Lack of suitable or affordable childcare is one of the main barriers to women going back to work. Alongside confidence and availability of flexible work, childcare availability plus the many and varied emotions involved in handing your child over to another person to look after are key issues women must negotiate on the path back to work.

Many parents leave it until the last minute to book their child into a childminder or nursery. It can seem a bit presumptuous putting your child down for a nursery place before you have even gone into labour, but there are often long waiting lists for nurseries, particularly for the younger age group. It is always a good idea to think about childcare as early on as you can and to sort out what you think is the right type for you. Every parent has a different approach. Some prefer the set hours and structure of a nursery; others think the family atmosphere of a childminder will work best for their child and for them. It very much depends on your or your child’s needs, for instance, do your work hours vary, increasing the need for flexibility, or do you want to be sure your childcare is fixed regardless of circumstances? Is your child fairly withdrawn or very sociable? It is also important that you test the waters and choose the form of childcare you feel most comfortable with.

Child psychologist Dr Amanda Gummer says:

“There is no right or wrong type of childcare. Each parent must make an individual assessment of their situation, their needs (including the needs of the child), and the options available. Once you have done that, relax and enjoy the life you have chosen, and if it isn’t working, or your needs change, reassess the situation; nothing is set in stone.
The best thing you can do for your child is to provide them with loving parents who are happy, healthy and at ease with themselves, so that they can grow up with that as their idea of ‘normal’ and be likely to adopt the same approach to life. If you bear this in mind when choosing childcare, you and your child are likely to be fine.”

Choices

The main types of childcare available are:

• Nursery
• Childminder
• Nanny

The best place to begin researching childcare options is your local children's information service. In addition to providing a list of local childcare options, it also gives advice on what to look for and questions to ask when you are investigating the best childcare for your child.

Nursery

Registered day nurseries are regulated by Ofsted and you can look up their most recent report on the Ofsted website. Ofsted inspects for quality of care and safety. Horror stories abound about nursery care, but research shows that children who are given high quality childcare have better social, emotional and educational development than their peers. One big advantage of nurseries is that they offer full-time, guaranteed care for at least 50 weeks of the year. If a staff member is sick there is a back-up option, unlike with a childminder.

Many nurseries now offer flexible options for parents, including a full- or half-day and some also offer a school day [9am-3/3.30pm]. Check with the nurseries in your area on their opening times. Most open from 7am to 7pm, although hours may vary. Costs vary too, so it is worth looking around. Children over three qualify for a government subsidy.

Most staff are qualified, but it is worth asking what the ratio of carers to children is. There should be three children to a carer for under-2s, four children per carer for over-2s and eight children per carer for older children. Some nurseries offer after school care for older children so this is also worth checking. Most nurseries offer a settling in period where you attend with your child, then leave the child for a short time, and eventually leave them for a longer period.

Nursery schools/classes offer places for three and four year olds at local schools. They usually offer either a morning or afternoon session, but many are now providing a full school day, 9.30-3.30pm. This is free of charge. Some may offer out of school care and holiday schemes, but most do not.

Childminders

Registered childminders are also regulated by Ofsted. The children’s information service has a list of those in your area. Registered childminders have to undergo basic training, including first aid, and they now have to offer the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum. They generally look after children in their own home and are allowed to care for six children under eight, but no more than three can be under five. This includes their own children. The childminders determine their own hours in consultation with you, but many are prepared to do more flexible hours than a nursery can offer, such as evenings and weekends. Childminders are often willing to pick up older children from school, but if they look after other children together with own children, your child is likely to have to be at the same school. They are inspected by Ofsted to ensure they cater for the different developmental stages of the children in their care.

Nannies

Nannies have the big advantage of being able to care for your child in their own home and to fit around your domestic/working life. Most have a recognised qualification in childcare. They do not have to be regulated by Ofsted, but they can apply to be registered under the voluntary part of the Ofsted Childcare Register [this includes a criminal records check]. Always use a reputable agency to hire a nanny and check references. Costs can vary quite widely. This depends on whether they live in, their experience, and the hours they work. As their employer, you will also have to pay their tax and National Insurance contributions, plus holiday and sick pay, and you will need to pay for them to go on your car insurance if you want them to use your car.

You can cut the costs by checking out if you qualify for tax credits – to do this you must employ a registered or approved nanny. Another way of reducing costs by up to a half is by doing a nanny share, whereby you share your nanny with another family. There are different types of nanny share: from a full-time share with children being looked after together; through a part-time share with children being looked after together two or three days a week and a split week share; to a main family share with one family employing a nanny full time and sharing her with another family for part of the week. Nanny shares can be difficult to manage logistically – you need to find a family which is compatible with you. You can find out about nanny shares through nanny networks and websites such as Nannytax.

Another option is au pairs. These are young women or men who come from overseas. As such, they are not usually trained to work with children and are not appropriate for very young children. They can work up to five hours a day and are paid much less than trained childminders or nannies, plus given their own room and meals. They must have two days off a week.

After school clubs and holiday playschemes are regulated by Ofsted and are offered by an increasing number of schools. Most before and after school clubs cover from 8am to 6pm. Many provide children with breakfast or an afternoon snack. Costs vary from region to region. The government wants all schools to offer extended services from 2010. Holiday playschemes [covering sport, art, drama, etc] usually operate along school hours. There are also private holiday playschemes available. These tend to cost more. They can opt to be part of the Ofsted Childcare Register. Places are often scarce, depending on the area you live in, so it is worth applying early.

Disabled children: all childcare providers have to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to provide for disabled children. The Early Support Programme provides information on the best childcare available for under fives with disabilities.

Helping to pay: childcare costs are often one of the biggest factors in deterring women from going back to work. However, there is help available through subsidies for three and four year olds in private nurseries and free part-time places in state school nurseries.

There are also tax credits. These include:

• Child tax credit
• Working families tax credit
• Childcare element of working families tax credit
• Disabled child’s premium

The amount of tax credits you get depends on things like how many children you have living with you, how many hours you work, if you pay for childcare, if you or any child living with you has a disability. More information: Tax Credits.

Your employer may also operate a voucher scheme so it is worth checking this out. Vouchers enable parents to pay for childcare out of their pre-tax and National Insurance income. Although your take home salary is slightly reduced you save hundreds of pounds on childcare costs so you end up better off. Both parents can claim vouchers, but they might affect your entitlement to tax credits so you need to check whether you are better off getting vouchers or tax credits.

With all childcare preparations, remember always to have an emergency back-up plan in case your child gets sick and cannot go to nursery, or your child carer is ill or otherwise indisposed.

Mandy Garner is editor of Working Mums which matches employers with experienced and dedicated candidates seeking flexible job opportunities.