Childminder to PreSchool - Costs etc..

[ShiningStar1990]

Morning all,

My daughter who is two has been going to her childminder for 18 months now.

I was thinking about getting her into preschool for September when she will turn 3. I work 8-4pm so will require a childminder to have my daughter from 7.30am take her to preschool for me and collect her after (ideally I'd like my daughter to go to preschool for a full day session) and I shall then collect my daughter at 4.30pm from the childminder.

After speaking with my current childminder (who does not do preschool runs) she has told me I shouldn't not do this as I have to pay for my daughter to attend preschool then I will also have to pay a childminder for the full day although my daughter will not be there but will be at preschool as the childminder will need to save the whole day for her. Not only this but she also advised it will be difficult for me to sort childcare during half terms etc. I'm unsure if she is saying this to me as she wants to keep the income of my daughter attending or if this is true?

My daughter is not eligible for the 30 hours free childcare until January 2021. Any advice on what others do please? Thanks in advance x

Personally I wouldn’t provide wraparound for those hours and aged child. It would restrict me taking on another child, be an extra two school drops/pick ups per day for very little income. Especially if you then wanted me to keep those hours free for holidays.....

Pretty typical, in my experience, although I dont understand the half term issue - if you are paying for a FT place with the childminder, surely your daughter can go there at half term?

I'd forget about preschool til 2021, then look at it again.

Well if you're paying CM for the full day then whether or not she's dropping at preschool she should have your dd's space, so half term childcare should be sorted no? Either CM drops her at preschool or she has her all day..?

if you are paying for a FT place with the childminder, surely your daughter can go there at half term?

The CM was raising the point if the parent didnt pay to hold the space.

I would wait til you get your funded hours though as they could cover the cost of preschool and you'd only be covering the CM

You'll need to pay your childminder for the full day probably as they won't be able to fill the middle of the day space. Childminders can't afford to have six empty unpaid for hours in the middle of every school day, and a 3 year old 7:30-9 and 3-4:30 stops them taking on a full day child.

After school care is different as school age children are counted differently and the childminder can have an extra 5 year old before and after school alongside the full day preschool children.

Childminders can only have 3 under 5s. So unless they had a child staying 10-2 then they'd be missing out on being able to take another child on for the sake of a couple of hours pay.

@GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat no that's not what the OP reports CM was saying? I will also have to pay a childminder for the full day although my daughter will not be there but will be at preschool as the childminder will need to save the whole day for her. Not only this but she also advised it will be difficult for me to sort childcare during half terms etc.

Well neither of us were there. I read it differently.

My son goes to a preschool where you can drop off from 7.30 and pick up until 6, they also do holiday club. Look if there's one in your area.

A good childminder should be able to offer everything a preschool does but on a smaller scale

What your childminder is saying may be true for her but it's not the case for all childminders. As they are self employed they set their own terms so she is within her rights to say you need to pay for the full day to reserve your daughter's space and ensure care during nursery holidays, and that she cannot do drop offs. Whether you choose to accept those terms or look for another childminder is up to you. She cannot tell you what other childminders will be prepared to do as it's up to them.

We had a childminder before and during preschool years who was flexible and able to accomodate our needs. I work shifts so the days we needed child care varied. Many childminders couldn't accomodate the flexibility but some would. We had to pay a bit extra for this as she basically reserved a space for DS but it was cheaper than the cost of a fulltime space. The cost decreased when he started nursery, and we paid extra during the holidays for the increased hours.
Personally I think it benefitted DS to be in both settings, but had we been unable to find a childminder who was prepared to drop his hours, drop off and puck up at nursery and keep his space available we would have had no option but to forgo nursery as we needed the additional childcare.

So you have choices;
Stick with the same childminder and accept your child can't go to nursery because the childminder doesn't do drop offs,
Change your or your partner's start time so you can do drop offs, and pay the childminder for the fulltime space (remember that works both ways, if you need your child to go there instead of nursery one day she cannot refuse as you've paid for the space),
Find a different childminder who can accomodate your requests, or
See if the nursery can accomodate your child full-time with the cost decreasing when the funded hours kick in

It is quite standard practice to have to pay for the space if a child is at preschool/nursery and you are expecting the childminder to drop off and collect. This is because they are Unlikely to fill the hours while they are there. It also means you have a space saved for your child in the holidays or preschool shut for what ever reason but they will not be on call if the child is sick you will have to collect your self. If they are just dropping off or just collecting then that’s different you will only pay the time your child is with them. But you won’t have the space for the day during holidays etc

Some childminders off this drop off and pick up service others don’t. I don’t offer it as 1) I don’t think it’s fair on the other children being dragged in and out to do school runs and preschool runs all day
2) They are my competition for business
3 it restricts what we can do each day no day trips etc.

Thank you guys for all your advice. With people explaining it does make more sense.

First time Mum here so I'm unsure whether she should be going to preschool now but I think I'll wait until 2021 when I get the 30 hours free. The childminder is great and my daughter loves her and loves going there i just wasnt sure when she should start going to preschool.

Really appreciate all your responses 😊 much love x