Can I have some childcare advice please....

[Abz1982]

DD wont start school till 2014, but I am realising I need to think about before and after school care now really.
She goes to a private nursery at the moment, Mon - Weds but they wont have a tuesday place for her from November so thinking might as well get a childminder for that one day, if possible.

This is my issue..............

I work 3 days a week. 8am to 4:30pm. If I am late and dont get in till 8:30am I have to stay till 5pm. This is 24 hours a week.

I live a 40 min drive to work in the morning and an hour to get home at night.

Using the before and after school club earliest I can drop off is 7:30am and latest pick up seems to be 6pm. Its £7 for the afternoon and £4 in the morning....and they charge you extra if you are late.

I'm looking at childminders to and there only seems to be one between home and work that is near our village. I am going to email them, as even though its far ahead if they already do a collection from their village then they obv couldnt get Emma from our local school.

Someone said to change my working hours to just school hours....but thats less than 24 hours a week.

 

[shanny]

childminders can be great if you get the right one - i guess try some out before you have to commit............................

 

[m4nc3r]

Do you need the 24 hours to be eligible for working tax credits or is it just cause its your contract?

If it is your contract, surely your boss would understand if you had to cut 30 mins off each day just for that little leniency?
*OR* could you take a shorter lunch break and leave early?
Could you work shorter days then do a couple hours on a 4th day during school hours?
(Same amount of work done, no extra childminder although less days off)

It is worth having a chat with your management as I'm sure you could work something out if they see how carefully you're having to plan everything x

 

[Abz1982]

Do you need the 24 hours to be eligible for working tax credits or is it just cause its your contract?

If it is your contract, surely your boss would understand if you had to cut 30 mins off each day just for that little leniency?
*OR* could you take a shorter lunch break and leave early?
Could you work shorter days then do a couple hours on a 4th day during school hours?
(Same amount of work done, no extra childminder although less days off)

It is worth having a chat with your management as I'm sure you could work something out if they see how carefully you're having to plan everything x

Would be for tax credits.......but then i need to look into it as I think that if we have to claim WTC/CTC then our incomes wont have the voucher amounts taken off so we might earn too much to qualify.

Cant take shorter lunch as we only get the legally required 30 mins and we basically work through that with food at desks anyway.

I am thinking will have to go back FT to make it all work. but I will have 1 in nursery and DD in school, so still nursery fees for 1 off them, and to work jsut school hours would still be classed as full day for nursery purposes.

Ugh, such a faf!

 

[seoj]

Using the before/after school club seems like it could work? If you drop off at 7:30, work by 8:30 (or earlier)- then off by 5pm (or earlier) and able to get her by 6pm. I know it's cutting it close-- but it seems like most days it should work- and prob cheaper to pay the little extra when needed rather than pay a child minder. Unless I totally mis-understood!