Childcare

[Lauren8642]

Hi all! I’m due to go back to work in September my little one will be 11 months old so we would be able to claim the 30 hours free childcare.
Those with 2 kids did you find it easier to send youngest to nursery/childminder full time so they would go in the school holidays aswell and spread that 30 hours out? Or just send them term time so they would only go term time and send them to holiday clubs and stuff with eldest?

I hope this makes sense. For context I will be working 3 days a week and will need childcare from 8:30-5:30/6:00.

my eldest started school in September and my youngest is at nursery all year round. Certainly where we live there are no holiday clubs that would take a baby, it’s hard enough to find one that takes a reception age child! Some nurseries or childminders may offer some sort of holiday cover but it will likely be in demand and would be unsettling for them to go to another setting every now and then, so I would definitely go for year round.

obviously if you have family who will cover holidays that’s different, but even then there’s a lot of holidays to cover! I would definitely go for all year round, it’s the reason we won’t be using the school nursery because it just won’t work with both of us working.

I would also say if you haven’t already definitely get on waiting lists for nurseries ASAP, I was looking to move my youngest last September and called lots of nurseries with no space until 2027!

As pp, you won't find holiday clubs that will take pre-schoolers, let alone babies.
Unless you or your partner work term time only, then I'd spread the funding across the whole year.

Unless you are taking all the holidays off you will need a private nursery open all year. Lots of term time nurseries also only do school hours with no after school provision.

We had no access to holiday clubs that would take under 3s, so always did year round nursery. I also think it’s better for them, especially at only 1, to be in one setting and not somewhere with up to 12 year olds bashing around.

The only people I know who used term time nursery were teachers or people with very willing and able grandparents.

Holiday clubs here are 5-11, there's one that takes 4yo if they're in reception.