[jocalla]

Does anybody know what the rules are about childminding?

Now that the kids are both at school been thinking about maybe looking after a child through the day.
Thinking it might be the perfect little job for me. Leaves me still able to make all the hospital appointments with Caitlin. :?

Kind of missing having kids around me, sad I know ;) , I would imagine it is really low paid but as I can't commit to any job, anything is better than nothing at the minute ;)

Just not sure how it works out here. Any info much appreciated

Joanne :cheers

[paul&laura]

Hi

I have looked into this and if you put.. banardos kidstart home based care..into google it'll come up with the site you need..i would have posted the link here but couldn't get it to work :roll:

laura

[jocalla]

Thanks Laura, I'll take a look now :nice1

Joanne

[veronica]

Try inquiring at the local council too, they are the ones who used to monitor it in the UK.

[annaerb]

Lots of people advertise in the local papers to have their children looked after or you can put your own add in. Also word of Mouth through School/Kindy is a good way to go about it too.

I'm a Kiwi and have done this after school. The rate is $5per hr per child.

[veronica]

Don't you need to be registered and to have a police check done before you can work in any way with children.

[annaerb]

Not that I know of. I know lots of people that do this.
Maybe if you were going to look after say 10 kids then it would be a different story.
You can also say take in people's Ironing (that's if you like it) and get paid $12hr. Or clean people's houses and get paid between $15-18 an hr.
It's all cash in hand too.
A lot of woman do this to fill in time while their kids are at school.

[veronica]

Yeah thats fair enough on the other stuff BUT what safeguards are there for children from preditory people just taking in kids. Is there no regulation at all.

[paulwardle]

my partner has been offered a job (which she's taking) working for a company called new zealand pre school personnel.
Thi is basically working in nursery or kindergartens & they do require a police check from the uk & in 2003 when she worked there, she had to have one from nz police too, even though when she started, we'd only been there a month or so.
Can't say regarding one off looking after kids, but i cant imagine that to be registered they wouldn't make you have a police check.

[veronica]

I used to childmind years ago in the UK and had to have a police check, a council check and also a check by the firebrigade on the health and safety. and that was just to register. Be very curious if there is no regulations here, anybody else know anything on it.

[jocalla]

I used to childmind years ago in the UK and had to have a police check, a council check and also a check by the firebrigade on the health and safety. and that was just to register. Be very curious if there is no regulations here, anybody else know anything on it.

Cannot find anything Veronica on this :? Had a look in the paper and people are asking for people to look after there kids with NO mention of police checks or registration :eek
My friend was a childminder in the UK too and she had to go through quite alot to be allowed to do this, thats why I was asking. Find it hard to believe there are no regs on this.

I emailed barnardos and they are not covering the area I live unfortunately :(

Joanne :cheers

[Moorf]

Why not just get some police checks done anyway and show them to those that want you to look after their kids? Will show you are of good character and have had the forethought to know that they would be concerned about who their kids were being left with?

Have you done this sort of thing before in the UK? If so, could you get some references sent over?

The only thing I'd worry about is if little Johnny had an accident or incident and the parent got antsy about it - what would you have to fall back on as proof that you were doing all you could to ensure the childs safety - accidents do happen and not all parents are going to be the sort to accept that Johnny was a clumsy clot and would put all the blame on you?

Just a thought :P

[Simon & Emily]

Going off topic a bit, and perhaps I'm showing my true british instincts, but should this perhaps be a word of warning to us parents? Over here you can almost assume that childminders are generally decent people, and been vetted for the job. You would need to trust your gut feeling more, and be more carefull about who you leave your children with. I guess this ties in with the more laid back approach to childcare in general, such as the threads on children at school. Just because everyone over here is police checked (ie even the appointed parent members of our pre-school committee are vetted) we shouldn't assume it's the same everywhere.

Emily

[Moorf]

Good point, if there really isn't any regulatory procedures for childminders in NZ (I really can't believe there aren't any :? ) then would you really want to trust your gut instinct?? I know I wouldn't. I read the papers..... :?

Off to Google to see what I can find... ;)

[Moorf]

Looks like your local authority might be able to help you out with some facts on childminding regs... found this which would suggest there is some sort of "register" of childminders:

What sort of child care should I choose?Give yourself plenty of time to research the different options available and to select the right child care for your family. Most local authorities provide day nurseries for pre-school children which are either free or relatively low cost but there is strong pressure on places. An alternative is a private nursery - check which local nursery is most likely to suit your child and how much they charge. Details of registered childminders who look after your child in their own homes for part or all of the working day can be obtained from your local authority. Nannies should have a recognised child care qualification and are expensive which is why many mothers get together and set up a share.

