Shift worker fee dilema!

[DianeR]

Hi Guys Would appreciate any advice you could give me.

I have a 4 yrs old who I have had full time and will be starting school full time in Sept.

Her Mum works shifts so one week I would have her an hour before school the second week would have her 3 hours after school. This can also vary at the last minute as they sometimes change her shifts with a days notice. I would also need to be available between the times of 8-6 during holiday times to have her for 7 hours all depending on which shift she is working.

Would you charge for the four hour space that is required and the ten hour space that is required for the holiday. At the moment I am charging my normal rate of £3.50 and hour. I will not be able to have another child in this space and need to also think about if I should have a higher before and after school fee given that I can't use the space during the day because of numbers.

Any advice would be appreciated I realise it is up to me ultimately but if you could help that would be great, thank you.

[flowerpots]

I charge £3.50 p/h before school and £10.00 for after school (set fee until half 5 includes dinner) so i would be charging before and after for the full week. I would just charge for what she requires during the hols.

Why cant you fill her space during the day?

hth

[DianeR]

Hi
I would need to keep her space so as not to be over my numbers during school holidays

[DianeR]

Hi
Can anyone offer any advice on this please :O)

[LauraS]

It's hard to offer advice, I think, because this seems to be one area where people do things very differently. Some charge for the whole space, some for a minimum number of hours, some for just hours used, some charge full price for hours used and a retainer for those not used. It totally depends on how you want to balance out your work and how much you want the contract, how much money you can afford to lose, what other childminders do locally and whether you have any realistic prospect of filling the space more fully if the parent goes elsewhere.

Personally, I would be willing to charge for hours used subject to a minimum number of hours each week, hours needed booked and paid for in advance etc etc. But that's just me.

[cs01]

When reception children are in full time education, they are not classed as under 5's for your ratio purposes. I would therefore charge a higher rate than I normally would (my before/after school/holiday rate) based on the number of hours used. I would then take on another child under 5, if I needed the income and still have the other child as and when the parents needed me to.

Unless of course you are restricted to the number of children you can have?

[bunyip]

I find it very difficult to advise on this one.

On the one hand, I am acutely aware of how a CM's income is limited by the ratios, as well as the low baseline for what parents are prepared to pay.

On the other, I was a shift-worker in my previous job, so I understand what it's like to feel isolated because the rest of society is geared up to 9-5ing (don't get me started.)

My dd does shift work as a student midwife. She was on the verge of giving up the course because no nursery or CM was prepared to offer her a suitable service. That's why dw and I upped sticks and moved to help with childcare, and that led the bunyip to become registered.

DD has to put up with very short notice of her shifts and changes, sometimes as little as hours, which means just the same notice for me looking after the grandchildren. I have to keep places open for them all the time, whether they come or not.

I can see why CMs don't want to do this. But exactly where would any of us be (mums and childcare workers in particular) without midwives? Or many of the other essential services that are the lot of shift workers.