By Fran Cooper
Freedom Childcare

Choosing the right childcare is a very complex issue, with many options and decisions faced by sometimes new and inexperienced parents. These issues are magnified when dealing with children with special needs, dietary requirements or behavioural issues. Selecting the best combinations is a very important decision and crucial to the smooth running of your business venture and life in general. Families get larger, parents separate, work schedules become increasingly more complex; all this can add to the stress of being a parent in the 21st century!

You will need to address issues surrounding your core childcare needs, such as working evenings, weekends,  shift patterns, school closure days, staff sickness, child sickness, extra working hours, training days or just some well deserved respite. Traditional day care is often inflexible and is booked in blocks: for someone setting up a new business, it is important to only have childcare costs where and when it is genuinely required and not because it has to be booked in advance and paid for whether your child attends or not!

Home based childcare is not an option looked at in detail by many families although it can in many cases be the most viable and cost effective option. Nannies are paid for by the hour / day / week and this is for the nannies' services, not per child. In households with more than two children, this can be more cost effective than day care.

Nannies are also able to facilitate collection and dropping-off of older siblings to school and out-of-school activities, again buying back more of your precious time each day. Nannies' duties may also include any household chores directly linked to the care of the children such as cleaning their rooms, changing beds, washing, ironing, food preparation, etc.

Historically, employing a nanny has been viewed as being a luxury, only available for the very wealthy. The face of childcare is changing, and now, as a result of OFSTED regulations allowing nannies to become voluntarily registered, flexible nanny services can be obtained from agencies which also means you would not need to get involved with employment issues and can access services to fit your changing needs.

All parents on low incomes, which also includes business owners, can benefit from being able to claim back the cost of childcare in their own home. This can be through salary sacrifice vouchers or Child Tax Credits, creating up to 80% reduction in the cost of your childcare. Home based childcare is now a viable option for families from all financial backgrounds and can in many cases be the best solution.

Tax Credit Help Line 0845 300 3900 will be able to advise you on your eligibility.

Your local CIS (children’s information service) can also help with you childcare needs.