Child Care for Nurses working shifts.

[Legwarmers]

Hi - I was wondering what parents do for child care when they work shifts. My sister is a nurse and works all shifts including nights. She is a single parent so needs to find child care that is ofsted registered so that she can get some help through child care tax credits. Are there registered child care providers who work around shifts and does this mean that it would likely be different carers coming in. It's the night shift she has difficulty with as children (primary age) need to get ready and leave for school before she comes in.

Sounds like she needs a live in nanny.

NickNacks - that would be ideal but she doesn't have the room, and couldn't afford it.

I used to work shifts and found a childminder (in fact a few) that were willing to do shifts. Some will do overnights as well. I just had to let her know the month before and I was billed accordingly. If my shift got cancelled I still paid.

If children are school age an ap might be a cheaper option if she can sort out a spare room (convert a dining room? Kids sharing?). Otherwise a cm who offers overnight stays might be an option.

Well nothing that flexible is going to be cheap, what can she afford?

Our childminder is very flexible as we both work shifts. We pay double before 7am and after 6 pm. But we've only got one baby/toddler. We did meet one childminder who offered overnight care. Could a relative or friend help out? She could apply for flexible working and say that she can't do nights though the money really goes down. Few childminders will work at the weekend though..... Nannies are expensive.

Thanks spekulatius. yes we are helping as much s poss, but it's the nights and school days that's the problem as we don't live near each other. Weekends we can manage. I think I will suggest looking for a child minder ready for September. I thought it would be hard to get a cm for shifts as they would probably lose out on income overall.- and would find it hard to find extra regular client to make up the difference.

She needs flexible working. She has to find a childminder and and find out which days they can take her kids then tell work that she can only work on those 3 days (assuming she works full time) and the weekend. That would be the cheapest option but would mean working every weekend with family support. Or have a contract for 5 days with cm but it would mean that she has to pay cm even if she's off during week and working at the weekend. But will be useful for training days as well. That's what we currently do, pay for 2 days even if she only goes one because I'm working the weekend. If she can get tax credits it might be ok for her. We pay cm a month in advance so we let her know which hours we need before she sends out her invoice. What hours are her shifts?