Hourly or full-day / half day charges?

[honeyharris]

I'm looking at childcare for when I return to work in March, and have a question. I understand that nurseries charge for full or half days, but do childminders do the same or do they charge by the hour?

It varies. Discuss with local childminders about what you need, see what they would charge.

I charge hourly but minimum 2.5 hrs for before & after school children & 7 hrs for pre-school. That said, I do have 1 little one for just 2 hours because it fits in with another child leaving early so it's always worth asking just in case.

I have set contracted hours for my childminded children. They pay fees based on these hours, so a set fee per day I am contracted for. Any extra hours are paid on an hourly rate. All childminders will do things differently so speak to a few around you to see how they do things.

I charge daily, another local minder charges per half day and another charges hourly. You need to ask.

Thanks everyone, so it really depends on the childminder

I charge hourly but don't take on any enquiries that are less than 8 hours a day. This is because I can earn the same amount of money by having fewer children doing longer days rather than having lots of children doing shorter half days. Other childminders who prefer to work a shorter day will charge differently.