Wanting childcare for different days every week - how do CMs feel about this?

[saadia]

I am due to start a course this September and have found a CM I like very much to look after the dss after school. As my course is part-time I told her that I expected I would need her to pick them up two days a week and look after them for two hours. I told her I would let her know the days as soon as I got them.

Well, it turns out that the course timetable varies from week to week so that I will be needing her on different days - some weeks one day, some weeks, three days, some weks no days - and sometimes for three hours as opposed to two. Also, this is a draft timetable and therefore subject to change.

I will e-mail her all the timings and ask her if it would be workable for her. I just wanted to get some idea from CMs of the implications that this kind of arrangement might have for them.

I for one couldnt work with it I am afraid, to be able guarantee any 2 of 5 days i would need to have all 5 days booked (and therefore paid for ) iykwim. Sorry, that probably doesnt help lol (am presuming there that dss are under 8)

oops, should have explained why really. Because as a childminder you are only able to look after a maximum of 6 children under the age of 8, and of which only 3 are to be under 5, we need to be able to plan which children are to be there because if we cannot it may put us over ratios and therefore in breach of ofsted regulations.

Implications are that if your children are under 8 years old, then it will affect how many other children the childminder can care for on those days. It could make it hard for the CM to fill the time that you are not using.
Also transport can be an issue as for each day of the week the CM will know how many children they will be need to transport to/from school(s). There will be a limit as to how many children the CM can fit in the car. CM's own children may have after-school activities, so the CM may not want to be caring for children after-school on that day of the week.
It's all going to vary from CM to CM.

Will the college be paying for/helping with childcare costs?

I think it will depend on the CM and how it fits in with who else they mind. If they have the space but aren't actually needing extra dc then they may be happy for you to pay for 3 per week and have them on different days etc.

Is it worth using at least 2 days a week to give you more time to study?

I collect children after school from families with different weekly working days - one of them is a 4-week shift pattern, the other is a 2-week shift pattern. I have minded for both families now for 14 years, and it works very well.

I can imagine that some CMs wouldn't like it, but you can but ask.

If under 8 nope, but would if you booked and paid for all days, as others say couldn't use the space for anyone else.

If over 8 would consider it, probably do a trial run of a few months to see how it worked out.

Thank you everyone for your comments, they are very helpful.

I would let her know the days in advance and obviously pay in advance, Yes dss are under eight - until January when ds1 turns eight.

aGal there is help with childcare which I will look into to see if we are eligible.

Cargirl yes it might be worth getting her to take them two days a week even when I am available.

She did say at the beginning that she preferred the idea if having the two dss two days a week instead of every day as she has a pretty full house with mindees.

If the college will help with costs of childcare then you could invoice the college for 2 days perhaps (i did this as a CM) and you could pay the extra when needed perhaps?