Nanny vs nursery costs

[Childcarecosts]

I’m trying to work out the best option for childcare for two one year olds when I return to work.

DH earns substantially more than £100k so we’re not entitled to any free childcare hours.

I plan to return to work three days per week (although this might change).

I’d love a nanny but we have a lot of outgoings and not huge amount of cash to spare so I worry that with the hidden costs (employers NI contributions, payroll costs etc.) it might be unaffordable for us.

However, I know nursery is notoriously expensive too and with two (and given no free hours) the difference might not be so big?

Is anyone able to give a rough idea of how the costs compare?

I’ll look into it in more detail locally of course but just wanted to get an initial idea to know if it’s even worth me exploring the nanny route or if we’d be completely priced out!

Are one or both of you needing to commute? I mix a nanny and nursery, but had more nanny at that stage. Talking to friends, don’t underestimate the bonus of knowing there is a clean vest in the drawer (on the 3rd change in 2 hrs), some vaguely healthy food batch cooked in the freezer, and that the key worker hasn’t changed for the 3rd time this term. It let me have a bit more headspace and actually enjoy some time with my daughter rather than trying to catch up with house admin.

Nanny tax have good guides for local salaries on their website, as well as the actual cost of extras.

I'd look for a local childminder. I loved mine when my kids were little

You need to work out the going rate for a nanny in your area (gross, not net) then plug it into the calculator on the nanny tax website.

For 2 kids the cost will be similar to nursery I would have thought, and SO much better in terms of convenience, no drop offs, nanny does a bit of housework, kids are in their own space, not exposed to as many illnesses and even if they are ill the nanny can still look after them (and put them to bed in their own cot!). Since you’ve got twins they have a play mate so will already know/learn to share, wait their turn etc.

Childminders are an option they work to the same standards and are inspected by the same inspectors as a nursery

I’m not in the wealthy bracket as you are so a nanny would never be an option, but I do personally think that children benefit from being around other children and in a setting. Could you do a hybrid approach? Also, I think if you’re working parents, I believe you would still be entitled to funding. It’s just us lot in the middle who can’t work enough and aren’t ‘disadvantaged’ enough who miss out.

We had a nanny for a couple of years and it was absolutely the best thing that we ever did. There will be lots of rhetoric about children being around others but good nannies have networks and hang out with other nannies and their kids. My son had a group of about 4 kids that he regularly played with during his nanny care.
The flipside was that he got so much out of being in an individual care setting and having amazing trips and lots of development support. I think even now that we can see her impact on our eldest - we see it with our youngest too but it is more recent.
I would add that nannies often help with more than just the kids and that can be a huge benefit! When I had my second son she was the support I needed the first time around - cooking extra so I could also eat, helping with the boys' laundry. It is amazing not to have to take your kid out for a fever and knowing that they'll get really loved and cared for while you are working and they are feeling grotty. Only once did we ever have a time when the nanny couldn't come in and overall I would say it was less impact that I have seen with other young kids who aren't allowed into nursery with the various illnesses they get.
It also helped to have an on-tap source of insight around development. Our nanny was very knowledgable and was great at supporting both my sons with a really consistent approach. Potty training, using cutlery etc - all skills they pick up at nursery but she really focused on them. I'll add that my 3.5 year old reads at a 6 year old level - that is definitely down to having that early one on one care where he expressed interest in words and she taught him the basics of phonics. He is now at preschool - we made the move for both at 3 years when being with others is really important ahead of their move into school - and he is a super social kid who blows the staff away with some of his abilities. None of that is me, I am sure.
As you can tell, I think nanny care is absolutely the best options for 1 and 2 year olds if you can afford it, as I think it positively impacts the whole family with that added help.
We found that it wasn't much more to have the kids with a nanny than a local nursery but it definitely depends on local costs. Nursery would have been £180 a day at the most expensive point while our nanny was £200. We definitely think we got our monies worth for that extra £20.

