I'd find it very difficult to charge a member of my family for anything, let alone child care. However I did look after my 6 month old niece for a month or so and eventually accepted petrol money from my sister (1.5hrs per day travel to her house). Mind you I don't vote conservative & have always valued family, friendship & love over money.
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Family childcare fees
- Thread starter pottert
- Start date
spongy
Well-known member
Reading this has made me panic a bit. Is this really how much child care costs
?
I have a 6 week old daughter so nursery is a little way off but I can't see how I am going to be able to afford it.
The missus is currently on maternity and that will fizzle out over the coming months, down to £0 after the 9 months. We've calculated that we can get by towards the end on just my wages but it's going to be VERY tight for a bit. And this is if I can maintain doing 40+ hours a month overtime. If it dries up then we're going to be in some serious trouble.
If she goes back to work then we're going to need childcare for 5 days as we have no family members that can help. And looking at these costs all her salary will be used on childcare. What's the point in that? Why go to work just to pay for childcare so you can
And I can't cover all our rent, household bills, car insurances petrol etc on my basic wage. And I don't want to work 12 hours a day and miss my daughter growing up because that's just ****.
I can save £150 a month if we have no surprises with bills etc. and reading the other thread about buying a house has just confirmed to me that I will NEVER be able to buy my own house. Isn't life just ****ing grand?
?I have a 6 week old daughter so nursery is a little way off but I can't see how I am going to be able to afford it.
The missus is currently on maternity and that will fizzle out over the coming months, down to £0 after the 9 months. We've calculated that we can get by towards the end on just my wages but it's going to be VERY tight for a bit. And this is if I can maintain doing 40+ hours a month overtime. If it dries up then we're going to be in some serious trouble.
If she goes back to work then we're going to need childcare for 5 days as we have no family members that can help. And looking at these costs all her salary will be used on childcare. What's the point in that? Why go to work just to pay for childcare so you can
And I can't cover all our rent, household bills, car insurances petrol etc on my basic wage. And I don't want to work 12 hours a day and miss my daughter growing up because that's just ****.
I can save £150 a month if we have no surprises with bills etc. and reading the other thread about buying a house has just confirmed to me that I will NEVER be able to buy my own house. Isn't life just ****ing grand?
GT49er
Well-known member
...pushing her luck - and breaking the law! Don't go there - phone your local Children's Information Service (the Council will have one) and get details (and prices) of childminders and nurseries available.
I never realized child care was so lucrative.
Reading this has made me panic a bit. Is this really how much child care costs
I have a 6 week old daughter so nursery is a little way off but I can't see how I am going to be able to afford it.
The missus is currently on maternity and that will fizzle out over the coming months, down to £0 after the 9 months. We've calculated that we can get by towards the end on just my wages but it's going to be VERY tight for a bit. And this is if I can maintain doing 40+ hours a month overtime. If it dries up then we're going to be in some serious trouble.
If she goes back to work then we're going to need childcare for 5 days as we have no family members that can help. And looking at these costs all her salary will be used on childcare. What's the point in that? Why go to work just to pay for childcare so you can
And I can't cover all our rent, household bills, car insurances petrol etc on my basic wage. And I don't want to work 12 hours a day and miss my daughter growing up because that's just ****.
I can save £150 a month if we have no surprises with bills etc. and reading the other thread about buying a house has just confirmed to me that I will NEVER be able to buy my own house. Isn't life just ****ing grand?
if both you and the missus is working you can get up to 70% off your childcare costs, the goverment will adjust your child tax credits accordingly. our eldest, who is 3, qualified for the 2 year funding programme where he gets 15 hours for free. on top of that we get around £60/week to put towards the rest. after all is done we pay about £17/week for both children doing 3 full days ( 9am - 3pm)
I work full time and the missus works part time in the evenings. there is alot of help out there for people who want to work and do their bit.
I think that's probably the right answer. She doesn't want to say 'no' outright so she's making it easy for you to think of another option.
It isn't as lucrative as it seems. My other half used to work for one on the biggest nursery chains in Sussex when the previous Labour government brought out the childcare voucher scheme. At the time the group were making around £200k profit a year and employing around 300 staff. The voucher scheme meant that the government would only pay £15 an hour for every 'free' hour of childcare yet it cost £25 an hour for the nursery group to supply that hour ( estimated figures as I can't remember the exact amount but the scale is about right ). It was so serious for the group that they managed to get the MD and my partner to meet Ed Balls who was in charge of the scheme at the time. His answer ? 'Tough - private enterprise should help pay for government policies'. The result ? the group nearly went under and was brought at the last minute by a national chain. The profit margins in childcare are very very tight.
This is the man some people want as the next chancellor !!!! I wonder how Red Ed plans to freeze those energy bills ?
spongy
Well-known member
That's interesting and could be a lifesaver to us. Where can I find out more about this? I take it it's all online on a .gov webpage somewhere?
Yes, its all done through tax credits. i believe you just need to tell them the nursery/minder's and how much you will have to pay and they will help you out.
GT49er
Well-known member
.gov web pages are sh1t. Contact the Family Information Service on 01273-293545. Or follow this link: http://http://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/content/children-and-education/information-and-advice-families
K
I would say that is the top end of child care costs. I paid £65 per day for my son, nursery was open 8am - 6pm and included 3 meals, snacks, nappies etc. If you're ok with the cost, I would get your toddler into a nursery ASAP. Your child will then be interacting with other children and develop social skills etc. Also these nurseries have to follow the 'early years foundation' learning program so it is a lot more than child care. Lastly, and a big factor IMO, when your child is age 3, they will get 15 hours funding from the Govt. This varies slightly from area to area but is about £4 per hour. Obviously if you're in a nursery you have a place already, whereas you may struggle to find a place when the funding starts, or you may get a place ok but not in your nursery of choice.
