childminder query

[coolma]

Hi there, I have been lurking on this site for months now! I have a question for childminders as am a bit confused. I have just got a new job and will be sending my 3 year old back to her old childminder. however, she is at playroup 4 mornings a week. The childminder will take her there and pick her up, but is it right that she can charge me for the times my dd is actually at playgoup? I appreciate that I'm taking a place that another child could have - what do most of you do? She hasn't said that she is but I have been chatting to friends who seem to think this is the norm.

Thanks

If the nursery place is 2.5 or 3 hrs (as most sessional nurseries are) then yes normally the cm would charge for that time. Mostly because they are unable to fill that place otherwise,

Also you need to think who is the first point of call if the nursery need to call. If you work some way away, then the cm would need to respond to the nursery if your daughter needed collecting at short notice. In my experience cms generally charge for the time their charges are at nursery.

It might be different if you could drop off and your daughter could stay for lunch, that way the cm could just collect her after lunch and would have a genuine morning free to have another child. Then she might (but might not depending on her rules) only charge for half a day If she drops and collects this is not really possible.

tis the norm. have decided to use the schools wrap around service when I go back this time so I can remove the fee.

Normal. We pay dd's childminder while she is at nursery. As we don't pay nursery, we're not any worse off.

Childminder is the one that nursery rings if dd needs picking up for any reason as it takes me an hour (ish) to get home from work. So childminder would pick her up and hold onto her until I could get home.

Righto thanks for that - I guessed it would be, however, it would be me or dh the place would call if there were an emergency!

cheers again

Also do you need your DD's space reserved to use if the playgroup is not on eg school hols or shut because of the snow/no heating.

If I drop off AND pick up from nursery or playgroup then I charge for the time they are there, if parents drop off and I pick up then I charge for care from time I collect child. Hope that helps.

not always the way - my cm charges half fees when dd is at preschool. My husband drops off so she doesn't actually charge until pick up. Actually she charges me for 'travel time' to pick up which I think is out of order, but there you go.

I think only if your child is genuinely blocking a place should they charge. If they aren't looking to fill (mine isn't) then I don't think they should use that as an excuse to charge

Thanks for all that - I expect she will charge as normal, but that's ok if it's the done thing and of course i would be taking another space. Another question now, if that's ok! My dd doesn't go to nursery on a monday but will be with the cm - my understanding is that the 2 and half hours funding can also be used for cm - how would I go about claiming this? Sorry to be so dumb!

Well it can be used at an accredited childminder - which your childminder might or might not be.

You need to ask her & if she is she will have the form

cool - she belongs to the NCMA, which I guess it the accreditation?

No

NCMA is the National Childminding Association

She would need to be assessed onto a childminding network and then accredited to provide nursery education - she will need a minimum of a level 3 in childcare/education - it could take from 3/4 months upto 18 months to become an accredited childminder

No being a member of the NCMA isn't the same thing as being accredited.

hth

Any childminder can pay to be a member of NCMA but to be accredited she has to join a network. The nursery vouchers are for education and not childcare. Accreditation is the process to ensure the curriculum provided meets the requirements.

ah, ok. Thanks for that!