How much is government paying childminder for 15hrs childcare?

[TheStuffalo]

i pay £60 per day with a really caring childminder and this includes food and snacks from 8-5pm. I think this is very reasonable for the area and my child is happy.

we should be getting 15 hrs free childcare for our 2.5yo from April which I think my childminder will accept but I've seen online that childminders get £5ish per hour per child. If this is correct our childminder will be making a loss and I really don't want that to happen and I don't want her to suffer financially.

can anyone tell me what the position is? I don't want to make my childminder feel awkward by asking her but if she is going to be worse off I'll just pay £60 per day because I don't want to cause her stress.

I would just ask. I asked my childminder if it worked out financially for her or did she need a top up for food/activities etc. she seemed to think the rate for under 3s was ok (rate is lower when they turn 3) but we are NW based so her daily rate is £42

Different local authorities pay different amounts. I think your childminder would be really grateful if you asked to pay a contribution to ensure she still earns the same amount. Just ask politely if she will suffer a financial loss by offering the funded hours and then pay a contribution to ensure she doesn’t. It means you’re still saving money and the childminder isn’t losing money as the shortfall is covered.

What local authority are you under? I will send you the figures if they are out yet - some are still to announce.

its likely above her hourly rate until your child becomes eligible for 3 and 4 year old funding, where she may have to charge you a “consumables” fee

When I was childminding 2 years ago I was getting £4 an hour, and it didn't cover my daily fee. I had to charge extra for lunch and any drop offs/pick ups (most children also went to school nursery). I am no longer childminding as it wasn't financially viable for me in the end. You'll probably find she will have to charge extra to make up the shortfall.

I think £60 is expensive for a childminder unless you are in London

My childminder is £45

Local authority pays around £4.25 per hour so only a difference of 25p per hour which I have been asked to make up "for supplies"

She will probably charge you some on top of that - all childminders and nurseries that I know of do it.
Last time I tried to look up the hourly amount in our area it was so so hard to find, I think it was less than £4/ hour and we are in London ‘burbs so they will def need the top up!

It varies hugely between different local authorities.

Surrey paid less than Hampshire who paid less than Wiltshire back in the day. Utter madness seeing as though Surrey was the most expensive place to operate due to house prices!

They’ll often make up the money eg by having 2 sessions in the day which are feee but a lunchtime in between the sessions that is at a higher rate and you pay for lunch (food is not included in free hours). Most places don’t have free hours without any top ups, I’d ask what her policy is

I don't. Nurseries around here start at £9 an hour. I am not in London.

£45 a day is actually really low for quite a lot of places nowadays. I'm not in London but you'd struggle to get childcare for much less than £60 a day around here.

Anyway sorry that was to previous posted.

Regarding rates, many local authorities are paying childminders £12 per hour! So they'll actually be making more, not less. It is kind of you to offer though. You could look up what your local authority is paying

That’s very rare if at all, some are making slightly more than their usual hourly rate for 2 year olds but this amount obviously drops when they turn 3. A higher amount will be paid for 9 months to 2 years when that funding starts.

Yes sorry I missed the age of op's child. Yes it will be lower then. Sadly I can see a lot of childminders only taking on under 2s in future which is sad.

But also it isn't rare, at least not on the UK childminding group I'm part of. £9-12 seems to be quite the norm, £12 being for under 2s.

I’ve seen that a lot of LAs are paying around the £7/£7.50 amount. The only places I’ve seen that pay around £9 for 2 year olds is some London areas. I know in Kent the rate for 2 year olds is £7.55 as my sister is a childminder there whereas somewhere like Oldham get £7.89 and Oxfordshire get £7.89.

It’s going to be really difficult once a child goes into the 3 year old funding as the funding drops by an alarming amount. I agree that some childminders are going to focus on the younger children as, financially, it makes sense and they don’t have to battle to be paid their usual hourly rate.

She won’t be making a loss, she will charge you the difference. Mine does.
Her hourly rate is £7 and we will pay the difference (charged as extras of course)

My local authority is paying around £5 for 3 year olds and £7/7.50 for 2 year olds.
And are expecting to pay about £9.50 for under 2s.

Local authorities have historically underpaid childminders and nurseries for funded hours rather than what their actual hourly rate is. In my area 2 year olds have a slightly higher rate than 3/4 year olds. Most childcare settings will charge some sort of extra fee if the rate the local authority pays is not enough. I would just speak to your childminder as the funding rates are not top secret and can be accessed by anyone.

Worcestershire will be paying £7.05 per hour from term after 2nd birthday until term after 3rd birthday. After that it drops to something like £5.19 per hour. (I can't remember the figure exactly).

Each local authority sets its own rate though.

Childminders feel especially aggrieved because the LAs syphon off a certain amount for "training purposes", then put most of the training on during the day, when childminders are working and can't attend.

The rate we are paid in my LA is not one flat rate for all the childminder rate seems to be varying by 30p an hour and is up to 89p less than the published rates. The council can take off up to 5% for admin ours pay extra to settings with SEN and also a percentage to pensions for qualified teachers so effectively nurseries get more.

Most childminders I know won't turn away a child turning 3 we care very deeply for the welfare of the children in our care and having a child from 9 months means you build a bond and typically we take the hit.

The published rates for 9month olds can be as high as £12 based on nursery ratios then at 2 it drops by around a third and then at 3 to around £4.75/£5 but the published rates are not what the settings get

As everyone says, it varies one LA to the next.
You can just say to her - we don't want you working for less than you get now, but obviously we'd appreciate the fact the Gvmnt part fund the hours - let us know what you get from the LA and we will top it up to what we are already paying.

I'm sending my little one to a council owned gym. Does that make a difference?

Nursery/....not gym