Childminder or nursery?

[ellesbellesxxx]

I have just been let down by a nanny.. she was going to do some ad hoc work over the next few weeks then we were going to employ her a day a week as from September.
Investigating local childminder and nursery.
The childminder would be cheaper and would be logistically easier as would be en route to work. The nursery would be a 20-30 minute detour.. however, I am wondering if this would be better for reliability?
It would only be September until
next June as there is a closer nursery they can go to in a year’s time.

I would always chose a nursery purely from the convenience of it. With a cm you have to have holidays when they do and if they are sick you are stuck. Most cm around here seems to have school age children so take their holidays in the school holidays which means you are also have to take your holiday at this time. Nursery is open 51 weeks of the year and no issue if one or even 2 staff members are sick. Have u visited the nursery?

I would always chose a nursery purely from the convenience of it. With a cm you have to have holidays when they do and if they are sick you are stuck. Most cm around here seems to have school age children so take their holidays in the school holidays which means you are also have to take your holiday at this time. Nursery is open 51 weeks of the year and no issue if one or even 2 staff members are sick. Have u visited the nursery?

Am meeting both a cm and nursery early next week.
That’s exactly what I am wondering... plus having been let down once I don’t want to be in that position again!

The best way to check a cm reliability is to ask for references and follow them up. Most cm's rarely go sick because they don't get paid. You can also ask about holidays and if they have cover again I know cm's who have not had any holiday other than bank holidays and others who work with co minders and assistants as well as many who network and may be able to offer cover. Most who take holiday will tell clients at the beginning of the year for the year all this can be checked when you chat to parents.
Standards wise you get good and outstanding of both nursery and childminder along with some not so good but its much harder to hide behind locked doors with a cm especially if they go out visiting groups libraries children's centres etc. All settings are inspected by Ofsted (in England) and work to the same framework (EYFS) research shows that young children do better in small settings.
Visit some of each type and see where you think your child will be happiest.

As Jannier said, visit both. Ask about holidays - I've already taken mine this year, because I don't have school age children, or do school runs. I don't have any more booked before next June and have taken 3 days sick in 20 years and found backup care for all the children from my sick bed.

You will know when you've found the right care. Good luck.

Thanks so much everyone.. excellent advice.
I feel like my children would flourish in a small setting (hence why we organised a nanny so as to build that relationship) but I equally don’t want to get to know someone else who then cancels on us.
Hopefully I will just know.. thank you

We use a cm.

We like that DS goes out and about and meets lots of different people, in groups, at soft play, day trips etc.

Also he does the school run at the school he will eventually go to, and occasionally goes to assemblies which I think is great school prep.

The nursery’s round here the kids spend all day in one room apart from designated play times. They also have lots of walk don’t run type rules, which I completely understand, but didn’t feel right for my two year old bundle of energy.

I did, and would again, choose a childminder every time.

My dc are 13 and 11 and with both they were 5 months when I went back full time.
Dd is 11 and in her final few weeks with our beloved cm before she moves to secondary in September.
I had two cm, best friends, who cared jointly for my two.
They are wonderful ladies who are now part of our family.
I loved the home from home feeling of their settings. My dc were taken out to so many lovely places at no e tea cost - toddler groups, soft play, nature reserve, farm, park etc.
The food they provided was very good and my dc have absolutely flourished with them.
It was also the opportunity for them to mix with children of all ages that was a bonus.

DD1 went to a childminder from the age of 10-18 months. Childminder was fantastic. She had no school age children so took her holidays out of school holidays. She was never sick in that time. She worked with her daughter as her assistant, who DD1 loved. We'd have kept her there till school and beyond if we hadn't moved.
When we moved I couldn't find a childminder that suited us, so she went to nursery from 19 months, and DD2 started nursery at 1 year old. DD1's confidence has grown so much at nursery, where she's had much more interaction with others. DD2 has settled well and developed a strong bond with her key worker.
As with everything, positives and negatives to both. With DD1 being such a clingy baby and my first, a childminder suited us better. I'd probably have sent DD2 to a childminder too, but it made more sense to keep them together.
You'll know when you've found a setting right for you and your child.

We went childminder and ds loves going. When we signed up she gave us the list of dates she would be off for and me and dp worked out holidays around this.
We've had 3 instances when the childminder had to close when her kids were ill within 18 months. So not really been an issue.
The kids often have day trips and she will often take them to playgroups/soft play.
We approached a few nursery's but didn't like them and felt that ds wouldn't get the same one on one care. With the childminder we know the other kids well and we're happy with his development.
Once ds is 3 we may look to get him in to a nursery attached to the primary school.

I’m a cm and give all my holiday dates out in the November/December of the year before at the latest. I very occasionally have to add the odd day, eg my best friends funeral this week, but other than that I am extremely reliable. I arrange cover if I have a doctors appointment and can’t take the children by asking other minders that the children know so parents aren’t inconvenienced by it.

Thank you so much... I am feeling more reassured about childminders being reliable. Can’t let one experience put me off!!!

I agree with everything everyone has said here re childminders. Ours books her hols in consultation with us, so that works out ok. And more generally, she's so committed, she'd walk over hot coals to get to work, so I never have any worries about her reliability.

The big draws for me were the one to one interaction and how personal it is. I can't bear the thought of being handed a book with a write up of DD's day, with all her poos, etc. I want a chat, with the same person every day, who knows her really well.

There's a thread on here at the moment about pre-schools not helping to wipe kids' bums and that just sums up for me the flexibility and personalised care you get from a childminder.

Having said that, I've got friends whose kids have thrived at nursery, so I'm sure it's all about finding the right setting for your child. And if you're the kind of person who really worried about tracking the EYFS framework, then I'd say nursery is a better bet.

Childminders have to track EYFS too. Just thought I'd mention it 👍🏻

Thank you. Not so
Worried about EYFS at this stage but good to know :)

Although your not worried about the EYFS yet it covers all children from birth to 5 years and is a useful tool even for babies to identify areas that can be supported and if there are any potential gaps developing so you can get early intervention. Childminders have the same ability to call in extra support and often have extra training themselves to give specialist support as we are our own sencos.

Someone said about how their Lo gained in confidence when moving to nursery however this is often naturally the case even for children who don't attend any setting as its a normal developmental stage so you can not attribute it to a change of setting directly.