Charges for school holidays

[McGreedy79]

Hi, I wonder if someone can give me some advice please. I have been approached to take on my first 'school holiday only' contract. All my other mindees are teeny and not yet at school so I haven't entered the realms of term time yet..... ;-) I just wondered what the norm was with regards to charging.... Do you still charge your standard hourly rates, or do you offer a lower day rate? Am I right in thinking that because they are in education I don't need to strictly follow EYFS and do formal learning journals etc? (Although of course would keep an informal record of what they have been up to and make days structured etc) thank you!!!! :-)

[lynnef]

I was wondering the same. I am newly registered and i am just setting my fees. do i charge the same daily rate for both under and over 8s in school holidays?

[oxfordshirecm]

You don't need to follow eyfs for five and over - I do keep a scrap book tho for them. My hourly rate for eyfs child is £4 per hour and I charge £3 per hour for schoolies

[rosebud]

I don't know if I'm in the minority but I don't understand why you'd charge less for school age children. They eat (LOTS) more, use more resources (arts / crafts etc), cause more "wear and tear" on my house and are just generally harder work. Its the same price here no matter how old they are. I know one theory would be you can have more children if they're over 8 but my insurance only covers me for 10 children so if I have 3 under 5, 3 x 5-8's, 2 of my own, then I can only have another 2 over 8, so that theory doesn't work for me. Having said that my limit is 7 at a time anyway as like to fit in the car.

[funemnx]

I charge my usual hourly rate of £3.50 - I don't charge a retainer for term time but I know some CM charge a retainer and some that charge a daily rate

[ziggy]

after disastrous day with schoolies on first day of summer holidays, i'm thinking of charging double in future in hope they wont come

Seriously i charge slightly more for afterschool children and charge that rate in holidays, although reduce it a bit if doing a full day

[McGreedy79]

Thank you, that does help. I think I'll stick to my guns and keep my hourly rate the same. I hadn't thought about resources I.e arts and crafts..... :-) now another question....what's the norm re after school hours if I am collecting and giving tea? Say 3pm - 6pm? Still normal hourly rate? Thank you!

[McGreedy79]

Oh no Ziggy - disastrous day? I'm worried now. I have avoided taking older children until now as all my minders and own children have been/are under 3....... What am I letting myself in for? :-/

[natalieatk]

Why do you charge less for school children ? Same rate whatever age you are

[jillplum]

I charge the same hourly rate for all children.

[ziggy]

Oh no Ziggy - disastrous day? I'm worried now. I have avoided taking older children until now as all my minders and own children have been/are under 3....... What am I letting myself in for? :-/

I think my mistake was agreeing to take 9yr old and 11yr old brothers, i used to be their nanny and so have a rather different relationship with their mother (all my own fault). I have 5 little ones over the week aged 6 months up to 4yrs. I realise now after just first week of holidays i cant offer activities for older ones and keep everyone happy.

I admire minders who can but I wont be offering holiday care for older ones again

[Glitter]

I charge £3.50 for childminding, but have to charge less for older children in the school holidays.

All the local holiday clubs charge £20 per day, so I chagre £3 an hour, upto a maximum of £20. Meals for older children are £2.50 extra.

I find I get more work this way and make more money than if I charged my full rate.

[Telabelle]

I charge a higher hourly rate for after-schoolies, (£5.00, compared with 4.25/hour for little ones) which makes me more expensive than after school club. I agree that they eat more, can be more disruptive and use more resources. I want to keep schoolies to a minimum, but I suppose if I wanted more I would consider charging less.
In the holidays I charge £4.00/hour or £36.00 for a whole day! That does include all food, trips and treats though. The personalised care that childminders provide is worth more than a generic holiday club, I think.

[Jenna]

I also charge a high rate for schoolies normally charge £4.50 for them it's £5. They eat far more than the little ones and take alot more entertaining also of we go on trips and outings their entry is normally more than the little ones