Short term care eg. School holidays

[mumofone]

Does anyone offer short term care say for two weeks during the summer holidays when the parents can't get time off work? Do you ask for deposits, do contracts, all the same "all about me" paperwork as you would for any other mindee or dyou do things differently?
I was preparing for long term minding of children but then I realised some of my work may come from people looking for last minute care for s short period only?

[natlou82]

Yes all of my schoolies are TTO with care in hols as and when needed (I don't charge retainers) and this frees me up to offer holiday care. I have 3 children on my books that may just want me for a day or 2 or even a week or 2 in the hols and it's a great boost to my income. I did contracts for them (you can create your own or use smaller contracts) I still use my pacey ones with the stipulation that there's no guarantees by either party, spaces are booked and paid for on booking and no refunds are given if child does not attend except for setting being closed. I like it , and it's also nice for me and the children to have some different faces around :-)

[Mouse]

I do a lot of holiday cover for when other childminders are away, anything from a few hours to a couple of weeks. I also do one off care for parents who need it.

Even for the shortest amount of care (might only be a couple of hours) I complete a child record form so I have all the child's details, contact numbers, medical details, allergies etc. I also make up a short contract including relevant permissions. I state in it that all fees need to be paid in advance, no days are booked until the paperwork & fee are received and I have issued a confirmation letter, fees are not refunded if the child doesn't attend, but will be refunded if I have to close and can't provide care.

I don't bother with an 'all about me' form, but I do ask about food preferences etc. It depends on the child. For an older child they're more able to tell me what they like & don't like, whereas a baby can't so I would ask more.

What you need to do is make sure you have al the compulsory paperwork in place as you need it no matter how long or how short a child is with you. Anything else you can tweak to suit the specific circumstances.