Would love to hear your opinion on whether you think parents will still use me as a cm!

[2anddone]

Hi I have been offered a job at the local preschool and as I have had no enquiries or children for a while now I am seriously thinking about taking it. If I do I am going to keep my registration going in the hope that I can get children for before and after school care. Do you think parents would use a childminder for this service? Obviously I wouldn't charge a retainer as I am not available during school hours and am also willing to offer term time only contracts for those not needing holiday care which I also wouldn't charge a retainer for as I am hoping eventually to not mind in the holidays. What do youthink? Firstly am I allowed to be employed and self employed at the same time? and Secondly am I allowed to have a job and also still stay a registerd childminder Would love to hear opinions! TIA

yes you can be employed and self employed at same time

i cant see why you cant have a job and stay a registered cm as long as you keep up with your registration

but im not a cm so dont take my word iyswim

congrats about job

Yes you can do this.

Do you normally charge a reatiner during day for school aged children then?

I have used a childminder for before and after school and know a lot of mums who do - sure you would get people who are interested.

A CM friend of mine has some children just before and after school during term time only. So yes, there is some demand for that service.

You may well get parents who want you to care for kids after getting to know you through preschool

No Avada sorry I should have been more clear, I meant that usually I would charge a retainer for the under 5's that go to pre-school all day and come to me after as they count in my under 5 numbers, but obviously I wouldn't charge the retainer for them if I was at preschool with them as I wouldn't be available during those hours iyswim! Thanks for all your replies!

I think you'll have parents interested in just before and after school

Have you thought about offering care for teacher training days also? that could be really useful to working parents

great idea. Lots of people need beofre and after school care.

Sounds fine to me but what will you do if you have to work late at the preschool or stay for training and are inset days always taken in preschool on the same days as school. Just a few thoughts.

The op would have to make clear she could never do inset days, that's right. Strictly term time only.

Assistants normally work very strictly to their times (quite rightly considering the low pay) so just check with the school - or someone else who already works there - your exact start and finish times.

Know the school and staff very well they all have children at the local school so finish bang on time and tend to come back in evening if there is any training/ end tewrm cleaning. They do have the training days like other schools so wouldn't be able to help on those but the term time only contracts I had before always stated no cover on training days without prior agreement.

I work mornings in a playgroup and also cm in the afternoons and after school when I'm needed. Tax will probably be screwed up for this year , but there's little cm business round here, which is why I had to find work. Well done and good luck x . Remember to inform the tax office as I think if your earnings from cm are less than 4k - assuming pre-school your 'main' job - you don't have to pay NI twice as you will pay it thru main job.

ooh thanks for that I was wondering about ni

Where I am, all the CM'sonly take full time, and we are crying out for a CM who would take under 5's in another setting and not charge while they were there, you would be overwhelmed with work here for the hours you would be offering.

I would have loved a childminder that didn't want to be paid over the holidays. For school age children an after school childminder is fairly economic, but for full days it is very expensive compared with holiday clubs etc. Also I always tried to take my holidays/send the children to their grandparents etc in the holidays, so I really didn't want the childminder then, and the sort of care I would have been looking for in the holidays would in any case have been rather different. The 2-3 hours after school tended to be wind-down and tea really, whereas I think in the holidays you want your children to be out and about more, which is more tricky for someone looking after a whole bunch of kids of different ages/interests (especially with older kids).

I agree with the others and also the parents of. the preschool children will probaby be queuing up to use you once you have gotten to know their kids and then they move on to school
someone at our preschool actually put a note on the presch door asking if anyone could mind their child one day a week as there were no cms with spaces and a waiting list at asc