Going rate for after school care?

[cluckyagain]

Hi - I'm hoping that you lovely ladies can help me. I'm going to look after my friend's 2 school age children after school each day - probably from 3-6pmish. What is the going rate as neither her or I have any idea at all!!(Surrey area - don't know if this matters or not!) I will feed them too but we'll work out food separately so really there are only 'minding' expenses. Many thanks in advance.xx

i was charging £5.00 per hour per child (that included dinner). hope that helps

Clucky, I charge £4 per hour

Are you already registered as a CM?

I charge £3.50 per hour plus £1.50 for dinner when it's needed. Haven't been doing it long and I have no idea how this compares to others in my area!

Thanks guys. Boysarelikedogs - no, but she knows this (a very good friend - our children go to school together) Do you charge £4 per child or would it be £4 for 2?

clucky I don't think you're allowed to look after children for more than 2 hours if you're not registered... ?

For 3.15-6pm our afterschool club costs £8.50 a day per child with a sibling discount of 10%.

Do be careful

In extreme circumstances social services have been know to prosecute parents using unregistered care (as it is technically neglect). Plus there is a fine for you

how old are the kds ? - if over 8 does she still need to be registered?

i pay £4.00 per hour each for my 2 from 3.30 to 6 , lus 1.5 each for food, wirtha registered CM. if it was a friend i'd expect to pay less - maybe £3 per hour, plus food?

I second what Katy says.

There are issues involved that you may not have considered - First Aid, your car insurance may be invalidated, house insurance too, what about Public Liability insurance if god forbid there is an accident. Plus the worry of SS getting involved with the unregistered care.

I am sorry to go on about this, but it's really important that you think about this.

If we can help you with the registration process, please ask

I pay £8 per hour (Surrey) Qualified Nanny (brings own child) so in effect £4 per hour per child - obviously I provide food but seems reasonable to me and the going rate for other people I interviewed.

Heck - seriously? I hadn't really thought past the fact that we're very good friends and that we're doing each other a favour....I need a bit of extra cash and she is doing a qualification after school for a year and hence needs some help. Plops.

OK - how do I register then and if I do does that have an implication for having to take other children (which I won't) and the fact that I already have a 7, 5 and 3 yr old of my own (8, 5 and 3 by September)

This thread has made me wonder where the boundary of childminding versus babysitting is crossed - does it depend in where they are looked after or the regularity? Not trying to hijack just thought this may help.

I think babysitting in the evening isn't regulated at all.

If you do the care in your friends home, you are then a nanny, and don't have to be registered in the same way as a childminder.

I know a lot of people using unregistered care. For a few hours a day, having a friend like you to help out would be ideal.

Would doing it in your friends house be an option?

whichwitch - not unhelpful at all! I was wondering if it was only me doing this - my dh was astounded at the thought that I may have to be registered/checked etc as he knows of lots of 'friends helping friends' doing this.
Laura - yes I could occasionally use my friends house as I think her children might like that too, but it would not be every day as it's vastly inconvenient for me as I'm cooking dinner for them all.

Clucky - firstly have a look at at this and see if it applies to you.

HTH

try again

If link is still not working, google childrens information service

In my area, Childminders charge around £5 per hour per child for after-school care. I'm in West Surrey.

If you provide the childcare at your home, and your friends children are aged under 8, then you need to register as a childminder. In Surrey, contact the Childminding Development Officer on 01372 833826 for an initial discussion. Your registration would be for a certain number of childcare places... you don't have to fill them all.

The way around the issue, is to care for the children at their own home... then you are a nanny. Babysitting is the same as being a nanny - at least, I can't find anywhere official which states otherwise.

Childcare provided in your home, between 6pm and 2am is unregulated in England - it is only care between 2am and 6pm which is regulated (by Ofsted in England) and applicable when care is provided for 2 or more hours in any day (day in this situation, being 2am to 6pm). Appropriate legislation for this is mostly to be found in the Care Standards Act 2000.

When doing favours for friends, it is the 'reward' aspect which is important. Anything may be considered to be reward, not just money - so a box of chocolates, bunch of flowers etc. One thing I would expect the regulator to take into account, was the frequency that care was provided. The same time each week day, would not in my view be friends coming over to play. Friends coming over to play for a couple of hours every now and then, is another matter. There is provision within legislation for there to be 5 occasions in a year, in which care is provided of 2 hours or longer. It is when such care is provided on more than 5 occasions, that it becomes a breach of the regulations.

It would all be perfectly legal and above board clucky if you weren't getting paid for it and no one has to know that you are being paid for it IYSWIM

From the link that BoysAreLikeDogs did:

The following types of childcare are not registered or inspected:

parent or relative of a child
any adult with parental responsibility for a child
foster parent approved by local authority/voluntary organisation or who fosters privately
nannies (working for no more than two families)
au pairs (in the family home). Au pairs are regulated by the Home Office but the work they do is not registered or inspected
services which cater only for children aged eight or over.
Anyone looking after a child between the hours of 6pm and 2am only

So does that mean that if the children are both over the age of 8, you wouldn't need to be registered?

Yes laura, that's right

Guys - you're all marvellous!! So in essence, as long as the care is mostly at my friends house and I'm doing it purely out of the goodness of my heart - my friend and I are OK......well that's fine then!

Interesting about the registration process though (thanks boysarelikedogs) I can't understand why it's any different at the 'home' rather than the home of the childminder - surely the quality of care is the important thing rather than the house which the child is in?