More affordable childcare and more great childcare. are both really possible??

[ACM88]

i just wanted to open up a discussion on this. I've been thinking about it all day. it stemmed from the fact that i have a vacancy at the moment, so have had parents visiting. around a third of these parents have been really shocked, almost appalled with the quality of childcare in my area. this actually makes me really sad because i work really hard to ensure i do all and more i need to do, and the borough i work in offers tremendous support to its Cms so there is no reason why we can't all be good or outstanding.

one of the more common complaints is that there is a cm operating in my area who doesn't speak a word of english, and had her 15 year old daughter translate for the purpose of the visit. now this cm must be a registered cm because her details were on the FIS, so that means her level of english must be sufficient to fulfil the paperwork requirements of Ofsted, but apparently could not talk to parents during their visit. please don't misunderstand me, my issue isn't with Cms who speak a different language, its about providing a high quality of care to children, and being able to prove that we do this well. this Cm was supposedly the cheapest of all Cms in the area. now all my info is from the mouths of other parents, and i am aware that they were all in a state of panic looking for childcare, so some details may be slightly aggregated, but this doesn't bode well.

i am very fortunate in that i am rarely advertising for vacancies, and when i do have one open up they are filled quickly. i am also not the cheapest. i charge £5.95p/h. for this i offer three organic meals, and snacks, as well as the late nights finishing planning and reports. i have a friend down the road who charges £68 per day, and includes the cost of all activities. if you are doing 35+hours a week, which a lot of my children do, then thats a lot of money. however quality costs, doesn't it?

bearing in mind regional differences, and i am in london, can we reasonably expect to pay much lower, but still get the quality of care we want? and not just for CMs, nannies, nurseries, and au pairs too? do you think childcare costs will ever be as low as they are in some scandinavian countries, where children go to school much later, but still have incredible exam results? therefore quality of care must be great...

its something i am not convinced this govt will be able to crack. i know for sure if i wasn't a CM, my DH and I wouldn't be able to afford full time childcare fees. So is the only choice to spend the majority of our wages on fees or perhaps send our child somewhere cheaper, and less great?

would love to hear your views and experiences!

I agree. It's a real issue and for nannies too - by the time you pay a nanny, including their tax and NI out of your own taxed income, you have to be earning six figures (full time) to really make it worthwhile going to work. You can't reconcile cheap childcare with paying enough to providers to make it a career that attracts good people.

It always amazes me that people pay their cleaner, dog walker, gardener etc double the hourly rate they pay to have their most precious possession (child) looked after.

Realistically I know CM's fees have to be competitive and if people want quality care they have to be willing to pay for it.

In our county the EYE payments have dropped so far I can't conceive of being able to afford carrying on long term

Cleaners, dog walkers and gardeners are usually paid for a few hours once or twice a week and are self-employed. That's very different from funding full time childcare or becoming an employer, with all the legal risks that entails.

borninthe60s i take your point, but like curvy says, they may only work for each family for one a hour a day, once a week, so cleaners, dog walkers, can charge £10p/h for that little. i wouldn't dream of charging £10p/h for 35+ hours a week. I can just about justify what I charge now.

KatyMac if the 30 hours thing comes in and the government won't actually pay for it, I won't be offering free hours much longer. OP I think there is great childcare and rubbish childcare everywhere, it's just a case of finding it, affording it and hoping there's a space.

What do the government currently pay childminders for the current (is it 15 hours?) free childcare? Do you operate at a loss when you take those children on?

I had a SAHM come to me as 3 hours childcare cost only slightly more than an hour of her cleaner.

I am not sure what the answer is but it seems the government plans seem to be to get childcare to work more for less..

If the 30 hours comes in there will be a real shortage of childcare. worse than now.

I charge £6/hr and get paid £3.11/hr. No I can't afford to do extra hours at half pay.

The local pre school will simply have half as many spaces if it goes from 15-30 hours.

How can preschools stay afloat? Do they get paid more?

Baseline Is £3.31 an hour - I get suppliments because I open before 9 and after 3 and because I havea level 7 qualification which brings it up to £3.91 an hour my 'private' clients pay £5 an hour so over 15 hrs & 3 children 'only' lose £45(ish) a week but up it to 30 hrs??

Well do you fancy earning £90 a week less for the same (or potentially more) work each week?

I don't offer subsidised places and I won't. If I am making a loss of £90+ a week how am I supposed to maintain what I offer now.

With a few policy changes a government can change the whole society.
I still think a conservative government doesn't want women working, to punish single parents, and the disabled.
they like the traditional nuclear family with one parent (preferably dad) the main if not sole provider.
Why else would they make childcare so untenable.

No rollon - it's a BIG issue in our LA, where pre-schools / daynurseries / playgroups/all PVI providers get £3.51 per hour per funded child. It's just not workable.

its definitely not workable as Ofsted standards become stricter. More paper work to prove how great we are, less time were are able to spend with children, oh hang on Johnny did you just tie your shoe laces by yourself for the first time, can you do it again I was didnt quite catch it I was filling out my observation sheets

Parents wanting a nanny will look at an aupair, why? Lack of understanding what the difference is perhaps, or due to anyone being able to call themselve a nanny. Cost must come in to it, if one type of childcare is lower cost then naturally parents will try to use that as they have bills other than just childcare to pay. NMW has gone up but it is pennys and National Living Wage is not really thag much better, though any increase will make a difference to the lowest paid but may also result in less jobs.
Mums are encouraged to go to work not stay at home to care for their children. If someone is in a career then that is a sensible thing to do, having time out of the career can be very damaging to their future. Those who work in lower low paid retail and service jobs not at a management level, surely it is questionable if those should stay at home to care for their children but would the State support them through some kind of benefit system, plus then retrain them once their children are older?

It's scary. I know quite a few people looking forward to being financially a lot better off in 2017 when the 30 'free' childcare placed are supposed to start, but I just can't see if working. How does the government expect nurseries and childminders to have a. Loads more spaces available and b. the ability to run at a loss??