had a enquiry today

[gailee]

i had a parent ask me at school if i could look after her 3 kids during school holidays only the eldest is 11 and the other is 8 years and the youngest is 3 or 4 years old (he is adhd )he's in nursery so he's a rising 5 ?? the older ones don't count so thats just one of my numbers thats right? i think she said 3 days she didn't mention hours ? what would you charge? just my normal rates or more ? i wouldn't need to charge her anything for the school term ???

thanks gail

[Twinkles]

The eight year old would count in your 5 - 8 group.

I would charge normal rate but negotiate extras for outings ( you'll want to keep the older ones busy )

I wouldn't charge anything for term time.

The 4 yr old would only be a rising five if he was in 10 sessions of school a week not nursery.

Hope this helps.

[angeldelight]

Good luck with this

I would ask for a month deposit - get her to sign so she understands it is not refundable if she changes her mind but it will come off her first months childcare

I would charge normal rates per child - maybe lunch thrown in for free as a good will gesture because she has the 3 of them ?

I would make it clear that trips are extra and must be paid for by the parent

I would have a school holiday contract and not charge for term time
I would explain that this means every school holiday and that she must pay in advance on the day they arrive every week

Hope you get the job

Angel xx

[gailee]

well this parent as got back to me and i'm having her 3 children just in the school holidays about 14 hours a week but she mentioned that it could be various days over 3 or 4 days (could be 3 days one week and 4 days the next) so would i need to charge her for the day that she doesn't use to keep it for her(is that right?) also another question i don't need to ask for a retainer during school times ?? as the youngest is taking up 1 of my under 5 years place?? i'll have to be careful what other children i take on now ?
i have 2 under 5 (1 is under 1 years and he's term time only and hopefully he's going full time in september his mum is doing her NVQ2)
and i have 3 over 5 years (1 is leaving in end of June my decision to do this) and i have 2 returning in September a baby of under 5 months (not born yet due last week) and brother after school! Well thats me busy in September lol well i hope you understand my babble

thanks gail

[susi513]

I would be very careful before committing to a holidays only place. I offer term-time only places with full fees for the 39 weeks of term and 1/2 fees due in the holidays for 13 weeks. But I wouldn't commit an under eights place to someone who only needs the holidays, they won't want to pay 39 weeks full fees and I can't afford to have 1/2 fees for 39 weeks a year.

So what I would offer is ad-hoc/occasional care where the families register their children and then make a booking request for the days/hours they want each holiday/as and when they need care. They benefit by only paying for the days they need, even if its odd days each week, but don't have any guarantee of my availability - I may decline some of the days if I already have other commitments or are on holiday myself. I benefit by not being tied to the family - if a long term prospect comes up I can take it on.