A couple of questions for all you lovely CM's out there...

[CheesyFeet]

How much do you charge? Is it a flat hourly rate or do you charge per day?

What is your sickness policy - for the mindee and also if you are ill yourself?

Would you consider very occasional weekend childminding?

My dd is 2.6 and currently in nursery full time. She loves it and we are happy on the whole but we're increasingly finding that nursery care isn't flexible enough.

Is it fair to consider a childminder more flexible than nurserys or do you tend to work within fairly strict hours?

TIA

I charge an hourly rate. Some do charge differently though.
If i am very ill then i don't have mindees,a nd i don't charge. If mindees are ill, i charge full rates for the first day, then half rates.
I do occasinally do weekends, but i CM in a militart enviornment, where many partners work evening or weekends. Then when the Dh gets sent away they are stuck. Many however don't do weekends.
I consider myself flexible - like i said the majority of mindees are from militaryt lifestyles, so i need to be. I know of some CM's who are very unflexible, and some are flexible. it just depends what you are looking for

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can only speak for myself. this is what I do:
£3.50 per hour but have been happy to work out a daily or weekly rate to suit both parties if thats easier for parents.

My sickness policy is I charge usually rate if mindee sick but no fee if I'm sick. (luckily rare) Child shouldnt come back to me if been vomiting within the last 24 hours.

I do occassional weekends and evenings.

I am flexible.

In the past I have agreed a flexible hours and a standard weekly fee. This was for parents who one of them could frequently finish early so would be picking up early, My money stayed the same and if on the odd occassion they were late they didnt pay any extra. They still let me know in advance etc.Communication from both sides is the important factor in making this work.

Alot will depend on how the childminder works, I am quite happy to be flexible but I dont have maximum numbers every day, most CM s try to fill all vacancies I think so not always possible, and also if they attend certain activities at certain times it makes it harder for them to be flexible. My advice would be to go and see some ask your questions and you can see how their set up works, you can get a list of cm s from your local childrens information service, or try their website. Good luck

Thanks everyone

sounds like it's just a case of finding someone who can fit in with what I need locally.