up from our local school at 3.10 until 4pm i charge mum £6 per night
one of her children is over 8 which is great as it isnt in our 'numbers'

Thanks all for your input. I still can't decide what to do, but at least if I do get the cm list from the local council, I know I won't just be laughed at when / if I start making enquiries.

I am just starting with a cm who will have dd for breakfast 2 mornings per week and one after school pick up and that is £12 for after school - till 5.30 and £8 for before school. This includes breakfast and sandwiches after school. Surrey.

I have an assortment of schoolchildren that I take to and collect from school. Some come each day, some only do mornings, some only do afternoons, some come occasionally, some have shiftworking parents so follow a two or four week shift pattern!!

Basically, if I have the vacancy, then I would do the job. I charge for a minimum of one hour (£3.50 per child) be it morning or afternoon.

Most minders I know locally do not insist on school runs being a fixed five days though (not all parents work full-time).

The school is 3 miles away, so I have to drive there, but can't offer to help you out in South Wales as I think it would take too long for me to get there and I would have to seriously reconsider my hourly rate!

Emsiewill

My DS gets picked up by our childminder and she charges £8 to drop him off in the mornings, then pick him up after school and give him some tea - total is about 2 hours.

As well as asking the council for a list of CMs, its worth also asking at the school gate as there may already be CMs who already provide that service for others at the school in question. We found our CM in the playground and her kids go to the same school, so it works really well for both of us.