What are the chances of a variation?

[louise]

Hi, Just wondering if Ofsted would grant a variation.

Right I currently mind J 1yr old Mon, Thurs and Fri 7am-6.30 but normally she has gone by 5.
In sept i will have E who will be 17 months and C 5. They will be Thurs and Fri 7.30-5.30 term time only.

Now Ive just come back from my mindee who left in March as his mum was having a baby. She got made redundant 4 weeks before maternity leave. Basicly long story short goverment are saying Barrets should pay her maternity pay as they still have some stores and Barrets are saying goverment should pay. She has had to sign on and has had to go for job interview and in a few weeks will not even be entitled to any maternity pay. Basicly she has an interview on wed and has said if she she gets it she may need me. This job is full time.

So my problem is in Sept Thurs and Fri if she needs me i'd have
E 17 months,
J will also be 17
A will be 6 months
M will be 3 and 9 months
Then C who will be 5 and my own 5 yr old

That will take me over my number in the under 5 section. Would Ofsted allow a variation? Currently M is at preschool 1 of the mornings i know in sept they will be doing morning and afternoon sessions which they can stay for both. Would it be better for me to see if he can do that and i just get a variation for the before and after section?

I dont want to say no to my old mindee as it will be 2 full time spaces and to be honest i would love to have him back and my son misses him.

The only other hope is that J's mum maybe able to swap her days for mon- wed, which may not be a problem.

Lou

[butterfly]

i would say yes they are likely to consider a variation so you can but try! i've tried several variations and have always have them granted. as long as you talk heavily about continuity of care as you'll be having an old mindee back it should be ok.

with regards to the pre school thing - it might be worth a try as it would reduce your daily work load abit however will you have them in the hols - if so you'd be better asking for the variation for the whole day just in case you need it.

[louise]

Thanks i'd be fine in the hols as E and C are term time only. I think if it comes to it i may hand my notice in on J.

[georgie456]

it's always worth a try. I've had 3 variations granted in the past and currently have one to allow me 4 under 5's for 2 days a week.

I agree with butterfly - stress the continuity of care and you should be ok.....

[Chatterbox Childcare]

I wouldn't hand notice as I believe continuity of care is priority in my setting but I understand that this is not the same for everyone.

I would speak to Ofsted and say that you have looked after the little one for a while and mum wants you to have the older one too.