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View Full Version : Re-considering hours for 2 mindees



amirose
18-04-2009, 06:20 PM
I have a mum that wanted child care for 2 boys (14 months and 3) mon-wed.

Originally she wanted 7 1/2 hours for C 14 months and 5 1/2 hours for T. When she came to sign contracts she said T was now going to the afternoon session at nursery and she wanted to be the one to pick him up so was going to finish work earlier to do so. This would mean she would collect C from me at the school and reduced the hours to 6 for C and just 3 1/2 for T so I said no I couldn't do it.

I only have 2 under five vacancies.

Now I am thinking should I do it? She is still interested, the only reason I am reconsidering is because of losing my other mindee. I do not know what to do! Everything is such a gamble with this job!!!

I would have T 9.15am to drop off at nursery at 12.40pm and C 9.15am till 3.10pm when I meet mum at the school.
The mum pointed I could take on more after schoolers to make up the hours however after schoolers generally tend to want mon-fri and I would only have mon-wed. I don't know what my chances are of getting an under 5 who only wants afternoons as I say its a gamble.

Mum wants a definite yes or a definite no she doesn't want to be messed about!

Wheres my crystal ball when I need it :panic:

huggableshelly
18-04-2009, 06:24 PM
does the older one go to fulltime school in sept?

if not the you have atleast 15 months with the 2 of them until eldest enters fulltime school when you can then take on another.

worth doing if you have no others waiting for a place.

berkschick
18-04-2009, 06:28 PM
What happens in the school holidays? Will Mum want you to have them both until 3.10pm?

If so I would charge her for the afternoon as you can not take on anyone in his place as you will be over during the hols.

amirose
18-04-2009, 06:43 PM
Mum won't pay for hours shes not using, I have put this too her but not in the way you put it, the way you put it makes more sense argh trouble is I don't want to keep going back to her with offers!!! I already rang back and offered her a couple of different options friday :panic: Maybe I could email that suggestion?

The older one is starting nursery in September so I would have him 9.15am - 12.40pm.

In the school holidays she wants them both to do the same hours (I assume it will still be 9.15am-3.10pm).

The mum is a bit soft (shes nice but soft) the older child has lots of "quirks" such as only drinking warm blackcurrant and only eating cold food so this is the other thing for me to consider.

berkschick
18-04-2009, 07:09 PM
I think you need to be straight with her.

I would say something along the lines of the hours she now needs are really not enough for you so therefore you will need to advertise for an afternoon child to fit around her older one being at Nursery and this means that you will be unable to commit to having him during the afternoons in the school holidays unless she is prepared to pay some sort of retainer for those hours.

I have had a Mum approach me about having her baby 6 hours a week. I have said I wont take on any contracts for less than 10 hours a week as it is just not worth my while. That could be true for you too as you will need to communicate with the childs nursery etc too so it needs to be a decent amount of hours to make the whole EYFS thing worth doing!

Her saying you could take on extra after schoolers isnt really true as during the holidays they would all want to be there all day and this would put you over your numbers.

Roseolivia
19-04-2009, 07:44 AM
Wouldn't you be charging for a full day rate anyway as those hours are going over a morning and afternoon session.

Chatterbox Childcare
19-04-2009, 10:49 AM
If mum wants you to have them both in the holidays I would go with what she wants. You are only missing out on wht £4 per day which in the grand scheme of things is nothing if you don't have anything else lined up.

Allie
19-04-2009, 10:56 AM
I will only do full days and this means parents have to pay me for the time their child is in nursery. I have always filled my spaces and although one or two parents don't like it most realise I have to be viable to continue childminding.


In your situation I would hold on for what i wanted


Allie

amirose
19-04-2009, 01:19 PM
If mum wants you to have them both in the holidays I would go with what she wants. You are only missing out on wht £4 per day which in the grand scheme of things is nothing if you don't have anything else lined up.

That's right if I charge for the hours when he is at nursery I only lose £4.75 per day on the hours she originally stated. It really depends wether she will agree to pay for the hours while his at nursery. I have emailed and put it to her with the explanation that its to reserve T's space in the holidays.

I have really messed this poor lady about (and fluffed it up). Its because of my inexperience on the business side of things and I may well have blown this enquiry. Next time though I will know exactly what I need to do, it was stupid of me not to realise that if he needs a space in the holidays that it needs to be reserved :rolleyes:

Oh well lesson learnt :thumbsup:

mushpea
19-04-2009, 04:50 PM
why dont you take them on but on a short notice period so if another offer comes along with longer hours you can take them on insted , i had a short hour short term mindee on a contract with only a weeks notice to give either side , i explained to mum that because of the hours and short termness of the contract that if somone else wanting more hours came along then i would have to let them go, she was fine with this and as it turned out i didnt find anyone else and so at least had money for a short time .

mayberry
20-04-2009, 05:13 AM
I personally would charge the parent when the child is at nursery weather I had the child or not but that me, I have lots of part time on my books and manage to fill in gaps something always comes along.

Make your own rules and stick to them as a base to work on

Dawn xx