Cm - using an assistant

[thisgirlrides]

I've been toying with the idea of getting an assistant 2 or 3 days a week term time only but can't decide whether to go for it or stick with current arrangements. I work 3 days a week, am full and earn well from it as I'm in a relatively high fee area but do find the days can be long with 3 very little ones (currently have 9mth old twins + 13 mth old) plus school children and can see how beneficial some help/adult company would be at nap time & juggling food prep & meals, school run etc

I'd need to take on 2 more pre-schoolers to make it work (3 to really make financial sense) and not sure how I feel about having so many little ones in my house at once on a regular basis - big rooms so lots of space but no dedicated cm playroom. I've got a waiting list for Easter starts so getting business wouldn't be an issue it's just deciding whether it's worth the hassle & extra work for a modest financial gain.
Any thoughts?

By the time you've paid national insurance and pension, you probably need 3 children to cover costs. What if they're off sick or give notice? Will you be able to get out and about, or will you need a bigger car? Will you have to keep swapping car seats, so they're suitable for pre schoolers during the day and then bigger when you do the school run?

I decided it would be a lot of hassle for not much money, but a CM friend of mine has 2 assistants and it works well for her.

Do you get out and about with the children, to get adult company that way?

Our Childminder has an assistant and it works really well.
Eg one cooks whilst the other is with kids.
One takes kids upstairs to toilet, other stays downstairs.
One plays with kids outside, one inside.
When they go to playgrouups they can manage toileting and nappy changes whilst not leaving the others unattended.
When our CM was unwell (but still ok to work, just a bit run down) she took a back seat whilst the assistant was more hands on.
When she had to take a few days compassionate leave her assistant minded the children along with a hired nanny so she could stay open.
They have up to 6 toddlers and the kids seem to all enjoy having a larger group. They can do more activities at home and so they aren't reliant on going to playgroups so much. On a quieter day when there are just 2 children my toddler gets bored more easily.
In my area most parents prefer nurseries to childminders (I'm in the minority!), but other mums are really interested in the 'large Childminder/ mini nursery' set up, so I think it appeals to more parents in my area.

Hopeless that's exactly the part of set-up I was thinking of. Luckily I don't need my car for school run or park so not such an issue but obviously something to think about if it ended up being 3 days a week - actually all the more reason I think 2 days might be better so I can still go places in the 3rd day. It would mean during term time we are very much home-based so more akin to a nursery which I'm not sure some (existing) parents would like.

Is there any way an assistant be self-employed if it's 2 regular days a week TTO?

The only way they can be self-employed is if they were to work for more than one setting and were able to choose their hours in at least one of them, i understand.

Look into getting an apprentice.

I know a childminder who had an apprentice and it worked very well for both of them. You would have to help with her (or his) training but she would also go to college for the theory training. This setup was 3 days per week.