Childminders - question about school dropoffs/pickups

[hana]

A question for childminders please!
I am back to work in Sept for one day a week. My 2 children will be looked after by a childminder ( I hope! WE are talking about it now) One is a baby and will be with the childminder for the full day, the other is at preschool for 2.5 hours in the morning. but be with CM for the rest of the day.
I am thinking of asking a friend to drop off my older daughter to the preschool in the morning ( her ds goes will be going as well) and just have the childminder pick her up at 1130 and then have her for the rest of the day. This would save me a little money as I woudln't be paying the CM for those hours when she is at preschool.
But is this done? Would the CM think it was strange? Am I being tight? Not paying for those hours would make a big difference - but is she likely to refuse my suggestion?
Please tell me what you think! Many thanks

This totally depends on the CM

Some will only take children for fulldays (or in situations like yours be expected to be paid for the fullday) because it obviously prevents them from being able to have other children in that short time.

Others are very flexible and will work with you.

Hope you have a good number of CM's in your area to suit your needs.

I'm a childminder and I wouldn't have a problem with that personally, would be happy to have the baby all day! - every minder is different as in they have different needs financially.

Wish I could help more - good luck!

My childminder has always slotted in my schedule. For instance she now picks up my son three days a week when he finishes nursery at 11.30 and keeps him till 2.45.

It suits her because she has a lot of parents asking her to do part-time work so she fits it all together like a jigsaw puzzle. She is pretty amazing actually.

As a childminder this would be ok with me too. I have no problem with having mindees part-time but I know some cm only want fulltimers so keep looking until you find one who will fit in with your needs.

What about school holidays? as your childminder is not getting paid she may fill the morning slot with another child and be unable to have your pre-school child during the hols. If you need school holiday cover I would check first to see if she is willing to keep the place open for you.

thanks for your input everyone
prob won't need school cover as I'm a teacher but would pay 1/2 rates maybe? ( that's what I've done before)
The CM doesn't have anyone at the moment, my 2would be the only ones, I'll see what she thinks and if it's a prob we could change it as and when she gets more children to look after
thanks again!