If you go down the nursery route, and for 3 days a week, I would recommend you check out their 'rules' for getting the 15 hours funding beforehand. I know of some nurseries that only allow for 3 hours credit per day, even though you're there for 7-8 hours per day, so to get the full 15 hours you'd have to be at the nursery 5 days a week.
I would say that is the top end of child care costs. I paid £65 per day for my son, nursery was open 8am - 6pm and included 3 meals, snacks, nappies etc. If you're ok with the cost, I would get your toddler into a nursery ASAP. Your child will then be interacting with other children and develop social skills etc. Also these nurseries have to follow the 'early years foundation' learning program so it is a lot more than child care. Lastly, and a big factor IMO, when your child is age 3, they will get 15 hours funding from the Govt. This varies slightly from area to area but is about £4 per hour. Obviously if you're in a nursery you have a place already, whereas you may struggle to find a place when the funding starts, or you may get a place ok but not in your nursery of choice.
If you go down the nursery route, and for 3 days a week, I would recommend you check out their 'rules' for getting the 15 hours funding beforehand. I know of some nurseries that only allow for 3 hours credit per day, even though you're there for 7-8 hours per day, so to get the full 15 hours you'd have to be at the nursery 5 days a week.
- Jul 10, 2003
- 25,809
Well i'm guessing that the huge increase in nurseries around isn't all down to pure altruism, so someone somewhere is making a significant profit.
Creaky
Well-known member
More likely a question of supply and demand - the demand is high and from all accounts not many spare places.
Really? A simple Google search reveals an industry in rude health. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/...-proving-to-be-safe-places-for-investors.html
Quite.
chimneys
Well-known member
- Jun 11, 2007
- 3,589
A slightly contrary review:
OP and wife need childcare so they can earn more cash to better their lives. In that situation surely its fair to share the wealth she will help to create, rather than merely expect family favours?
And c£6.50 per hour, which I calculate her pay/hours to be, is minimum wage territory isn't it? I know she can look after her own kid and do other things when OP's kid occupied/asleep, but by taking OP's kid on, its preventing her from seeking employment and similarly bettering herself.
And on the tax point, she's below annual wage limit for tax, presuming she has no other income.
chimneys
Well-known member
- Jun 11, 2007
- 3,589
Our very own recently appointed Defence Secretary, made a fortune out of day nurseries (Telegraph article from 2001):
A CONSERVATIVE MP is poised to become a multi-millionaire following the £22m buyout of Just Learning, the chain of children's nurseries he founded in 1995.
Michael Fallon, the MP for Sevenoaks and a former education minister, set up the business with the help of Duncan Bannatyne, a wealthy North East entrepreneur, who invested £25m in the company in return for an 80 per cent stake. Fallon is now buying out the business together with Alchemy, the private equity firm that once tried to buy Rover.
Fallon is chief executive of Just Learning, which he runs while also carrying out his duties as an MP. Fallon met Bannatyne while he was MP for Darlington and the pair decided to open the first Just Learning private nursery school locally after Bannatyne had struggled to find nursery places for his two daughters. Bannatyne provided the cash while Fallon designed the curriculum to give young children an early grasp of reading, writing and arithmetic.
Alchemy, the venture capital group run by Jon Moulton, has purchased Bannatyne's 80 per cent stake in Just Learning which now has 14 nurseries around Britain. The business generates annual profits of £1.5m on sales of about £10m.
Just Learning owns most of its sites freehold while the nurseries are purpose-built. Each accommodates up to 100 children aged from two weeks to five years. The weekly cost per child is about £100.
The Just Learning nursery in Darlington won praise in an Ofsted report in 1997 after its first inspection. The inspector was impressed by the good behaviour of the children and said the nursery promoted excellent social development.
Fallon was one of several Conservative MPs criticised for not declaring business interests when he failed to state his interest in Just Learning in the House of Commons in 1998. As a result, William Hague, the former Tory leader, moved Fallon from his trade and industry brief to the shadow Treasury team.
Rich Suvner
Skint years RIP
wasn't a comment on anything other than the fact Reflections is probably not the best proxy for average childcare cost.
on the basis that this conversation is about is £800 expensive for amateur/family childcare. which it is.
Interesting thread. Apart from making me grateful that my kids are 20 and 16 (well, partly, until I look at university fees etc, then I shit myself) I think this might have hit the nail on the head. She's looked at the hours, looked at the minimum wage and gone for something around that, which isn't unreasonable from her perspctive. Comparing it with a nursery probably isn't fair from her angle as they would have economies of scale (ie not just one kid) but for the OP it doesn't sound like the best option on several levels.
Creaky
Well-known member
Trying to work out the maths of the above - Duncan Bannatyne invested £25 million for an 80% share of the company which has now been bought for £22 million - on that basis DB will get a return of about £18 million and Michael Fallon about £4 million.
If those figures are correct then I don't understand why Bannatyne has sold out making a capital loss on a company making 15% nett profits on turnover - presumably the base capital assets of the company won't be greater than the £22m sales value which would suggest that the net profits are around 7% of capital employed - not a bad return