Is this standard practice

[Gardeningisfun]

I pay for a school pickup twice a week. The breakdown of cost is £6 per pick up and £8 for an hours childminding.

I don’t need this service during the summer holidays. The childminder said that to hold the place for my child until September I have to pay the full weekly cost. I am surprised at this. I can understand paying the £8 for the childminding hour but not the school run fee. School runs don’t exist in the summer holidays!? What do you think?

Your childminder needs to earn money, it's her choice to set out her terms of use and it's your choice to not use her during school holidays. She could take on another child for all year round care, and not need your £6 for the school run anymore. If you want to not pay her, you run the risk of losing out. I am on maternity leave and don't need my dog walker as much. But I still keep her on because I know she's in great demand and I can't risk losing our space for when I return to work. It's just one of those things.

Do you think that in a cost of living crisis your childminder can afford to lose £6 a day from every child because there is no longer a school run?

Fair enough, just wondered if it was standard practice. School pick ups aren’t needed if school isn’t on so it doesn’t quite back sense to me but it’s her business. This wasn’t actually detailed in the agreement so I wasn’t aware. Will have to give notice and stop the service.

Before that I’d check that another childminder has space and charges term time only - unusual in my experience.

I think the "rule" is that if your childminder charges you during the holidays, they have to be available to work your contracted hours. So, in your case, if you chose to, you could send your child to the minder for the hours you are being charged for.

Probably not convenient for you, but if you wanted to make a point, then you could say that you want the arrangement to continue through the holiday, and that you will meet the childminder outside the school (as per your contract) to hand over your child, and will collect them at your usual time 😈

The problem is that the childminder probably holds all the cards at the moment, and if you don't pay up, you may find that you don't have that after school care in place in September.

I think I’ve been a bit foolish assuming school pick up is term time only. Will need to make sure if I get someone again they operate this way. I totally get paying for the childminding hour throughout the holidays but the pick up doesn’t make sense to me.

@HurdyGurdy19 I think I would be met with a definite no if I asked them to pick up my child throughout the holidays!

Is the pick up extra time to the hour you pay for? Is the pickup charge for mileage or time? If its for mileage that isn't done then I don't think it should be chargeable.

I think you have quite an unusual set up. Most CMs around here charge for an afterschool session and include pick up (eg 2.5h from 3.30 to 6, which would cost you £20 a session at her hourly rate)

Does she have other mindees for only an hour?

The £14 charge may effectively be a “short session” charge if you are the only one picking up at 4.30 or whatever.

There's no standard. Some childminders, including your own, would charge; some, like me, would not.

However, I'd probably charge more than your childminder so I'm covered for the holiday period. You might consider that extortionate, but I'm doing exactly the same as your childminder - making sure I don't lose out by allowing term-time only.

It's definitely unusual when it's for school runs....that being said my child's childminder only does school runs and I chose her for this reason

only Having to pay for a single hour is going to be hard to find. You aren’t just paying a pickup fee, you are likely paying a fee for only needing an hour.

Keep in mind that means that likely means she can’t book anyone else at all that afternoon or possibly day and loses out on that money.

You're probably right. But - she is charging you for a service, and as such, ought to provide that service if asked to.

I agree with you this seems weird. I understand keeping the place open but I’d have thought the childminder would be taking extra children for holiday care and so your DC for an hour a day would disrupt that.

But most parents need holiday care so if you don't want to pay anything in the holiday you wouldn't be taken on as wrap around either the sound business decision is to not take you.

Personally I'd charge you the equivalent of 3 hours every day because your taking up a 3 hour space I'd expect it all year used or not or would take on someone who not only pays the 3 hours but also want 8 in school holidays. Before you throw the baby out I'd check if you have choices in September because most will not have you back once you go.

The extra children are normally the school pick ups I'd 29 years I've only ever been asked for holiday care only once.

When I signed a contract with my childminder I had to choose term time only or all year round, she only charges when shes working. Obviously I don't need her to do the school run in school hols & I'd have thought that was standard practice but maybe not after reading this

What does the school pick up
charge cover? Is it the time taken? Or the travel cost?

I’ve known both those who would charge and those who don’t. Either way, a childminder would have to do something to recoup the cost of holding a space open for you during holidays. You don’t want to pay, because you’re not receiving a service, but she can’t fill the space because you also want her to hold a spot open for you for when school restarts. So either you lose money or she does.

Well, Childminders are self employed so can charge what they want, in whatever way they want.
As a rule of thumb, I would expect to pay a little extra per hour for a term time only contract.
I have never heard of a CMer separating out "collection from school" and "caring for child", and, as she has done that, then - like you - I would not expect to pay for the "collecting from school".

Ultimately, it depends on supply and demand in your area. Where there are fewer childcare places than there are families looking for them, then the childcare providers hold the upper hand. If there are plenty of places, then the families have the upper hand.

To me, £16 for an hour's childcare after school seems really steep, but, as has been pointed out upthread, I can understand a CMer weighting the payment for a short booking, as she can't pick up another child after yours has gone home.
However, I think she has shot herself in the foot a bit by saying the £6 is specifically to pick your dc up from school, which she isn't doing.

A retainer is standard to keep the place open for September. There may be room for compromise though.

If you want her to keep a space for the next school year, you need to pay for that. She's not a term time only service.

it doesn't matter what you call it. Pick up/retainer it's what she needs to keep the place open for you. By the time your notice period is done, it'll only be a few quid until school starts again.

cutting off your nose to spite your face.