Childminder Vs nursery place

[Undecidedonusername]

I'm a new mum here and I have very little experience of the world of childcare so I'm still trying to work out what is best for my family.
I have a one year old who is certainly becoming more attached to me now that I have returned to work part time, I've only been back two weeks then off for Xmas.
Anyway I found a nursery place for him which is local enough and charges top up fees per month and I can use my 15hrs funded. They run during holidays too - I'm a teacher so that not really needed but might not be a bad thing. I'm only looking to use two days and partner will be with him for the other day. The only issue is that for a few weeks they can only offer one of the days I work and then go back to covering two of my working days.
On the other hand I found a childminder who's hours are shorter eg drop off at 9 instead of 8 and only open during term time and won't charge me anything as my funded hours cover it. It seemed like a no brainer so I went with her but after a v.short settling in session she sent me a text warning me that if he doesn't settle then she will have to terminate the contract! I didn't realise they would be so harsh, she won't let either of us sit with him at all during settling in session and when we tried on Friday she just snatched and him and said to dad, yeah he'll be fine, she you in half an hour and then 2 mins later she messaged on the app (which only I had downloaded) to come get him, then two missed calls ...
We were supposed to have another settling in session today but she's closed nursery because of illness and won't be open till Wednesday...
I'm starting to wonder if nursery is a better option, they have a whole week of settling on sessions and I believe parents can stay on site for the first few sessions.
Really just trying to work out what will be best for all 3 of us.

This childminder sounds very unprofessional I would run a mile and find alternative care ASAP.

She sounds a bit mad to be honest! No wonder she has spaces 😬

It's all down to personal preference/what works for your child but for me nursery was a no-brainer. DS was wonderfully challenged and having a professional setting was great peace of mind for me working (no days the childminder was sick/last minute cover etc!)

I would not let that childminder look after my kid. She sounds very unprofessional.

I’m a childminder and based on your experience so far I’d see if the nursery still has a space. Not all childminders are equal (same goes for nurseries).

Look for a different childminder she sounds very inexperienced and unprofessional.

We both thought settling in sessions were a time when parents started off staying in the room and then on site and then nearby so my partner was shocked when she just grabbed him and said, 'see you in half an hour' and to make matters worse she only just told us about this session the day before and then on the day she changed the time - it was already an inconvenient day to do it.
When we first visited we sat in the playroom for a good while so I'm confused as to why she's now saying neither of us are allowed in.

So you visited with baby and stayed for a good while that was in effect your first settling in. If you stay then your child will automatically come to you won't accept care or comfort from the cm so is not getting used to being looked after by them....it just delays the start of your child settling.....and the cm can't work properly while your there....you can't be left alone with children or be present while intimate care is being given. So it's normal for you to leave for a growing period of time over a few sessions....some prefer to go straight into full days.
What's not normal is being called back after two minutes....but maybe your child was hysterical....are they used to being left with anyone else? Personally I'd try to work with you on that by getting you to pop out for a growing number of minutes over a few days, but that can mean it's impossible to look after any other child (I'd call in my assistant to be with the others). It's also odd to say so early they may not settle....I do explain we all have a get out option during settling in case things are not working though....I then say some find they can't bring themselves to return to work.

I guess that's fair enough but it all felt so random.
The thing is when we went to visit we were told quite clearly that she is completely full and there are no spaces whatsoever but there may be in 2025. The CM also strongly encouraged the pair of us to consider becoming CM and setting up our home to take on local children as she said she had such a long waiting list etc ...I later learned there's a nice referral few in it for her if we were to join the CM scheme lol.
On that day she only had two other children with her, one of which were her own, so I guess she had the time to accommodate us. We went away thinking that we wouldn't get a place but found that our baby was very much at ease in the setting and played independently. He isn't often left alone with new people but can manage with people he has seen before, especially if there are kids around.
I guess what really worries me is that she may often need to close nursery due to personal reasons eg sickness, maintenance in her house etc whereas in a nursery you have a whole team of staff so one would hope that you have more consistency and reliability.
I'm leaning towards nursery because their settling in process does sound much better thought out eg day one parents in the room for an hour, day 2 parents out of sight but remain on site for 1.5hrs, day 3 parents don't need to stay but stay local till the end of the week when they can manage most of the day.

So she's a Tiny childminder trying to claw back some of the fees they charge by recruiting others.
I can say in 30 years I've had unplanned closures totalling no more than 4 weeks so what once a year....3 were bereavements so parents were forewarned and then I arranged other CMS. Using a childminder who co minds or has assistants reduced the need to close
Your nursery settling is unusual most prefer parents not to come in at all after day one.

She does have an assistant. I can see at least 5 days of closure just in that last 3 months.

It's ok, she was happy to refund me and let me try elsewhere.

Remember that nursery won't be a utopia either - catching every bug going and being phoned to collect your child on a constant basis. A cm is usually a bit more flexible on that score.

You do need to trust the person you're leaving your precious child with and you clearly don't trust this cm so better to cut your losses now. You are lucky that the nursery has spaces

Good luck!