#ad When it comes to childcare I must confess I do struggle. As a mum of 3, I have limited options. I mean, seriously who wants to look after 3 kids!!! Don’t get me wrong, my little ones are pretty well behaved, in fact you could come over and not even realise they are home. I’m not one to ask for help so rarely ask my parents or brother in laws to look after the little ones. Date nights, nights out with friends are very rare. Here we look at Finding a Childcare Provider Made Easy.
Apparently, I’m a glutton for punishment. I’d never have considered having a babysitter in the past. My biggest concern was my children’s safety having heard numerous scare stories.
Thankfully, things have changed. We now have access to sites like childcare.co.uk who are rated EXCELLENT on the Trust Pilot website with 2500 reviews.
What is childcare.co.uk?
This is an award-winning social networking platform where parents can find a local childcare provider. Bobysitters, nannies, childminders, private tutors, nurseries and more are able to list their service and what they offer. The site boasts over 2 million members and is the UK’s largest childcare website.
Is the Site Easy to Use?
The first thing I noticed when visiting the site is that it can be tested without you even registering. A quick postcode search found me 5 tutors within a mile from my home and 160 within 5 miles.
It’s free to register on the site and is simple and quick to do. Once registered you can get started on finding someone to fit your requirements. The site is simple to use, everything is clearly set out, information and tips on finding the right tutor etc are provided to help give parents guidance. There are no administration or booking fees, you simply pay the childcare provider direct.
Security
You can get in touch with the childcare providers privately and securely to discuss requirements. There is no need to give any personal information until you are ready to arrange for a tutor/nanny etc to come to you.
There are various handy sections that you should read including; Avoiding Scams, Finding the Right Babysitter/Nanny, Guidance on questions to ask when looking to hire a nanny.
Members are not screened so it is important that you arrange to meet with anyone you intend to leave your children with in advance. Introduce them to the children and make sure that you are happy before you book them. Check references by contacting those giving them directly.
Where it is stated that a member is DBS-Checked, Ofstead registered then they will have uploaded evidence to the childcare.co.uk website.
What Information is Included
The service providers profiles include information including their qualifications, experience, availability, rate, whether they have a driving license. They also include whether members are DBS-Checked, Ofstead registered and whether they have first aid training.
There are reviews from parents which new parents will find extremely useful when deciding whom to contact for further details. The reviews are there for all to see and the childcare providers have the opportunity to respond to them It’s a great way to help reduce the number of prospective childcare providers from the options available.
Membership Options
Standard (free)
With the standard membership, users can register and set up a profile advertising your requirements or services. They can also read, contact, and reply to the messages from gold members. With the free option, users need to wait for a response to their profile so it can take longer to find someone. Childcare providers can still be found without you paying a penny.
Gold (paid)
Although standard membership will suit some parents, others will prefer to opt for the Gold Memberships. This allows them to message any member and those they message can reply for free. It is much faster as these members can message anyone immediately rather than waiting on a response to their profile before they can communicate.
This comes also comes with perks such as a Tastecard+ memberships a free kids pass, access to over 250 free online courses from various companies and more.
What Did I Think?
The site seems really good and I was pleased that I could navigate around, find the information I needed quickly and painlessly. Although we are still in lockdown due to covid some of the teachers offer zoom lessons which is handy as the children are stuck at home and I’m working full time. This is something I am definitely wanting to explore further.
It’s great that there are so many people offering their services on site that you have a good range to choose from. This makes it easier to choose as you can compare qualifications, experience and also reviews to find a good fit for you.
I hope you enjoyed reading my post Finding a Childcare Provider Made Easy.
Have you heard of childcare.co.uk? Did you know they have such a large range of childcare provider options available? Would you consider using them yourself for your children?
Let me know in the comments x
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Written by Melanie Edjourian. Please do not use these pictures without permission x
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This sounds like a really good site for parents. Also, I wanted to mention that the girl in the picture has beautiful eyes. 🙂
Hi Sas. It is a great resource for parents. Thanks, that’s one of my babies ?
Childcare is a brilliant website – it is really helpful when you need to find childcare quickly but want to make sure they are legitimate.