I think the rhetoric around tiny kids needing to be around other kids is exactly that. It’s designed to make what for most is the only option more palatable. But very young children especially need to bond with one or two adults who they can trust will be there day after day. That is way more important than learning to wait your turn or whatever.

I completely agree, there is so much research around child development and attachment theory which shows this and there are so many opportunities to interact with other kids. Not to shame anyone who uses nursery at all - for most parents it’s the best option. I would just always choose a nanny and the individual care and home setting they can offer if I can afford it.

I’m going to look into nannies now as it sounds as though the cost wouldn’t be too different.

Thanks so much for sharing your experience! Sounds like you had an amazing nanny!

I don’t think childminders offer the same benefits as a nanny though. They have the same disadvantages as nurseries from what I can tell but the ratios are often worse than in a nursery.

I know it's not quite what you asked, but I used a nursery for DC1 and DC2. Both were fine, children were happy. However, I'm using a childminder for DC3 and I am so impressed by her and how much better it is than nursery! She was actually a private nanny for years before she has her own kids and started childminding. She is really like a substitute mum. She takes the kids out and about - parks, playgroups, soft play - which they wouldn't get to do at a nursery. And there is a level of continuity of care that nursery just can't offer. So, it might be with looking into childminders, as a middle ground between nursery and nanny.

I’ve worked as a nanny for years and always have had a good network of playgroups and classes etc and other nannies with similar aged children for play dates etc, a good and experienced nanny will provide that.
The cost comes down to area, experience and going rate. I’m currently on £22 per hour gross but that’s with toddler twins in SE London.

We did full time nursery for dc1 and now have a nanny for dc2 (as well as looking after dc1 after school)

Both dh and I work full time and tbh hiring our wonderful nanny is the absolute best thing we've ever spent our money on. Yes it is expensive (we are in London), and we have to make cut backs in other areas, but she brings SO much to our life she's worth every penny.
As PP said uptrend, it's more than just the childcare. It's the light housework, the batch cooking, the having a meal ready for me when I get home as she made extra, the childcare in school holidays, being there when kids are sick etc etc.
Our nanny also has a great network of friends and other nannies so dc2 spends lots of time with other kids who they now know really well.

I loved nursery for dc1, they thrived. We couldn't afford a nanny then so had no choice anyway but we were happy with the decision.
But knowing what I know now, including how much easier your life will become and how you feel like you have that extra layer of support, I'd say a nanny every time for when they're small.

If you can afford it and find the right nanny for your family, it will be worth it.

Just to add - a good nanny will facilitate socialisation opportunities. Another thing I liked was that we could book the kids into the classes we wanted them to do - so they went to Forest school, baby ballet, music classes etc - where they saw other kids, plus the nanny took them to rhyme time at the library and a drop in playgroup and other free stuff. Plus in your case you’ve got twins so they already have a playmate and will be developing those social skills daily.

We sent our kids to nursery for the free hours when they were 3 and kept our nanny on (didn’t cost us any more because nursery was free at that point). With dc1 the nanny looked after dc2 but even when dc2 was at nursery she just used the nursery time to do housework and batch cooking or took half day holidays.

Nursery was great for the kids when they were 3 but the nanny was incredible for my babies. We have the same one 5 years later and she is like another mum to them.

There could be additional costs of a nanny such as food, cost of outings or activities, fuel/mileage. Having the heating on at home more often

Ps I AM a nanny

Yes that’s a good point about a nanny bringing more to the table than ‘just’ childcare. I’ll batch cook while they nap, sort their laundry, clear their toys etc, in my old job I took care of all the school admin and organised parties, made cakes etc.

If you go the nanny route would you use an agency? That’s something to consider cost-wise too.

For exactly those reasons I would go with a nanny until the kids are 3 if you can afford to. Once they are 3 they can go to preschool for a few sessions. My kids never went to FT nurseries (we had childminders), and they later settled well at school.

