What is cheapest childcare option for 3 preschoolers???????

[thatsnotmymonster]

Have just applied for a job which is 18 hours a week- some of which will be evening so I will probably need childcare for about 10hours a week, including poss nursery drop off/pick up for ds (3.5yrs).

My other 2dds are 2.2yrs and 6mths. What are my best options?

(also my hours may not vary slightly every week)

Is this just a logistical nightmare? We really need the extra income plus it is a really good job.

Hard to know without knowing actual hours you need. Could you give example hours, such as 8am to 1pm Mon and Tue.
I feel your options could be quite limited, due to number of hours care required, unless all 10hrs could be on one day.

as nick said hard to tell until know when hours are on what days

as a general rule once you have got 2 or 3 children a nanny is often the cheaper option as they get paid by the hour and not by the child as a cm would and you dont have the hassle of getting 3 children to a cm house

an average cm might not have spaces for all your children as think they can only have 3 under 5

a nursery wouldn't be an option as their hours are less flxible. A lot of childminders charge by the hour and will give discounts for siblings but depending on your hours, might ask for a retainer to hold places open during the times you don't need them. CM's can only take 3 under 5's unless your eldest is in full time private nursery, then they're treated as an over 5 and it's b4/after school care. not sure how nannies work.

nannies can have as many children as they like (in theroy) though MM wont insure over 7 children ( i think)

i have looked after 4 under 4 - not sure why CM have this rule?

CMs can look after more than 3 under 5s if they get a variation from Ofsted - this often happens for siblings. I have one myself for siblings I mind.

Plus... when a child is in nursery at 4 years old, he/she then falls into the over 5 category, so is not counted as under 5 anymore.

CMS don't make ratio rules, Ofsted do.

Jenni, a child a nursery even when 4 and at Nursery all day DO NOT count as 5.

I CM I know was caught out on this.

We rand Ofsted and as much as she had been told on the phone that the child did, it was WRONG information.

She asked for it in writing and it states that only child who is in FULL TIME EDUCATION i.e School counts as 5, even when 4, for the purpose of ratios.

It is not full-time nursery when a 4yr old will count as an "over 5", it is full-time school.

... snap ...

cross posts

So basically it's going to be really difficult? I don't know if I could get a nanny because the hours are going to be so few- do any nanny's do that? Also how much would I expect to pay a nanny?

I don't think a nanny is viable, due to the low number of hours. If those hours all occur on one day, then that may be possible to recruit for - but with 10 hours spit over 3/4 days, then that results in very few hours per day in my view. I can't imagine a nanny would take it on.
Nannies wages vary, but generally speaking as the employer you should be factoring in the cost of salary alone to be at least £10 per hour (gross), rising higher in major cities.

So to answer your question: Is this just a logistical nightmare?
YES, sorry to say it is going to be a nightmare.

Do you know the fixed hours when you definitely need childcare?

there are ad hoc nannies - I do this on my days off BUT i ask for a minium booking of 4hrs @ £10ph

so prob any money you would earn would end up paying a nanny tbh

it would def help if you did have set hours on certain days

what job do you do?

nannies will be cheaper, but you may not be earning enough to make it worth your while going to work

I too understood that if a child under 5 was in fulltime nursery they'd be classed as an over 5. That's what we were advised on our ICP training.

looked at notes and it has to be private/paid for daycare. If they're at school nursery you're still responsible, hence CM's charging while childs in nursery.

I have same problem i think it's too difficult to organise unless you could arrange with another mum i think.
I have 3 dc's 1 at school two not and did 22 hours. Bascially working to pay childcare ! Am having to give it up despite needing income desperately.I have no family to help out either have you ?
Hope you can sort something out!

Mumnosbest, it is only when at school full time, not at daycare at all, ICP have it wrong, believe me friend got into quite a bit of trouble for being over her numbers ands the 4 year old was at a private nursery, there was no other kind here.

It really depends on what's available in your area.

Although the received wisdom is that a nanny is cheaper once you have 3 or more children, we found with 3 under 5 that it was still a LOT cheaper to use a combination of nursery and preschool/afterschool club. Our nursery was subsidised, a workplace one, but even for a private nursery it would still have been cheaper for us.

ok confusedghost thanx. I'll make sure I check that if it ever comes up, don't want to be in trouble with ofsted