( Source: http://www.kellyservices.co.nz/main.cfm?item_id=916&site_id=2 )

[Marie P]

I,m a registered childminder in uk .

I needed police checks [and my hubby too ] ,insurence ,first aid course ,house checked every 2 years ,[by ofsted ],

Marie x

[joanne]

$15-18 per hour for cleaning!!! Now, where did I put that duster.....???

[paulwardle]

$15-$18 per hour for cleaning, that pardon the pun, is a load of rubbish.
I worked for anz bank in wellington, doing a good accounts job, dealing with millions of $$'s of deposits & got paid $18 per hour.
Pior to this, i was worried about getting a job, so contacted an office removals company, literally shifting office desks etc, that was $10 per hour, luckily i didn't have to take it in the end. Everyone i knew who working in banks / government offices was on around $15-18 per hour,
$15-$18 an hour for a cleaner, as Jim Royle used to say 'my ****.

If thats the case, how come there's people on here moaning they're skint.

[Moorf]

How fast can you iron ? This service charges c. $2.25 - $2.75 per garment :laugh :laugh :laugh

http://www.yellow.co.nz/site/increasedecrease/Service.html

[baboonworld]

Good cleaners, reliable cleaners are really hard to come by!!!!

I pay my cleaner £10 per hour / £20 per week (well i bet she does more than 2 hours but that is all i ask her to do)

It is well worth it !!

I paid her £16 a week last year but we wanted to pay her more, even though she didnt complain when we moved to a bigger house, in fact she was concerned that i might not want her anymore if i was tight for money.

I have had loads of cleaners at home and at work and they are so so hard to come by (a good one that is!!!)

Before anyone says £20 a week is peanuts - she is a family friend but i paid a professional cleaner £16 a week before and they were rubbish!

:exit

[Simon & Emily]

Good cleaners, reliable cleaners are really hard to come by!!!!

Before anyone says £20 a week is peanuts - she is a family friend but i paid a professional cleaner £16 a week before and they were rubbish!
:exit

I have to agree - I've never had the luxury of being able to pay someone to clear up after me (after all, I'm a mum - it's my job) but at all the companies I've worked for you just can't get good cleaning staff. At the end of the day most of them coudn't give a t**s about the quality of the job they do. They see cleaning as trivial, demeaning and something they have been forced to do because they couldn't get any other job.

I guess this links into the thread about lowering of our countries standards and work ethics.

And £10 an hour is peanuts? - I know local pre-school teachers in this area get waaay less than that (try just over half). People entrusted with the development of our children, in an affluent Oxfordshire area (ha ha) who have trained, been vetted, and are dedicated to their job of looking after and educating the little angels.

Emily

[miep]

Hi, I actually pay $15 an hour for my cleaning lady!
She comes in for 2 hours every week and as we're both working full time we are never there when she comes which makes it really important that she's trustworthy. For that I'm happy to pay.
$15 is the going rate here in Wellington, for labourers it's between $12 and $20 depending on how able they are to work reliably and independantly.
My first job here was meant to be data-entry work and they offered me $23 as that's the amount they would have been paying an agency. The job turned out to be quite different to what they thought it would be and I negotiated a massive pay rise after 3 days but that's another story entirely. :P

For nanny work I think most people pay between $5 and $15 an hour depending on a lot of factors, ie. qualifications, having a car, flexibility, the nr of hours and experience(schoolgirl vs qualified and registered nanny)

:cheers Miep

[Carol]

Hi, I actually pay $15 an hour for my cleaning lady!
She comes in for 2 hours every week and as we're both working full time we are never there when she comes which makes it really important that she's trustworthy. For that I'm happy to pay.
$15 is the going rate here in Wellington, for labourers it's between $12 and $20 depending on how able they are to work reliably and independantly.
My first job here was meant to be data-entry work and they offered me $23 as that's the amount they would have been paying an agency. The job turned out to be quite different to what they thought it would be and I negotiated a massive pay rise after 3 days but that's another story entirely. :P

For nanny work I think most people pay between $5 and $15 an hour depending on a lot of factors, ie. qualifications, having a car, flexibility, the nr of hours and experience(schoolgirl vs qualified and registered nanny)

:cheers Miep

me too.
Tried for 3 years without one but working full time with 3 kids - couldnt face another year of teaching and housework at weekends.

SHe does 2 hours a week to cover the basics.
Well worth every cent.
:nice1