Different Types of Childcare Part 1

But we will get started with discussing Nurseries. 

Nurseries

Nurseries are probably the most well-known type of childcare.  They are also known as Day Nurseries, forest nursery school, Montessori nursery.  They do also include Preschool’s too but we will discuss these separately.

Generally, nurseries look after children from roughly 3 months old until they go to school at 5 years old.  Their hours tend to be from 8:00am to 6:00pm, though some like my nursery open longer.  Most are open from Monday to Friday, but increasingly you are getting more that open on different times and days like night nurseries or weekend nurseries. 

This is done to offer more support to parents due to many more people having varied working patterns.

Again, most nurseries tend to open all year round with the exceptions of bank holidays and some closing for a week or two over Christmas and New year’s.  Though, you can get some that are open on these days and some that are just open during term time, which means the close during the school holidays.

The majority of nurseries offer free early education places that are available to 2-, 3- and 4-year-olds.  This usually entitles them to 11 free hours per week or 22 free hours per week (as nurseries tend to spread their hours throughout the whole year). 

They are also eligible to accept other types of funding like tax-free childcare or universal credits.  Though, to find out more information about the different ways to help with childcare costs, click the link to the article here.  I will also try to explain this in a future video, so do look out for it by clicking that subscribe button.

The average costs for nurseries vary depending on what part of the country you live in, and the costs like most things in the UK is generally highest in London. 

The cost for 2-year-olds is generally higher then for under 2s and the costs for 3 year old’s and older is usually the cheapest.  This is primarily because of the staffing ratios needed to look after the different age groups which I will go through in a moment.

So, the cost for average cost for a two year old attending part time (roughly 25 hours per week) is 132.56, which works out at £6893 for the year.  Under 2s are slightly higher costing 137.69 per week for the same hours, which works out at £7160 for the year. 

A full time place for the same age group costs £263.81 per week for an under 2 on average, which is £13,720 per year. And the average cost for a full-time place for a 2 year old is £254.44 per week which is roughly £13,230.

As mentioned, the price difference for the different age groups is primarily because of the different ratio requirements for them.

Ofsted and the other regulatory bodies ensures that there is one member of staff for every three under 2s in a nursery.  There will be one member of staff looking after up to 4 two-year-olds.  This is the main thing that affects the amount nurseries can charge. 

The ratios for 3 year olds are much higher with one member of staff being able to look after 8 children.  Making 3 year olds less costly to nurseries enabling them to charge a little bit less.

These ratios are primarily there to ensure that children are kept safe at nursery.

Day nurseries are not limited to the number of children they can have.  So you can find nurseries may have as little as ten or less and others may be registered for over 100 children. 

Although, nurseries numbers range is vast this is based on the size of the building the nursery is in.  the bigger the building the more children they can have. 

Most staff in a nursery will have a qualification to be able to work in them.  At least one member of staff needs to hold a level 3 childcare qualification to ensure they are confident in not only protecting and safeguarding children but also so they have an extensive knowledge of how children develop.  This qualification can usually be completed within 18 months to two years, though if you have no experience in childcare you would usually have to complete the level 2 first which would take one year on top of this.

Many nursery managers also have a degree in childhood development to further support this.

Setting up as a nursery is probably one of the most complicated of the childcare provisions to do.  I have a video explaining how to do this which you can find a link to at the end of this video plus courses to further support this which you can find in the description.

As I already have info on how to set-up, I won’t go into how to do this in this video.

We will therefore move onto the next type of childcare.  Which are pre-schools.

Pre-school

As I mentioned in the nursery section pre-schools are very similar to nurseries and usually fall into the nursery category.

Pre-schools provide play and education sessions for children between 2 and 5. Most pre-schools will be open five mornings a week, with some providing afternoon sessions as well. Some have flexibility on the sessions your child can attend, while others are more structured with children attending five full mornings or five full afternoons. Pre-schools and playgroups tend run term time only, from around 9am to lunchtime or from lunchtime to around 3 or 4pm, depending of the sessions they operate.

This means the close over Easter, half terms, Christmas and the 6 weeks over summer.  This means they are generally open for 38 weeks in the year.

