rural MNers: is childcare impossible to find in countryside or just me?

[nouveaupauvre]

we moved out to countryside from london a couple of months ago and am looking for a childminder (we had a nanny before as i was fulltime: now i'm planning to work a lot more part time).
we are in a small town so not the middle of nowhere, and i ideally want a childminder (cant afford/justify a nanny now, and while i have nothing against nurseries, DS still finds large groups of children a bit overwhelming and doubt it will suit him).
the choice of CMs with free places seems to be limited to about three, of whom only one is really suitable and i'm not sure about her. there was definitely more choice in london.
so is this normal for countryside, and I just have to take the best of what there is? or is it just that this is a lousy time of year to find childcare and i need to hold out a bit longer (which means some tricky juggling workwise) to find the right one? am very reluctant to leave ds with someone i'm not 100 per cent sure about, having had a brilliant previous experience with nanny.

Is a part time nanny an option. Quite a few of us nannies on here are part time, working a 3 or 4 day week, or shorter hours.

where have you been getting info about local CMS from?

At the moment the directgov website giving details of childcare throughout the UK is erm not holding very accurate info so you may not have got details of all the CMs in your area

So

Ring your local authority for a list
Your HV/GP surgery might have details of local CMs
CMs might also have put up posters in the community centre/school/preschool/library/church halls/leisure centre

HTH and good luck

PS I live in a small village and there are about 6 CMs in the village

Many childminders don't offer the free places because you end up with less than your normal hourly rate as the allowance isn't enough, you also have to be part of a network and undergo extra inspections from the LA, for me its just not worth it.
I live in the cotswolds and there are not many of us, but its worth asking your local council for a list as the direct.gov website is still having problems and we aren't all on it.
As you're new to the area I would vist some mums and toddler groups and ask around, you may find someone who is thinking of registering, or who may know someone who will nannyshare.

ah sorry I see that the convo is re free places as opposed to free spaces

ignore prev post please

Actually I think you are on the right tracks boys. I think the op means CM's that have an available space and not CM's that have an available free space.

Did you get that Pure gobbledegook, but I know what I mean - lol

sorry the OP does indeed mean AVAILABLE not free!

Yes, definitely find this is the case. Had, in theory, a choice of about 3 CMs, but one went on maternity leave, another swapped the school she was collecting from which left us with only one choice, but in hindsight, she is probably the best one for ds.

The good thing is that being rural everyone knows everyone else and they all talk - Cm says she feels very watched! Found the three though a variety of websites, rather than just one. I also contacted the LA and looked at the Ofsted CM section to find out how many were registered within radius.

Cm says she feels very watched!

and if she is doing her job properly then what is the prob with that - im sure the mums at my school watch me lol

rural is def harder to find childcare

cm are ob tied down to where they are regards to place+school runs etc

i do think you would be better off maybe having a part time/ad hoc nanny (tho obv more exp than a cm)

I'm a CM in a rural area and my developmental worker says that I'm the ONLY one for a 2 mile radius and I'm the only one who goes to my local school.
BUT, as the school is so small, there is not much work around as lots of mums are SAHM or have familly nearby.
All my work so far has come from NEW people moving into the area as they don't have their familly with them.
So in the long run, Nannies are more common in rural areas than CMs as you could not really make much of a living

P.S I'm not even in a village, just a little hamlet near the Cotswold edge.