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Paid childcare

Discuss everything related to paid childcare here, including childminders, nannies, nurseries and au pairs.

Childminder reasonable or not?

3 replies

twinsoncoming · 30/06/2024 02:44

Hi All, I live in Greater London so the Redbridge area and at the moment finding nursery space is proving to be difficult and childminders are on the same rates as nurseries but all booked out!

I don't know how parents are managing however, there a new childminder that recently started working with her sister. She quite good however she doesn't do funded placements at the moment but does a subscription service.

The childminding setting is in her outbuilding and functions quite like a nursery which im really comfortable with I'm new to parenting (i've got a 2 year old) as it's my first kid and note sure if this subscription service option is best as already childcare is out of control!!

Montessori Sprout (Part-Time) 2 days/week (16 hours) £600 Monthly Parents seeking affordable, part-time care with Montessori activities. Includes supervision and pre-packaged, cold lunches brought from home. (Age: 2-4 years)

Montessori Explorer (Part-Time) 3 days/week (24 hours) £800 Monthly Parents seeking more comprehensive, part-time care with Montessori activities. Includes supervision, pre-packaged, cold lunches brought from home (snacks are provided within cost), and additional enriching materials. (Age: 2-4 years) Morning Session: 7 AM - 11 AM or 8 AM - 12 PM Afternoon Session: 1 PM - 5 PM First Month Discount: 20% off (£640 for the first month). Duration: Flexible month-to-month subscription. Parents can cancel with a 30-day notice. Sibling Discount: 7% discount for siblings enrolled in the same plan. Referral Discount: £50 off the next month's fee for each successful referral.

Montessori Discoverer (Full-Time) 5 days/week (40 hours) £1200 Monthly First Month Discount: 20% off (£960 for the first month) Parents seeking full-time care with a strong Montessori focus. Includes supervision, enriched Montessori activities, and healthy, hot meals prepared on-site. (Age: 2-4 years). Full Day: 7 AM - 5 PM (with an optional start time of 8 AM if preferred) Flexible month-to-month subscription. Parents can cancel with a 30-day notice. Additional Perks: Priority booking for weekend support, 70% discount on S.T.E.M activities/clubs, and flexible drop-off/pick-up times. Emergency Care: Free up to 5 hours per month. Sibling Discount: 10% discount for siblings enrolled in the same plan. Referral Discount: £50 off the next month's fee for each successful referral. Parent Workshops: Free access to monthly parent workshops on child development and Montessori methods.

Holiday Support Package Standalone Option: For parents not enrolled in regular plans, offer holiday support at £70 per day. This includes supervision, special activities, and meals. Booking: Discounts available for early booking (10% off if booked 3 months in advance)

They have about 12 spots so I'm not sure if the costs are the best but knowing the childminder she comes from a Computing background and focuses on including STEM activities- please do advise if the childminders rates are reasonable!

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
SD1978 · 30/06/2024 05:25

How,does she plan to seperate the kids into three different streams, at different age ranges, when there is only 2 of them?

cmforfun · 30/06/2024 06:40

Her full time rate works out at under £7 per hour so that's probably reasonable for London. I'm £5.50 but I live up north.

It sounds very complicated though!

ChateauMargaux · 01/07/2024 09:29

The rate per day is higher if you enrol for fewer hours but the offering is less - it is not clear what the difference between 'Montessori activities', 'additional enriching materials' and 'enriched Montessori activities' means.. and how these are differentiated if she has 12 places per day with attendees from all three packages.

The session times are confusion - is lunch supervision included in the hours? the sessions are 4 hours - so 3 days of 24 hours would not include any lunch time?

'Includes lunch taken from home'.. so either it includes lunch - or they supervise lunch which you provide.

When does she do the additional STEM clubs? after 6pm - how could these ever be a benefit to a child attending full time?

If the fees are monthly - what happens during holidays, bank holidays etc.

Her communication is not entirely clear and her offering is possibly overly complicated. But what matters is - does it meet your needs and did you like the setting?

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