Some pre-schools are associated or attached to a school, but this is not necessary.  They are though less likely to be in a purpose-built building and are usually ran from community venues like churches and halls.

Some are run as pack away settings, meaning they set up in the morning and then pack everything away at the end of the day.  This can be cumbersome for staff but this is usually imposed by the owner of the building that the preschool is leasing from.

Preschools are often run by local councils or voluntary committees, though there are an increasing number of private pre-schools.

As with nurseries, all pre-schools must be registered with the countries regulatory bodies, whether that be Ofsted for England, The care Inspectorate for Wales and Scotland or the HSSB for Northern Ireland.

As they are open for shorter hours the average weekly cost is less that it is for nurseries.  With the average weekly cost for a pre-school place costing £138 per week.  Some pre-schools do allow sessions in during the holidays though these are usually with reduced numbers and some do allow extended hours for breakfast club or after school clubs, though again this is usually for reduced numbers.

Lunches and other meals typically aren’t provided by pre-schools and you will likely have to cover the cost of nappies.  Though, as more private preschools are being opened more preschools will have different rules.

Most pre-school settings care for children from age 2 years plus so prices are generally the same for all the age groups.

Pre-schools can claim the same funding as nurseries, like free government funding and tax-free childcare.

Though, they as they are only open for 38 weeks your free government hours would be 15 hours or 30 hours per week.

The ratios for staff are the same with nurseries, with one member of staff being able to look after 3 children under 2, 4 two years or 8 3 – 5-year-olds.  Again, the number of children a pre-school can look after depends primarily on the size of the building, and this is determined when registering the preschool with the countries regulatory body.

The set-up process is the same as nurseries which I have covered in a video which I will link here, and I go into further details in the courses which you can find a link to here.

Nannying

The next few types of childcares we will discuss are all types of childcare they take place primarily in the child’s home.  These are nannies, au-pair’s and babysitters.  Although, they all work primarily from the child’s home they are very different in how they are set-up and the experience and development they may bring to a child.

The first we will go into is nannying.

A nanny provides childcare for one or more children in the parent’s own home. Nannies can sometimes live-in with the family. Many families have a full-time nanny but it is also popular to employ a part-time nanny or after school live-out nanny. Nannies who provide care for newly born babies during the night are known as night nannies.

Some parents choose nannies over other forms of childcare.  This is because they are generally more flexible as they can provide care based on your needs which can be through the night, long-term or temporary and can even accompany you on holiday.  When hiring a nanny you become their formal employer with all the responsibilities that entails, including (in the UK) paying National Insurance and providing paid holiday and a workplace pension.

Because of their flexibility some parents choose to combine nannying with other forms of childcare so that their child can consistently mix with other children their age group.

As it is in your home and with yours and your child’s items, it means you have greater control over what they use and eat, your child is likely to feel more comfortable than with other forms of childcare, you and your child do not need to travel and your child can still be cared for if they are sick.

As a nanny you can look after children from 2 different families, as long as they are primarily based in one of the children’s homes.  If a nanny would like to look after more that two families they would need to register as a childminder.  Which we will discuss in the next video, so as mentioned subscribe to find out when that comes out.

The size of the families are not governed so you can technically look after as many as a family has.

Nannies do not need to register with any regulatory body and as such do not need to hold a DBS check (which shows they have no criminal past and are safe to work with children) or any other training.

This is important to know as you will want to make sure who ever you leave your child with is safe.

Although, nannies do not need to register, they can voluntarily and many do choose to do so.  With over 71% of nannies choosing to register in the UK.

Although there is a cost involved with registering, it does enable nannies to be able to claim funding from parents like tax-free childcare and it also gives an extra peace of mind to the parents.  As well as a DBS, in order to register nannies need at least a level 2 childcare qualification and a paediatric first aid qualification.

Most nannies do hold a childcare qualification and first aid certificate.  With 81% holding an early year’s qualification.

The average costs for a nanny part time (25 hours per week) is 250-400 per week. And for full time, 50 hours per week, ranges from £400 – £650.  This makes nannying one of the more expensive options, though this is because your child/ children will get one to one care and the extra work nanny’s do. 

As a parent you are also required to pay national insurance contributions for your nanny, on top of their usual wage.

