I have a school holiday only mindee that has a baby sister. Mum wants sister to start with me in Feb but as I already have 2 under 5's (plus my DD) I need a variation.

The variation would be for 2.5 days as one mindee is only here for that. Other mindee attends 3 days a week but they are rolling days as parents are shift workers, but they reserve me all week

Anyway, back to my point :o , new mindee would need to start at the start of Feb, but my shift mindee doesnt turn 1 until the end of Feb, so as well as a variation for an extra under 5 I would need it temporarily to cover 2 under 1s.

What are my odds of them saying yes do you reckon? Has anyone had this before?

I've had a variation for 3 under 5's before (when DD was born) so am confident in writing the letter stating how I would cope etc. I just hope they dont get funny over the fact that they will both be under 1 for 4 weeks.

no i dont think you are pushing it, esp since its only for a few weeks that they are both under one.

Its all about how you word the letter!!!

Plus it is so you can take a sibling and provide continuity of care for the family. Go for it! Explain that you need the variation for 2.5 days to cover you on a worst case scenario in relation to the other parents shift pattern, but the reality is that you would likely to be over your numbers for less than 2.5 days. Maybe give an example of how the shifts have worked out recently.

(I've just been granted a variation so I can take a sibling after Xmas. One of my other mindee's parents works shifts so I applied for 2 days/week where there could have been a conflict, however in reality I'm expecting to have 4 LOs only one day per fortnight)

Good luck - hope you get it.

Think the idea of explaining the shift patterns is a good one

Miffy xx

Also, when you write explain how you would manage i.e. keeping them safe etc, double buggies, car seats etc etc, only they asked me to show how I would manage when I went for variation to cover friends maternity leave

I have a variation for 2 under ones (continuity of care) I explained how i would care for their physical needs (twin buggy, 2 highchairs, 2 cots etc) how I would care for their emotional needs and what i would do in an emergency. hope that helps a little