£2 per hour?!

**snufflepuff** · 03-09-2011, 11:59 AM

I have just been browsing our local 'for sale' group on facebook and noticed an advert from a new childminder- who is charging just £2 per hour!

The average in the area is £3.50 per hour, with the lowest I've ever come across being £3.

What's the betting she will be full very quickly, lol! I wonder what other childminders in the area will feel about her undercutting everyone by so much!

**Mouse** · 03-09-2011, 12:08 PM

I wonder if she realises how much everyone else charges?

We had a newly registering childminder who advertised her afterschool care as £3...for the session...including a cooked meal! She had loads of enquiries in no time and would have had a house full of children lined up for when her registration came through! It was only when another cm got chatting to her & explained that the price we normally quote is per hour, not per session that she realised how she'd got it wrong!

**marleymoo** · 03-09-2011, 02:33 PM

parents wouldn't normally go for the cheapest CM, if they did, i wouldn't be full anyway. however, with tax creds being cut and bills on the increase, she may well start off well. perhaps she's going to snare them first and then increase her fees later. undercutting is naughty, it devalues what we do and we shouldn't be tempted to reduce our fees in a desperate attempt to get work. she can only take some many and once those places are filled, parents will have to resort to the more reasonably feed CMs so don't worry too much

**nikki thomson** · 03-09-2011, 05:17 PM

They can undercut all they like I just wouldn't work for £2 an hour, I begrudge £3.75, she'll soon learn how much work is involved and will up her prices. Xx

**marleymoo** · 03-09-2011, 05:41 PM

my DH goes demented about my hourly rate. he's got a point. in my previous career, my salary increased after appraisals, CPPD, as well as annually, so the better and more qualified i got, the more i earned. just doesn't work in this job. i've never felt so over qualified yet underpaid in my life. why anyone goes for EYP status is beyond me, esp if it's to stay in CM, to get paid same as dipstick round the corner???? hell no

**Dragonfly** · 03-09-2011, 06:04 PM

I would be wondering why she was only £2.00 per hour.Cheapest isnt always the best care, and i certainly wouldnt work for that amount.

**marleymoo** · 03-09-2011, 06:07 PM

having said that, she could be wonderful!
by the same token, the most expensive could be

**francinejayne** · 03-09-2011, 06:13 PM

there's a CM round the corner from me with a daily rate of £20 advertising on childcare - my daily rate is now £35!

i have no idea if she's full or not - I am and i am regularly turning business away!!

I wouldn't be swayed by cheap for childcare for my children - but i did lose one parent earlier this year when I put my fees up by £2 a week!!!!!????

**marleymoo** · 03-09-2011, 06:15 PM

you just couldn't make it up. mine are in for a shock, hike in hourly rate after xmas. told all new parents about it, just gotta tell the others yikes

**Beetlejuice** · 03-09-2011, 08:22 PM

I couldn't afford to run my business like that. We have the opposite problem round here in that the new minders coming in are really expensive compared to established minders. They must be telling them at ICP stage what to charge as they are adamant that it's the minimum they will work for and they want SO much money up front etc compared to how the more established minders work. They seem to get lots of interviews but can't work out why they aren't getting the work!

Round here the norm seems to be £4.20 - £5 an hour (SE england) and I'm on £4.40. The nice thing this year is my DD will be in full time school and therefore release an under 5 space for me

**Mamma4Ya** · 04-09-2011, 08:17 AM

I can only assume that they think some money is better than no money

I certainly would not offer my services for £2 an hour, no way. Once they realise that they will be out of pocket they may change their mind.

**linzi133** · 04-09-2011, 08:54 AM

My mother in law was a Childminder for over 20 years when I registered.... She was horrified when she found out how much I was charging £4 per hour (the average for our area) as she only charged £2 per hour which included meals! No wonder she always turned people away! Turns out she had never put her price up EVER as it wasn't fair on her parents!!!

**marleymoo** · 04-09-2011, 09:02 AM

dear god, put up with all this

for £2 an hour? that's not fair on US!

**Ripeberry** · 04-09-2011, 10:12 AM

Originally Posted by marleymoo

my DH goes demented about my hourly rate. he's got a point. in my previous career, my salary increased after appraisals, CPPD, as well as annually, so the better and more qualified i got, the more i earned. just doesn't work in this job. i've never felt so over qualified yet underpaid in my life. why anyone goes for EYP status is beyond me, esp if it's to stay in CM, to get paid same as dipstick round the corner???? hell no

This is the main reason I won't even entertain getting an NVQ3 as it does not mean you will get paid more. Just get more responsability for nothing.
And now that our local council is not doing grants, there is no way that I'm forking out £1,300 + for a piece of paper.

I'd rather get the books cheap and read them myself.

**PixiePetal** · 04-09-2011, 10:24 AM

I was £2.00/hr when I started 17 years ago. No way would I work for that now.

**Mouse** · 04-09-2011, 10:35 AM

Originally Posted by PixiePetal

I was £2.00/hr when I started 17 years ago. No way would I work for that now.

I started out 16 years ago at £1.50 an hour...and I only had one space as I have 2 young children of my own

I started off looking after my friend's son & did her a discounted rate of £10 a day, for 4 days a week. I thought I was raking it in at £40 a week

Having said that, there was much less paperowrk, I didn;t have to do a first aid course (though I chose to), no EYFS, no Ofsted even.

Ahhh...those were simpler times

**rickysmiths** · 04-09-2011, 02:34 PM

Gosh I charged £2ph 17yrs ago when I first started. When I moved there were cms charging £1 when most of us were then chatging £3,75. To be honest a saying comes to mind. 'If you pay peanuts you get a monkey' Most of those £1 were pulled up by Ofsted by being over numbers because they couldn't make a living sticking to max 6. I wouldn't worry too much. Parents will come to you and value the service you offer.

**snufflepuff** · 04-09-2011, 03:22 PM

I just couldn't work for £2 per hour. £3.50 is low enough. It's not worth getting out of bed in the morning!!!

Will be interesting to see if it's all just to get the parents to sign contracts and then her prices will suddenly rise 'in line with others in the area' !!!!

**kel1983** · 05-09-2011, 07:13 AM

No way would I work for £2 per hour. I would not work for less than £4 per hour. Otherwise I wouldnt be doing this job.

**marleymoo** · 05-09-2011, 08:20 AM

Originally Posted by Ripeberry

This is the main reason I won't even entertain getting an NVQ3 as it does not mean you will get paid more. Just get more responsability for nothing.
And now that our local council is not doing grants, there is no way that I'm forking out £1,300 + for a piece of paper.

I'd rather get the books cheap and read them myself.

reading a book is still CPPD, just without a certificate. I would still record it in my reflective journal