How many CM's fill all there available spaces & hours?

[Shoshable]

Im really lucky that I only take full time children (I live on a Army camp, where 91% of mindees have both parents that are soldiers so need full time spaces)and have all my under 5 spaces taken, and after Christmas will have two of mt 5-8 spaces taken as well.

But how many have spaces or part spaces available.

I was just wondering how hard it is to fill 'gaps' in spaces.

We will be moving eventually, back to Scotland and wondering how different it will be in civvie street.

In the 6 years I've been childminding I've had only 3 interviews for full timers - the first didn't bother to contact me again, 1 chose a nursery and one changed their minds and has a 4-day contract.

I am lucky to be full at the moment. My three under 5 spaces are all allocated between 6 p/t contracts. Its fortunate that people have been able to swap days at work/nursery to fit in with the spaces I have. Previously, I have always had at least 1 vacancy. Not so long ago I had 4 children all at different times in 1 day so I was working a full day at just the basic 1-child hourly rate.

In the past I had tiered rates (high rate under 20 hrs weekly, standard 20-39 hours and cheaper rate 40 hours or more). I've since raised my p/t hourly rate and introduced 2 daily rates (full day 8am-6pm and school day 9am-3:15pm). The daily rates represent a cheaper hourly rate. The higher hourly rate for p/t contracts partly compensates for the difficulty in filling the rest of the day/week. The school day rate is cheaper because I can fit in an extra school child before/after school.

Its worth setting a minimum daily or weekly fee too.

I was full with 6 children (under 5's) for maybe 6 weeks in 2004

I was full with 9 children (actually 10 with variation) for mid September to mid December last year

But that's all

I do a minimum of 4 hour at 3.50 an hour, or 6 hrs at 3.50 an hour over 6 hrs it drops to 3.30

MMm I think I will have to look into how I charge then, at the moment I charge 3.25ph for all children, (my schoolies have previously been my full time under 5's, who have growed up!)

Might do a tier system as well, and maybe a minimum of hours as well, at the moment they just pay for the hours they do ie 1/2 hour before school pay for 1/2 hour.

I have looked at the CIS list at where we will be living and nobody puts their prices on, so will have to try and find out what the going rate is around the Alloa Area.

Also nobody seems to be accredited there either, so will have to look and see if there is a network there.

I became registered in May 2005 but because my old house was smaller & I had ds, I was only reg'd for 2 mindees under 5 and 1 between 5-8. I wanted full timers but that's not what I got enquiries for so I went with what came up. My first mindee started about 4/5 weeks after being reg'd. A couple of weeks later, 3 more mindees started (1 over 8). I was sort of full with the way the days were split plus 1 mindee added a day a couple of weeks after starting and then became full week. I had a bad problem with one young mindee so gave notice (2 kids as brothers) and also gave notice to the over 8 as I decided I wasn't ready for the older kids (ds was only 2). So, from July-Oct I was pretty chocka and then suddenly I was back to 1 mindee 4 days a week (became 5 days about 6 months later). I went from Oct 05-Feb 06 with just that 1 mindee. Dh lost his job on xmas eve 05 causing major money problems and me re-thinking the whole childminding thing. I still wanted full timers if possible as I thought this was best for income. Thanks to advice from CM Club, when I started to get calls again for part timers, I went with it and boy were they right. I've learnt a lot since I started. When a full timer leaves it cripples you financially but if you have several part timers, if one leaves it's not SO bad financially. Ok, there's the problem of filling odd funny days.

i.e. from Feb 06 - Feb 07 I was doing very well with my mindees. I had my original full timer plus another mindee (older of the 2 sisters i have now) who came Tues, Wed, Thurs and another mindee who came on a Mon & Fri. Around Christmas time I spoke to Mon/Fri mindee's mum and we agreed it was time for him to leave. We got on fab, it was only supposed to be for 6 months but ended up being a year and they'd moved house and were spending 45 mins EACH way so I could still have mindee (45 mins to mine, 45 mins home then same again for pick up). I told her I didn't think she should continue to travel so far and sure they could find another person more local. When he left I was left with 1 vacancy on Mon & Fri which wasn't too bad. But then in Feb, my first ever mindee left (big shock to get notice but moved to private school - we all cried) so suddenly I was suffering again as only had 1 mindee on a Tues, Wed & Thurs, then little baby sibling joined the same days. Right shitty days as no-one usually wants a Monday and a Friday and that's all I had, 2 spaces for each days. Then, thanks AGAIN to MN, I was persuaded to speak to the sisters mum and explain how I'm struggling due to funny days blabla and asked if we could change to Mon-Wed. She agreed. I then got the double pay baby for Thursday's and Friday's and suddenly I was full again. As both families take up 2 spaces each, I have 8 week notice period in my contracts. So, now I'm full with my under 5's and am also ready to take on over 5's (not as easy to fill due to after school clubs etc).

Ds goes to school full time in January and I have also filled those vacancies - double pay baby doing extra day, other days filled by 2 other people. I'm really pleased it's all part timers now - not got all eggs in one basket iyswim

Sorry, I've really waffled on there but I wanted to give you an idea of how up and down it has been for me and I'm sure many of us. I also believe it depends on where you live. For example, I'm turning down lots of work for under 5's as full but where Saz73 is (only 10 mins away), they are all struggling for work. I think with me being on route to town, near motorway etc it helps. So location is important!

I've probably been no use at all

Lt you have been lots of use

As I said I have been very very fortunate, that living where I do, I have always had full timers, and as one has left I have had one waiting to move into the space, have never had a vacancy.

i have a child going to school full time in January, but the space was taken by a pregnant mum three months ago. That is how it tends to work on a Army camp, Plus because we have been here a long time (DH has been in the White Helmets almost 16 years) my name is known and even people coming in from other postings know somebody who has been with me before and I havnt had to advertise very often, because I always know when somebody is being posted at least a few months before they go I put the feelers out and the space just seems go.

I'm not sure I want to work full time anyway when we move I will be over 50 by then and have Fibromaygia so think part time by then will be enough.

I am lucky that DH is going into the prison service, and will also have a Army pension, and very little Mortgage by then so finacially I dont really have to work, but I couldnt do nothing

Glad it was of some use And......how fab to be able to childmind but not have the stress of HAVING to fill vacancies!

s- you sound like me!! I've been here 2 1/2 yr now one of the longest of the childminders and am here for 2/12 more yrs. I had a huge amount of phone calls from people moving in recommended by someone else it's a lovely feeling