After school childcare

[alethea]

Does anyone have any advice or solutions as to what is best way to handle after school childcare, we need childcare from 3.15-7pm 4 days a week, we currently have a nanny, things are always fine for a bit, but it always ends up that they need more hours, which we just don't need. It's never as flexible as we'd like it to be.

Do you just have to accept that you will always need a new nanny every year or so or is there a better answer?

It feels like there is a real gap in the market for a smaller group approach to after school clubs with slightly longer hours and pick up/ drop off facilities.

[ludoscotts]

hi you may be able to get a childminder to do it. Im a childminder and I have 2 children that I collect from school and only charge for the 2-3 hours that I have them, no retainer for during the day etc.

[womanofdulwich]

I assume you need care in the school holidays too. Best to manage a situation yourselves where you have the nanny all day and hire her out in the mornings so you have overall control. All with her agreement of course, but that means you are guaranteeing her a higher rate and taking the risk but are in control.

[esme]

Definitely childminder but agree childcare is a minefield!

Ludoscotts above is lovely by the way, friend of mine :)

[alethea]

Thanks for the replies, it seems there is no quick fix, I did try the childminder and it was a nightmare. Because I needed the school pick up she hadn't anticipated or thought to try to see whether it was viable with her own children with them being different schools. Because she hadn't researched this, she then went to the wrong school, was late picking my son up and after that 1 day then said that she wouldn't be able to do it anymore. It left us seriously let down and my son got very distressed by the whole instability of the situation.

Obviously this is not reflective of all childminders but it's made me wary.

My best situation was when we had a student who was training to be a teacher, that way the shorter hours suited her and she was studying for a period of time so it meant we had some continuity. But those people don't seem to come along very often now.

[number 2]

We've just been struggling with this too. We've found a teaching assistant at the school who was looking for extra money. 7pm is a very late finish though for any childcare provider

[crystal7]

We have a wonderful childminder who does before and after school care for our daughter term time only. She picks up several children from the same class and they have a lovely time, my daughter loves going there. We pay ?7 per hour. 7pm is a late finish though.

[MovingMama]

I realise this is an old thread, but still an issue I'm sure for many! If anyone has any more thoughts on how to juggle 3.30-5.30 childcare please do share. We were living in a different area until recently and I found students at LSE or UCL who were very willing to do short hours a couple of days a week. Not sure how to source students in Dulwich/Herne Hill..

[LouieM]

If you're looking for childcare 4 days a week until 7, I'd recommend an au pair. We've had one for 18 months now and the flexibility is a godsend. Obviously only works if you have a spare bedroom though...