child minding fees

[ethanryan]

hi i have been asked to childmind twin boys aged 8 months. 5 days a week from 8am till 6pm. what is the normal standard rate that i should look at charging if i decide to do it.

[redcrx]

you must be crazy to take on 2 x 8month olds as well as a 2 and 3 year old of your own mate lol

not sure about danger money, erm i mean rates, but my nursery charges �30 a day for 3 year olds.

are you qualified though? If you are the parents can possibly claim some costs back via tax credits. If youre not then look into it, youd have to declare the earnings and really ought to be insured etc in case anything happened in your home.

[redcrx]

thats �30 each!

so �300 a week!

[LoftyLottie]

You shouldn't do it unless you are a registered childminder. There are all sorts of implications if you take this on without registering.

[Postdog]

I'm sure It's illegal to childmind unregistered (ofsted), and to get registered you, your family, and your home have to meet certain criteria.

[Nik315]

The hourly rate depends upon where you live but as Lottie says if you are not a registered childminder then you will be breaking the law by looking after children for money.

[ethanryan]

i am registered but have never actually done it, i became registered just as i found out i was pregnant with my first so never really started, the children are family friends so dont want to charge too much if i decide to do it. my 3 year old goes to nursery in sept and i would only be having the kids from sept-dec and then feb till apr

[Nik315]

You could try looking up the Children's Information Service ( Cis ) website for other childminders in your area and that will tell you how much others are charging. You would probably still need to get OFSTED back out to inspect your home again and also you would need your pediatric first aid certificate ( although this can be done whilst you are minding )

[LoftyLottie]

I would check with whatever authority you are registered with that you are still OK to do this. There may be some updated rules and regs you need to know about. They will also advise you of the correct rate to charge.

Personally, I would charge a proper rate, friend or not. You need to keep in on a proper business level for everybody's sake.

[naflharrison]

hi you just so you are aware as a registered childminder you are only legally allowed to have 3 under 5 yr olds and three over fives to childmind, this includes your own children so if you have a3yr old you will only be allowed to have 2 under fives in your care etc. also you will need to make sure you are well insured for anything that might happen, but if you are insured and take on all the kids beware that if something bad were to happen which sods law it could you would not be covered by insurance and would probably be prosecuted, also before taking them on you will have to have your registration reviewed by social services again. apart from this it is very rewarding and guidlines state that you should charge anything from around 2.30 ph up to 3.00 per hour. childminders rate are very different to day care centres. also you can have higher rates for after hrs say if you charge 2.50 ph for daytime until 5pm you could charge 3.00 ph for anything after that.
hope this helps!!

[pink-kittens]

Hi naflharrison

Just read your other post so I know you're in NI - in England childminders are regulated by OFSTED, not SS :)

HTH

[naflharrison]

i know there are different bodies for n.i and england but generally same rules apply as we checked it out when we were living in england.

[annie0000]

Our local childminders charge between �4 and �4.50 an hour - maybe I should consider a career change!

[LoftyLottie]

I can't think of a worse job - you would need to pay me �100 per hour to even think of it ;o)

[snow.maiden]

I'm just thinking of the poor little boys, needing to be farmed out from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m.

[PatriciaH]

My neighbour looks after a little boy and has done since the little boy was a baby , 8 am ish till 6-6.30 ish , i think kids looked after like this hardly see their parents ,... shame