It does seem like a very popular site. Lads of people seem to have used it and been happy.
This seems like a good and safe option for parents. I do not have children myself but think this must a really useful childcare solution.
It is a good way to find various forms of childcare. The fact you have reviews from other parents is helpful.
I’ve used this website before and it’s really so easy to navigate
It is easy to use which I was very glad about. I’m hoping to start looking for a tutor in a few weeks.
This is such a great idea. Finding childcare is so hard where I live.
Hopefully, this site will be useful for you.
I’ve never used this website but heard so many amazing things about it! Will have to have a look!
These are such useful resources for parents. I’ll be sure to share this with my parent friends.
I’m sure they’ll appreciate that Lisa. I hope you find the site useful.
Finding good and reliable childcare can be challenging so this website seems really useful
It really can be difficult so a site like this is invaluable.
This sounds like a great way to find childcare for your kids when needed. It is great there are services out there like this making things a bit easier.
It does make life easier especially when you find someone good.
Yes! This is a brilliant website. My friend used it for her childcare and said it was great!
That’s great to hear. So many parents seem to like this site which is great!
This is really cool. As a mom who has regularly looked for child care providers, this seems like an amazing system. I like the option of a free or purchased membership too.
The fact that you can opt for free membership is great!
What a wonderful service for parents who are struggling with childcare services. Glad to know they are reliable as well.
It is a lifesaver to be able to get someone that can help with childcare, tutoring etc that is recommended by other parents.
I love that there are websites like this that make things easier on parents! I would have loved something like this when my girls were smaller.
It is handy. It’s hard to find childcare from word of mouth as not everyone uses it.
This is such an invaluable resource for parents, whether they are looking for a long term childcare solution or something ad hoc for date nights etc.
It can be very handy. It’s important to make sure all checks are done when selecting and meeting up before you need them to screen them is useful.
I think these sites and apps etc are a great way to help find child care etc, far easier with this process than years gone by, especially if your in a new area etc, great post.
Thanks Liam. It is far easier with this site.
These days it is so important to make sure that your children have the right care. such a good resouce for sure xx
The site is really good. Loads of different ways that they can help parents.
I’ve not heard of this website before but I think it’s so important to find a reputable childcare provider x
I agree. It helps to find someone you feel safe to leave the kids with.
Ok, I’m loving the review, that you can look around easily and I’m very interested in the fact they offer zoom classes for the little ones.
The zoom classes will depend on the tutor but it is handy.
We have used childcare.co.uk to find every childminder we have ever used and they have all been great quality. I don’t know where we would be without it!
That’s great to hear. They do seem like a great company from the reviews.
Sounds like a great service and easy to navigate which is a huge plus! Thanks for sharing!
It is very easy to use thankfully.
It is so hard to find a good and reliable childcare nowadays unless they come highly recommended so it is great to find out about childcare and the services they provide
It is hard to find good childcare. It’s great this site is here to help.
It sounds like a pretty useful site! For me there’s no such thing as too much research when i t comes to kids..
Ha, I know what you mean. It’s important to keep our kids safe.
I’ve not heard of this website before. I don’t have kids but I know a few friends who need childcare.
I’ve never looked for childcare as I don’t want anyone other than family looking after my children. It’s great to hear there are options though.
Oh what a great service and website! This is definitely something that I hope all parents are aware of so they know their options!
I agree, it’s a handy site for parents and it’ll come in handy for many.
This sounds like a great website. I’m sure lots of parents are using this.
The website is really useful with a number of childcare options. It’ll help many parents which is great.
I’ve heard a lot about this, well defo check it out when we are able to move more freely.
Sounds like a brilliant website for finding childcare that suits your needs, very helpful for parents
This is such a great resource. I used this site when I first needed to look for childcare after my maternity
My mum is a maternity nurse and is listed on childcare.co.uk as she feels that they are one of the best for parents to be able to reassuringly choose childcare from
I reallt like this site, i have used it before to try and find childminders who can do the school run. Its such a handy resource for parents.
This is such a great resource for parents. It’s very stressful trying to get back to work after maternity and knowing which place is best for your child