Struggling to fill spaces is it time to call it quits

Been childminding now 5 years next month and love being self employed and have been very lucky to be able to fill spaces if and when children have left.
This time it's been much different and I really am struggling to fill my current space and fear another child could soon be leaving 😢
If this happens I fear this will be then end of my business.
I am at the moment actively looking to go back to my own career because I really can't fill these spaces and can't live on fresh air, our village has 20 childminders and we are not really a huge village and two Afterschool clubs so I fear I will be priced out the market.
Can I ask if any of you have had a very quiet spell where kids are leaving and spaces are vacant for a long time although you have advertised.
Just at the point I am starting to really worry about not having an income
Not like i have a money tree outside my garden

I have been very quiet since September when 3 children moved on to school, I have struggled to fill the spaces, I have just taken on a funded 2 year old which means I have 3 under 5s now and 2 of them start school this September. Some days I only have 1 little one all day which isn't really viable.I haven't been this quiet for a long time. This time last year I was full 5 days a week and having to turn people away. Everyone seems to want after school care at the moment. I think the situation may change when the 30hrs comes in later in the year I am hoping that we will get a reasonable amount from out LA.

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Originally Posted by Pixie dust

I have been very quiet since September when 3 children moved on to school, I have struggled to fill the spaces, I have just taken on a funded 2 year old which means I have 3 under 5s now and 2 of them start school this September. Some days I only have 1 little one all day which isn't really viable.I haven't been this quiet for a long time. This time last year I was full 5 days a week and having to turn people away. Everyone seems to want after school care at the moment. I think the situation may change when the 30hrs comes in later in the year I am hoping that we will get a reasonable amount from out LA.

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I have been really quiet since the summer, although I have had children start, it has just been for a morning, or for school hours. With no new after schoolers at all, and although I had been thinking about stopping the schoolies, with the amount of EY I had, I can't afford to drop them. I have just filled my last day spaces.. ( I haven't been able to fill my half day spaces ) but come the summer term, I am fully expecting 2 children to leave ... one to nursery as her sch nursery expect/ insist you do 5 mornings once you turn 3 and another to do more hours at preschool as I'm going to have to charge a higher fee for non funded hours and they won't/ don't.
I had seriously started looking at other jobs to maybe do part time, and am going to keep my ears open. I'm in a rural area with not many minders and school has an afterschool club but generally grandparents/family/friends do alot of the caring. I have one mindee mum (who is also a friend) who is asked at least once every other week to pick up another child for a couple hours after school and because they are friends, says yes, but moans at me and says 'why won't she just pay you to have X ... it would be better for everyone!'

Good luck. Big hugs xx

it's quiet here too. I had someone ready to start, signed contract and did settling in, it wasn't until I asked about which voucher company they were using that it emerged they were edging their bets & had signed up with a nursery too. That has never happened to me before! I think there's too much choice out there are the moment, but it will be a different matter when the 30 hrs comes in. If you're able to hold out till September...I know its a long way off, but things might change. If you decide to go back into the employment market try to keep your registration going 'just in case'. hugs

I did last year, lost a nearly full-timer in Sept, another in January. I managed to get some temporary ad-hoc children, then 3 part-timers started school at Easter. I knew I had a sibling baby of schoolies starting at some pint but Mum was pushing start date back. He ended up starting in Sept, another childminder stopped and I fitted one of hers in and another baby on the one day I had a space - So I am now full. We have no afterschool club at the moment but there is such a demand I can see the school starting one in the near future as I am constantly turning school aged children away. There are only 3 minders in the near area and no nursery nothing until part-time nursery at 2.5. I struggled and lost £1400 a month income and just scraped through the summer, I had to cancel my holiday and my husband took a 2nd job at weekends. ince September I could have filled my preschool spaces more than twice over after having no enquiries last year.

A while back I lost my 2 main families in the same month, one was made redundant and the other decided she could get more money as a single parent not working, they were both an EY and a schoolie, one family 5 days the other 4 days. I got a job in a pub in the evenings so I could take on enquires when they cam in. I enjoyed the pub and continued to work there even though I was full until I decided to have my youngest x

Good luck xx

I am also very quiet at the moment, half a dozen schoolies but only a 1yr old one day a week in the EY. Lost a 3yr old and her older brother at Christmas as mum decided to jack in her job, had a couple of enquiries for part time babies but they both decided to go to nursery instead.
I am waiting on the final offer for funded hours in our area, if it's close to my hourly rate then I will probably go back to offering funded hours again, but if things don't pick up soon, I might have to consider other options as am a single mum these days!

I'm struggling too, it's more advertising the vacancies I find the issue! Been open nearly two years :(
I feel I've tried most things.

Do you have local newsletters? Does your school put childminding adverts up? Have you left your details in the local library? I had all my ads with these plus local county council, yell (never got any business from that), i ch i l d, childcare .co. uk, local newsletters and magazines and local Sure Starts.

I've been childminding a few years now and was quiet for the first 18 months. Only managed to get after schoolers and the odd part time EY. I've been full since the 2nd year of childminding and have constantly turned work down. Do you attend local playgroups? Get your face and name known. Have a casual chat with parents. I invested in some polo shirts and had my childminding details embroided on and wore my PACEY name badge all the time. I've also got some flourescent vests with my details and number on the back. The kids wear these when we're out and about. I can spot them a mile off, my number is on the back should I loose them but it also advertises my business. It's surprising how people will talk. I always get people coming up to me saying "Are you that childminder?" I've been fortunate that I can pick and chose the children I want because I've had waiting lists. It's difficult if there's a lot of CM's in your area. You need to stand out from the rest. Keep your pricing competitive but don't do yourself out of pocket.

Good luck with everything. We all go through quiet patches. I've worried in the past when pre-schoolers have gone full time school. Fortunately, there's been someone else come along at the right time.