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MNHQ

Share your childcare tips with The Childcare Voucher Providers Association - £300 voucher to be won NOW CLOSED

238 replies

EllieMumsnet · 25/09/2017 14:22

Sorting out reliable childcare can be a difficult task for any parent. The struggles of trying to organise appropriate childcare can sometimes turn your whole day upside down. With that being said The Childcare Voucher Providers Association would like to hear about the tips or shortcuts you have for arranging your childcare, whether you’re a working parent or not.

Here’s what the Childcare Voucher Providers Association has to say: “We are on a mission to ensure that working parents have the best support possible for arranging their childcare. And this includes a genuine choice in the financial support that best suits their families. We think it’s great that the Government is focusing on improving access to childcare support and we welcome the additional choice that tax-free childcare will bring to accompany the support that millions of parents have received from Childcare Vouchers.

However, the Government wants to close the voucher regime to new parents in April 2018. For many parents, Childcare Vouchers will provide far more financial support than tax-free childcare, including for couples with one working parent who won’t be able to claim any financial support at all under tax-free childcare. That’s why we think rather than closing one scheme, the Government should keep the voucher scheme open as well as tax-free childcare to give parents a genuine choice and access to the support that best suits their family. If you agree with this then please feel free to sign this petition to keep the voucher scheme open.”

Do you have any tips on managing your childcare around a busy working life? How do you manage when you have to drop your kids off at different providers? Have you got any tips that save you money? Or perhaps you enlist the help from family members as well as childcare providers?

Whatever your tips are share them on the thread below, where one lucky MNer will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck.
MNHQ

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Share your childcare tips with The Childcare Voucher Providers Association - £300 voucher to be won NOW CLOSED
OP posts:
IonaAilidh11 · 26/09/2017 13:21

i have been lucky to have grandparents to help out, saves money and they have a great time there

towser44 · 26/09/2017 13:22

Make sure you have grandparents who are retired and willing to help with childcare during the school holidays! Other than that, we are quite lucky in that one of our jobs is flexible, the other is within school hours and our DD's school has a free breakfast club from 7.45am and after school club until 5.30pm for a very reasonable £3 charge.

georgedawes · 26/09/2017 13:23

Family help would be amazing but sadly we don't have any. My biggest tip is to make friends with others in a similar situation and hopefully you can help each other out as needed.

mo3733 · 26/09/2017 13:26

i find if you have a group of friends who work we can usually manage to arrange a rota for picking up children and dropping them off. this really helps us all in the long run

gd2011 · 26/09/2017 13:27

Palm them off on relatives.

glennamy · 26/09/2017 13:29

When needed I can always rely on two grandparents who will gratefully help and I think it is good for children to experience other members of the family and their experience. :)

maryandbuzz1 · 26/09/2017 13:35

When we arranged for childcare we made sure she was near our work which saved a small amount on daily fees rather that have one close to home.
When my son was older we started him in a nursery ...again we were lucky to find one close to work. On starting school we were fortunate to have a next door neighbour who worked at the school and both took him and collected him. Asking around at the school gates has been beneficial on finding good childminders.

jacqui5366 · 26/09/2017 13:43

since I was able to claim 3 year old funding, it has made a massive difference to our budget, my tip would be to stretch the hours over the year, that way you can get a reduction over the full 52 weeks and not the term time. My OH works shifts and I work part time so only need 3 days a week at nursery. I am just getting used to the 30 hours funding, and have just got my code from the tax office to claim my nursery funding. It means there is not so much rushing around and I may be able to increase my hours.

hiddenmichelle · 26/09/2017 13:50

Grandparents - we are lucky they live close by - not sure how I'd manage without them.

Sezza110 · 26/09/2017 14:06

We drop my son off to a private nursery, it costs £900 p/m but it's either that or not working. The nursery are amazing though and look after him well.

footdust · 26/09/2017 14:07

Flexible employers with flexible working hours are an absolute godsend, it allows us to share drop off/pick ups as we can start late or leave early and work from home on occasion. This means that we can share drop-off and pick-up between us.

Hatethinkingofusernames82 · 26/09/2017 14:12

We were incredibly lucky and found a wonderful childminder. She became an additional grandmother to my boy and her husband was just as important- my boy loved it when he got in from work and they played games about who was sitting in his chair etc. They gave my boy birthday and Christmas presents. It really did become home from home. When she told me she was retiring I very nearly cried in front of her but just managed to wait until I made it to the car.
Luckily she helped find us another childminder who she knew and recommended. Another gem! We feel ridiculously lucky!
And on top of all this they have both agreed to match my husband on/off rota so we only pay for 2 weeks childcare per month!

ameswright2906 · 26/09/2017 14:12

There is a pre-school near us, which is attached to a good school, that only charges £25 a day instead of the nursery's usual £40. So enquire at lots of different nurseries/pre-schools to compare price and quality etc.

My husband drives and I don't so he usually does the school runs because it's easier for him to do it.

mooota1514 · 26/09/2017 14:17

DH and I both condensed our hours so we each worked 3 days a week so we always had one of us at home, therefore no childcare. Worked well for us but appreciate not for everyone.

IceCreamIScream · 26/09/2017 14:27

We use a private nursery, three days a week. It's expensive but thankfully next door to where my husband works and I have to drive past there to get to work. We always share the pickups and drop offs and we are both lucky enough to be in flexible working environments so I usually start work early, leave early & pick the kids up whilst he does the morning routine, l drops them off and works later. I don't know who has the best or worst deal!

There are times when we need help because of husband working away etc and grandparents have been a godsend helping out with the nursery run.

Having childcare vouchers has been a massive help paying for their spaces and we've been saving them up whilst I've been on maternity leave to help pay for the first month of nursery when it's both kids there.

becky004 · 26/09/2017 14:29

We have a brilliant childminder who is more like part of the family than someone employed to look after our DS. I work nights so OH is home with him at night, OH works days and drops DS off at 8am, childminder takes him to school and I collect him from school, this saves us about £100 a week by DS not having to go to chidminder after school.

janeyf1 · 26/09/2017 14:35

I confess I don't know how I would manage without my wonderful mum behind me. She often steps in at short notice to help with babysitting and appointments when I can't be in two places at once

katkatgu · 26/09/2017 14:41

Flexible working and wraparound care

glenka · 26/09/2017 14:44

See if there are any parents in the area that could share childcare if you are ever caught up and can't collect them for whatever reason.

ThemisA · 26/09/2017 14:51

I spent some of my son's early years as a child minder so I could be at home with him and offer a fun environment for him and my charges. More recently I have made a network of working mums and we share the care which works really well and saves a fortune.

meepmoop79 · 26/09/2017 15:04

We were able to get nursery places at the hospital where my wife worked. This was great whilst the children were are nursery.
When it was time for them to go to school, they were both lucky enough to get a place at the school at the bottom of our road.
We were just very lucky that both the school and nursery were local, good and had spaces.

vonniebab2 · 26/09/2017 15:17

Working shifts we manage to arrange that one of us is always at home with the children so no nursery care is needed

spottypjs · 26/09/2017 15:52

I think don't beat yourself up if you have to work and miss out on some things. Each family situation is different and you have to make the most out of what you have.

tallandlong · 26/09/2017 16:11

staying in favour with the family, whhen we need them they are there for us

Hairq · 26/09/2017 16:12

I couldn't afford to go back to work because of childcare costs. It just wasn't worth it. It seems to be a bit better now as your beer children can access more free nursery hours and I think I've heard that there are a greater number of hours available for children over 4 now too.