My childminder is excellent and DD loves going to her house. We’re lucky to have found her. She’s had to close her setting (no keyworkers’ children, as far as I know) and is charging 50% of her fees as a retainer.
However, the CM has already said that she’ll be going on maternity leave in July. I think it’s unlikely that she’ll be working again until early next year (although who knows when settings will reopen?). She’s been self-employed for just under a year, so I don’t think she’s eligible for the grant for self-employed workers.
Would you pay the retainer, and if so, for how long? I’m happy to pay something and I’d hate for the CM to struggle. On the other hand, I’m on a low wage myself and am vulnerable to redundancy when the economy is doing badly. I’ll probably need to find a new childcare setting as soon as they’re allowed to reopen and I can’t afford to pay two settings at once. What would you do?