Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Paid childcare

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

Flip

Original poster

Questions about CM reliability

14 replies

Acinonyx · 03/06/2008 09:28

This is a question for those with experience of using or being a CM with assistants. My new CM has an assistant some days and if the assistant can't be there then dd can't go as the ratio is to low. Like today. This is a problem I hadn't foreseen at all, having used a nursery up until now. I got the impression she was relying on parents being flexible about thier working days and that just isn't going to work for me.

How reliable should I expect this system to be? I'm sure she is as reliable as possible herself but not so clear about the assistants and possible back-ups. Is it normal for this to happen regularly? Is it reasonable to expect parents to change their working days on an ad hoc basis? CM knows I working from home a lot but my time is planned in such a way that it would not work for me to switch days around.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

BradfordMum · 03/06/2008 10:09

That, in my opinion is dreadful!
Parents need to be able to rely on their CM.
I only take on the number of children that I can care for. IN 14 yrs od cm'ing, I've never had a day off sick - yet I know some who fancy a day off to go shopping so just tell the parents they're not working that day.
These are the sort of cm's who give us a bad name!

I think you need to make sure your Daughter has her own place at the cm's, and you don't have to just hope she can go.

Sally

PinkChick · 03/06/2008 10:28

if you are contracted for today she is breaking her contract by not having your child!..very dodgy, find another more reliable cm asap!

Bramshott · 03/06/2008 10:29

There is more possibility of disruption with a CM than a nursery - there will be days when she's sick, days when her kids are sick etc. Did your CM give you an explanation of why the assistant wasn't there today? I agree, it's not workable on a regular basis, although of course there are occasions when something happens which is unavoidable. It goes without saying of course that you should not be paying for today as the CM was not able to have your DD.

ssd · 03/06/2008 10:30

too unrealiable, I'd never have done this when I was minding

SKYTVADDICT · 03/06/2008 10:32

My CM was considering getting an assistant but then hasn't for exactly this reason - she said she couldn't let her parents down and who would say say couldn't come if her assistant let her down?

What does your contract say - is it last in/first out?

Original poster

Acinonyx · 03/06/2008 12:40

Today is actually a settling in afternoon before starting full days next week. We are moving house this week, so I must have new childcare. Presumably there is another child who can't go today and when I asked, it is clear that this has happened before and parents have moved days around. 2 of the other preschoolers are twins whose parents work changing shifts, so I suspect that they are flexible about this because they themselves need very flexible cover. I'm not looking for that kind of flexibility though - I just want regular days.

We are moving to a village so options are limited. None of the other CMs had vacancies. There are 2 nurseries within easy driving distance but I had thought dd would do better with a CM and then have continuity when she starts school next year.

I like the CM herself and dd gets on well there. But alarms bells really rang for me when she said that it hadn't been a problem until now because the other parents were flexible.

I'll have to see how it goes - but the only alternative is another nursery. They're both good - but one is very fussy about potty training for over 3s and dd is not potty trained, and the other is a bit cramped and in an awkward direction (but seems very jolly).

Changing dd's childcare is by far the most stressful aspect of moving. I expect it's last in first out - and probably the twins will have priority.

OP posts:

KatyMac · 03/06/2008 14:29

I have closed twice in 5 and a half years.....once for a prospective flood & once for D&V

occasionally (I can think of 2 occasions) I have asked parents to collect half an hour earlier

This should not happen imo

Is the assistant ill?

gooseegg · 03/06/2008 15:59

I work with an assistant who is also my live in au pair, so she is fortunately very reliable and not able to take sickies in the same way as a casual worker on minimum wage might. (I had an nvq student as my assistant before the assistant I have now and she was dreadfully unreliable, although her unreliability didn't effect my ratios).

I would however use an agency to find alternative staff if at all possible in the event of my assistant being sick.

Letting parents down would be an extreme last resort, and I cannot offer sick pay for this reason.

jillyj · 04/06/2008 13:32

I have 3 registered assistants. one who is my main one, but the other 2 are there in cases of emergency. i have never had a problem.

love2sleep · 04/06/2008 14:43

IMO a lot of this is about the CM's attitude. My CM has occasionally had to close because of illness etc but she was extremely apologetic and it was clear that she hated the inconvenience to us. There is also a strong sense that there is give and take in equal measure.

I would be worried about any CM who viewed regular closing as "just one of those things" and assumed that we could always work around it. I think you need to be clear from the start that your hours are not flexible.

Perhaps because it is a settling in session she assumed you would be flexible?

Original poster

Acinonyx · 04/06/2008 16:23

That's my concern - the attitude that parnets' can be flexible' and that was clearly referring to other regular parents not my setlling in session!

I am totally stressed about the whole thing - I so hoped we'd got the childcare really sorted out.

OP posts:

love2sleep · 04/06/2008 16:39

I'm sorry to hear you are so stressed. I know how awful this can be. I think you just need to be really clear with her about this and say it is really important to you. You should be able to tell a lot by the way she reacts. It may be that the other parents are happy to be flexible so she takes advantage of this and everybody is fine with that. IME it is really important to get these things clear from day 1. As you say she may have assumed that you'd be flexible given that you work from home and you need to set her straight on that. I work from home and so am usually happy to swap days if the CM asks but she never takes advantage and always gives lots of notice.

Good luck

NotABanana · 04/06/2008 16:41

How many children does the CM look after if she needs an assistant, and is she registered as a CM too?

Sounds a funny set up to me.

KatyMac · 04/06/2008 16:45

'normally' a childminder can have up to 6 children under 8; of which 3 maybe under 5; of which 1 maybe under 1

So with an assistant this would rise to 12 under 8; of which 6 maybe under 5; of which 2 maybe under 1

But with 2 assistants or childminders working with a minder it can get complicated

Flip