Anyone tried "On The Spot Childcare"?

[franch]

On The Spot Childcare

Interesting idea. Looks like the agency is the employer, so that will help with the tax side of things.
Looking at 'the team' there is no mention of any of them being qualified, or Ofsted Registered. Not surprised about lack of Ofsted registration, as that could be tricky to arrange for temp jobs... but I would have expected the nannies to be experienced and qualified. Maybe that info is just missing from the website.

Agree - are they qualified?

Looks a bit...(not sure how to say this nicely) amature..!! Very brief about services, areas, qualifications of childcarers, how you can check refs, bit airy fairy about the details you need to pass on about your child rather than professional and well managed. No home visit to register you..you just send £40

Registration address (where you send money) is a PO box which rings alarm bells!

Im sure they are just new and not organised very well yet.

In principle a good idea...in practice Im not sure I would leave my PFBs with them based on what I can see on the website...or pay £15 per hour for it! I would be more likely to use an emergency childminder.

Good luck to them

Thanks for the thoughts guys - I have never used anyone other than family for childcare but am getting to the stage where I'll probably have to, for ad hoc care (see this thread - so am interested to hear what more experienced working mums think.

How do you find an emergency childminder littlestars?

here is one

That looks good leonifay. Have you used them?

littlestars, would you use a childminder in preference to a nanny?

bump

Having seen all your comments above I thought I would put some of you minds at ease as I appreciate choosing the right childcare can always be a difficult process and you want to trust the company you choose to use.

We understand that every families needs are different. The purpose of the registration is to find out as much information as possible about you and your children before we send a nanny to you. This can be done over the phone or face to face depending on the parents? preference.

In addition copies of CRB checks, first aid certificates, references and details of the nannies experience and qualifications are available upon request. Unfortunately the nannies are not Ofsted registered.

I hope this has answered a few of your questions, however, please feel free to call me on 020 7386 7758 if you would like any further questions answered.

Kind regards,
Nicola

I love the layout of the website and the idea in general however - I think that £15 ph is quite a lot. I pretty much do the same thing you're offering and I charge a third less. I'm not currently Ofsted registered myself (yet!) but I'm about 5 months away from being NVQ3 qualified with over 8 years experience.

Try www.emergencychildcare.co.uk All childminders are Ofsted registered.

What would be the advantage of nannies doing temporary and occasional work like this being Ofsted registered?

The only advantage of Ofsted registration is a financial one to some employers. This wouldn't apply to the people employing emergency nannies from organisations like On the Spot.

Ofsted registration says nothing about your competence as a nanny, it's just something you buy.

Insurance and an enhanced CRB are the important things here surely, not the fact that you've haded over a wad of cash to Ofsted?

franch, no i haven't used them, i'm a childminder and am registered with them.

Re On The Spot Childcare I registered with them having met with the owner, who I found very friendly and professional, though I believe you can also register over the phone quite easily. I haven't used them yet - but will soon. They definitely seem geared up for flexible timings and can fit around my schedule, which is great for me.

Welcome to Mumsnet NeJo. Do complete a profile (click on MyMumsnet) so we can find out more about you

oh nick, you sly puss

We use Sitters a lot at the moment - children are 10 and 8, so old enough to manage babysitters they don't know well, and we've been trying to get a social life back. The people we've had as babysitters have been universally great, and the site is super-efficient (almost too so, sequences of text messages confirming and re-confirming bookings). I am really happy with them.

Posting here because they also do ad hoc daytime childcarers too. We used them once when dd was new and I just had to have an extra hand with ds (who was 18m), and that was fine too - but there of course I was around, so it was less of a big trust issue.

Anyway, worth seeing if they operate in your area, franch?

The other thing is that workplaces often have ad hoc arrangements with local nurseries for emergency cover - mine does, and did for years before I found out about it - it wasn't publicised. My two are too old for that now, but we certainly made use of it a few times over the years (nanny off ill, etc.)

Well two people have mentioned emergencychildcare.co.uk so I'd probably try them first. I'll look into Sitters too Bink.

I think we were all thinking what you were thinking nick

I work for Quarriers locally to me which provide childcare in peoples homes.

We provide care for families who work shifts unsociable hours or have more that one child as flat rate for a family of up to 4children.

We also provide support for families through social services, children with disability, or families with children in the looked after system.

It is very rewarding and families are greatful for flexible childcare in their own homes to suit their needs.

That sounds like a great service raindrop.