Wraparound fee when not emergency contact?

[Rubybaby]

Hi,
Just wondering how any of you would charge for school nursery wraparound if child arrives 7.45, dropped by me at nursery for 9 till 12, then with me until mum collects at 5.45? It seems the 'norm' would be to charge in full ( I charge by the hour, and don't offer funded hours) for the 3 hours the child is in nursery as I'd be dropping and picking up, but as I don't want to be 'on call' for those hours as the child's emergency contact, I'm not sure how best to approach this.
Parent wants holiday care too, so I'm debating whether to charge half fee for the 3 nursery hours in term time ,then full fee at normal hourly rate in the hols; the half fee that is paid during term time thereby securing her place in holidays/half terms.
My inclination is simply to charge my normal fee only when the child is present, but given the (earlier than my usual) start time and the disruption to other children ( 3 school runs a day when collecting older after schoolies) makes me wonder if I should have a re think, and perhaps charge a higher hourly fee on the wraparound days?
I'd be really interested to hear if anyone's had the same dilemma before I drive myself mad thinking about all the variables....thank you!

[Dragonfly]

I charge a higher rate if a child is here for less than 3 hours. I do,do a before and after school rate which is higher ( less than 3 hours) than my daily hourly rate. If it was me I would charge my before school rate £5 per hour and whilst at nursery if you don’t want to be on call half your normal rate . I usually charge when at nursery if they are taking a eyfs space that I couldn’t fill whist they are there though I would be on call for them.

Everyone is different so I guess you will get more replies shortly.

[sarah707]

Hmm if you don't want to be 'on call' then I'm not sure you can charge a fee because that's the way it is worded in the funding operational guidance.

Are your LA supportive? I wonder if they have any advice :D

[bunyip]

I don’t like to charge when a child is at another setting. I’m not providing any sort of service, and I wouldn’t want to pay anybody else for not providing a service if the boot were on the other foot. Besides, I don’t charge for schoolies during school hours, so why charge for preschool children? :huh:

OTOH, neither do I appreciate being used as a taxi service nor a convenience for the hours when some nursery just cannot be bothered to provide care. I only do this sort of wraparound where I see a strong case for the child benefiting from the combination of CM and group setting.

I would charge the 0745-0900 slot as for a school run (see below) which is what it is, to all intents and purposes. I’d then charge by the hour for the afternoon slots and holiday care.

After several mistakes, I came around to the idea of a fixed rate for school runs, mainly because I got sick of parents haggling over times/meals/charges, etc for schoolies. For a morning school run slot, I offer up to two hours care; breakfast (if they arrive by 0800); and delivery to the local pen. For that, I charge for two hours at just under 125% of my regular rate.

Have you been very clear about not being the emergency contact? What will you do if nursery or the parent do call you in an emergency? I ask because this keeps happening to me. School in particular will phone me with a mixture of desperate pleading and emotional blackmail, "Dear Darling Buttercup is soooo forlorn and Mumsie can’t get here for two hours.....” or similar.

What would you do if you had a full time enquiry, whilst this child effectively 'blocks' the place? Would you stay loyal or give notice? It’s worth thinking through, even at this stage. We often 'do the right thing' by staying loyal, but end up being resentful of what it’s costing us. OTOH if you’re still considering full time use of the space, it might be best to make mum aware of that.

[Rubybaby]

I charge a higher rate if a child is here for less than 3 hours. I do,do a before and after school rate which is higher ( less than 3 hours) than my daily hourly rate. If it was me I would charge my before school rate £5 per hour and whilst at nursery if you don’t want to be on call half your normal rate . I usually charge when at nursery if they are taking a eyfs space that I couldn’t fill whist they are there though I would be on call for them.

Everyone is different so I guess you will get more replies shortly.

A slightly higher rate does make more sense to me, and reading all the related posts here it seems that generally, wraparound care is charged at a higher rate anyway. I want to keep things as straightforward as possible, and haven't yet felt the need to change my usual hourly way of charging, but maybe it's time for a re think? Thanks Dragonfly for your reply.

[Rubybaby]

Hmm if you don't want to be 'on call' then I'm not sure you can charge a fee because that's the way it is worded in the funding operational guidance.

Are your LA supportive? I wonder if they have any advice :D


Ah, I see...I think you must be right, otherwise I suppose the 'free' nursery hours wouldn't then be free if I'm charging something for them? Thanks Sarah.

[Rubybaby]

I don’t like to charge when a child is at another setting. I’m not providing any sort of service, and I wouldn’t want to pay anybody else for not providing a service if the boot were on the other foot. Besides, I don’t charge for schoolies during school hours, so why charge for preschool children? :huh:

OTOH, neither do I appreciate being used as a taxi service nor a convenience for the hours when some nursery just cannot be bothered to provide care. I only do this sort of wraparound where I see a strong case for the child benefiting from the combination of CM and group setting.

I would charge the 0745-0900 slot as for a school run (see below) which is what it is, to all intents and purposes. I’d then charge by the hour for the afternoon slots and holiday care.

After several mistakes, I came around to the idea of a fixed rate for school runs, mainly because I got sick of parents haggling over times/meals/charges, etc for schoolies. For a morning school run slot, I offer up to two hours care; breakfast (if they arrive by 0800); and delivery to the local pen. For that, I charge for two hours at just under 125% of my regular rate.

Have you been very clear about not being the emergency contact? What will you do if nursery or the parent do call you in an emergency? I ask because this keeps happening to me. School in particular will phone me with a mixture of desperate pleading and emotional blackmail, "Dear Darling Buttercup is soooo forlorn and Mumsie can’t get here for two hours.....” or similar.

What would you do if you had a full time enquiry, whilst this child effectively 'blocks' the place? Would you stay loyal or give notice? It’s worth thinking through, even at this stage. We often 'do the right thing' by staying loyal, but end up being resentful of what it’s costing us. OTOH if you’re still considering full time use of the space, it might be best to make mum aware of that.

Thank you, Bunyip...Not had this particular dilemma before, but if I stick to my normal hourly rate for wraparound just to keep things simple, I know I'll feel a bit peeved (not to mention short changed) when I know that it's usual for CM's to charge (and parents seem to expect to pay) a higher or at least different rate for wraparound. I'd be comfortable with the idea of charging a slightly higher hourly charge for the first school run slot, and normal hourly rate for any subsequent term time or hols hours actually worked, as I feel the disruption and effort involved for that first hour justifies the increased rate . I've never really been keen on the idea of charging when at Nursery either (don't think I can anyway, if not 'on call'),and yes, have explained that unless the school is forced to close in an emergency, I'm not available as a contact; I wouldn't always be able to scoot off to school at the drop of a hat as I may have other children at the time,or be out somewhere, and don't think it's fair on other children to be accepting a sick child(if that's the reason). Having said that with my 'you're running a business' voice, I'd probably cave in if I thought the poor child was stranded at school for the hours it might take for someone to get there; maybe I should call myself the last resort??
Thank you so much for your advice and suggestions...definitely some food for thought..it's not an easy gig, is it?

[mama2three]

I do charge and am ‘on call’ but still wouldn’t collect a sick child....if they’re too sick for school they’re too sick to be with me.