Without funded hours, a nanny was cheaper for us. When DTs turned 3 (last year) we had the benefit of funded hours and sent them to pre school. Nanny was £18 net an hour, nursery was/ is £90 a day.

I loved our childminders too for those reasons. The kids also get very close to them and the person doesn’t change for 2-3 years, unlike in nurseries where there is often a high staff turnover. My kids also napped for long time and a lot of nurseries in my area don’t enable older kids to nap.

childminders are a middle ground, ratios are definitely not higher than in nursery. There are strict rules around that.

at a childminder you have more outings, home cooked meals, a home environment, a quieter environment, one key regular caregiver, less sick kids and illness going round, more flexibility on hours. I don’t see how a childminder has gone the some disadvantages than a nursery.

When I looked online it said ratio for childminders is 1:6 whereas the ratio is 1:3 for a one year old at nursery. I’m sure some childminders choose to have fewer children if they look after younger children but to me there’s no way one adult can look after two one year olds and four other children (or even two or three other children) at the same time!

By the same disadvantages as nursery, I meant that the care isn’t individualised or personalised and the child doesn’t get one-on-one care. They don’t have the benefit of staying in their own home. And there isn’t the benefit of the additional things nannies do to make life easier that others have mentioned in the thread.

I also think the variety of ages childminders look after can make it more challenging as it’s difficult to focus on the developmental needs of e.g. one year olds and three year olds at the same time.

I’m sure there are advantages that nurseries don’t have such as continuity of care and a lot will depend on the individual childminder (I’ve heard mixed experiences) but overall when I’ve considered the options I haven’t felt like a childminder is right for us.

I don’t think I’d need to use an agency as from a quick glance on childcare.co.uk there are lots of nannies nearby who sound great! Then I’d use a payroll provider like nannytax.

I’d welcome any opinions on this though, being completely new to it. Are there any pitfalls with finding a nanny this way?

Any questions I should ask at the start to help avoid potential problems later?

There was a time when I used to find my jobs using childcare.co.U.K. OP with no issue whatsoever, however in the last few years it seems to have changed in the way that there are a lot of potential employers on there wanting to avoid using a payroll, or not accepting that an experienced nanny can command a higher rate and trying to lowball, or just lots of time wasters not really knowing what they want. For the first time in my career I used an agency for my current job.

Obviously I’m looking at it from the other side, there are indeed good nannies available on there. You need to pay for Gold membership to get anywhere with it though.

I’m fairly sure it’s 1:3 for under 5s in childminders and nurseries. But in reality, at a nursery all the adults on site count, so the manager in the office counts, even if not interacting with the kids. So you might have 2 adults with 9 babies, plus the manager in the office for legal reasons (not all nurseries will do this but I have heard of some that do.) CM can’t do this as they’re on their own! There is no max ratio for older children (8+ maybe) so theoretically they can have loads after school, but mine never did. One who collects at my school has 12 trail home with her though. 12!!!! I wouldn’t be happy with that even though they are older.

if I could afford a nanny I definitely would. I think once you’re are at 2+ kids it can work out the same or cheaper especially if you don’t get funded hours or tax free childcare (which contrary to what someone said up thread, is not available to everyone who works.)

@Childcarecosts we found ours on childcare.co.uk and have also found temps that way when our nanny has had time off (she’s had a few longer breaks in the 5.5 years she has worked for us).

You need to make sure that the nanny is happy to be paid through payroll (you can do this yourself but we use on the many providers for ease) - ie that they don’t want cash in hand. You as employer would be liable to HMRC for the unpaid tax, so don’t take the risk! Also there is no such thing as a self-employed nanny so don’t deal with anyone who says that is their set up. I always ask for DBS checks and multiple references and then check them thoroughly (which is all an agency does really). After that it’s a matter of interviewing them and going with your gut. Our current nanny reached out and stopped our baby banging his head on the arm of the chair really naturally mid-sentence and without missing a beat whereas others kind of ignored him while speaking to us. Best of luck!