Finding childcare solutions to fit around your work can be tricky. Whether you need morning school drop offs or nursery style care, finding someone to look after your little one can normally be tougher than getting the job itself.
I recently landed a new job (yippee!) and whilst it's in a school so I have the flexibility with term time only work, my hours are just outside that of Max's school routine. I also have the added problem of starting before the school's own breakfast club starts. So of course I spent hours searching for some childcare for him for the mornings before school. The first place I looked was Childcare.co.uk who made finding someone to look after him so much simpler than I thought.
Childcare.co.uk is a site dedicated to helping you find local childcare in your area with ease. Whether you are looking for a babysitter for a night out, a tutor to help your child with their school work or a nanny so you can go to work, Childcare.co.uk have you covered.
Set up in 2009, Childcare.co.uk have fast become the leading site for all your childcare needs. And with over 1,800,000 members on their site, it's easy to see why it's so popular and a fantastic resource for parents and childcare professionals alike! As soon as I landed on the site, I knew that Max's childcare would be in safe hands.
It's perfect for parents to browse for people that fit their criteria, and also for the childcare professionals themselves to advertise their services in one easy platform. With everything from a messaging button to an email address or phone number, you don't even need to leave the site to talk to those professionals that you are interested in. It's all completely secure and you feel completely at ease talking to people and passing on details about your little ones.
Searching for your childcare professional couldn't be easier. By setting your search requirements and location, you can whittle down the search to find those that stand out from the crowd. For me, I wanted to find a childminder for Max. Someone that would live locally, have early morning drop offs and would be able to take him to school. Whilst my search parameters seemed quite restricted, I was surprised to see a fair few names that worked within two miles of my house.
Refining them more, I was able to pick OFSTED registered childminders, ones that just had a DBS check and ones that were highly rated on the Childcare.co.uk site itself. Reading through everyone's bios gave me a feel for what the childminder was like and how they cared for children in their home. I was also pleased to see not only a breakdown of the services that they offer, but also information about their qualifications and their current availability. It really saved the hassle of messaging someone to find that they were fully booked.
One thing that I loved more than anything, was not only the way it felt like looking at someone's CV, but each profile had space for honest reviews from users. It was so refreshing to read how some parents really valued their childminder's care and took the time to review their services. As a parent, it really put my mind at ease to know that the person I would choose was highly rated by others.
Messaging the childcare professional is as easy as hitting a message button. I loved the fact that I was alerted to profile views and messages as it really helped me find a solution quicker than I ever expected. Setting up a free account allowed me to message those premium members that have fantastic ratings and brilliant services. You can also pay for a premium account that allows you to message anyone and receive fantastic benefits including a TasteCard, KidsPass and access to over 200 online courses. It's not something we have invested in yet, but it looks like brilliant value for money.
Childcare.co.uk honestly took the stress and worry of finding a solution for my childcare woes away. I'm going to be honest and pop a disclaimer in here now and say that we haven't chosen a childminder through Childcare.co.uk for Max at the moment. For us, there wasn't someone that could tick all of the availability boxes. But I have spent a good month in talks with a couple of fantastic childminder's that will be able to jump in come September. Until then, a fantastic friend is helping with the childcare as a sort of tag team effort!
I can hold my hands up and say that out of all the websites that I spend hours scouring over (and yes I did spend hours looking!), Childcare.co.uk was the easiest to use. Not only that, but also the one that I have gone back to time and time again when trying to organise everything from upcoming weddings that I may need a babysitter for to a music tutor that can help Max learn to play the drums that he got for Christmas.
Childcare.co.uk is a sit that I will continue to go back to time and time again. Standing head and shoulders above the rest, it really is top of the class.
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