If you were planning to set-up as a nanny, it is advisable to register with regulatory body.  This is simple, takes roughly 12 weeks and can be done via your countries body, whether that be Ofsted, The care Inspectorate or the HSSB. 

There are fees to pay though total costs to pay should be less than a few hundred pounds, which includes paying for your DBS and first aid qualification.  Though, getting your qualification could cost more and will make the process longer.

Au-pair

Another type of childcare provider is an Au pair.  An au pair is a young person aged between 18 and 30 years old without dependants.  They are very similar to nannies in the fact that they work in the child’s home.  The main difference though, is that they do not need to be paid above minimum wage and most do not get paid any formal wage at all.

An au pair will usually live with the family full-time.  They are treated and seen as a member of the family.  The benefit to an au pair is that they may receive free education, free food and the ability to learn English and learn about Britain.  Though, most will be doing it to improve their English.

Although, they are usually from another country, they can be from anywhere providing they have the correct visa.

They are in a similar category as nanny and can register through nannying, though is not essential. 

In order to be classed as an au pair and not any other form of childcare they must meet most of a particular list of criteria which includes things like:

• they’ve got a signed letter of invitation from the host family that includes details of their stay, for example accommodation, living conditions, approximate working hours, free time, pocket money
• they learn about British culture from the host family and share their own culture with them
• they have their own private room in the house, provided free of charge
• they eat their main meals with the host family, free of charge
• they help with light housework and childcare for around 30 hours a week, including a couple of evenings babysitting
• they get reasonable pocket money

The list is longer than this, and not all of this will be applicable but most will need to be in order to be classed as an au pair.

As au pairs are not formally regulated (the family will be, to ensure the au pair is fairly treated) they do not need to hold any qualifications and there are no other rules around this, other than what has been already mentioned. 

The average amount an au pair is paid, which is referred to as ‘pocket money’ is £90 per week.  Though, they do have other benefits as I’ve said of free rent and free food.

If you wanted to work as or hire an au pair there are various websites you can use to do so.

And becoming an au pair is fairly simple.

Aupair.com is a great website to start your research on this.

Babysitters

The final type of childcare that we will discuss in this video is babysitters.  Though, we will be discussing more types of childcares in the next video including other home childcare providers and group play sessions.

Babysitting is unregulated and it is your responsibility as a parent to do your checks on a babysitter.  You can ask other parents for recommendations, or check reviews online.  You should do the same checks you would do when hiring any other person or organisation to look after your child which would include Reference checks, DBS checks, proof of identity, finding out whether they are first aid trained and ideally some level of children experience or qualifications would be expected.

Unlike most other types of childcare, babysitters rarely babysit as a career and they will usually be on an ad-hoc basis. 

Babysitters will offer childcare for multiple families on a part-time basis. They will only work for a few hours at a time, when parents need to be out of the house. A babysitter is paid by the hour as opposed to being salaried, and they may have various families in which they work with.

They generally work between 6pm and 2am at the child’s home. Or work up to 2 to three hours during the day.

Babysitters don’t usually have as much responsibility as other types of childcare and will simply come to the house and play with children for a few hours when needed. Babysitters may make children food if needed whilst they are there but they are generally not paid and expected to.

Babysitters may or may not be qualified and have as much knowledge about child development as a nanny would.  Though, as a lot are also nursery workers, childminders or even nannies, either currently or previously, it is likely that they will have some form of childcare qualification

Many babysitters will only work a few hours; therefore, they may not be as flexible and may only be available on a planned basis.

With a babysitter you generally have more control other what you expect them to do for example asking them to do school pick-ups, cooking etc.  though, this would usually require a higher payment.

Unlike, nannies or au pairs, they are not considered as an employee or part of the family and as such you are not responsible for their hiring or employee rights.

The average hourly rate for a babysitter is £8-£10 per hour.

Many will work for multiple families at a time, though there is no regulations on how many children they can look after.

If you wanted to become a babysitter it is fairly simple and is just about you getting your name out there to potential parents.  There are no set-up costs apart from potentially marketing and there are lots of websites that can help you to connect to parents like childcare.co.uk or on the bubble app.