Sarah and her partner are both shift workers and their working patterns change each week. Finding childcare that worked with their shift patterns was challenging.
Although they did find a nursery for their daughter they soon realised that it wasn’t flexible enough to accommodate their changing rotas.
“The nursery my daughter was previously at didn’t offer any flexibility,” Sarah explained, “and I was quoted £600 a month for extra hours, in which I would have to book the entire week as they couldn’t alternate days – it was just too expensive and it still didn’t meet our needs.”
Determined to find a solution, Sarah embarked on an exhaustive search. She personally contacted over 50 childminders and babysitters, joining various websites in hopes of finding suitable care. However, she was consistently met with rejection.
“We were constantly told no by childminders as they needed certain days booked consistently and advised us our only option was to book the entire week which we simply couldn’t afford. We were met with a lot of hesitation and told that if we only needed certain days, it wouldn’t work for the childminder as other children could “miss out” on spaces.”
The babysitting route proved equally prohibitive, with rates starting at £11 per hour, a cost that would have left the family financially struggling.
With no other options Sarah’s partner was forced to take days off so that she could work resulting in a loss of household income and an increase in overall stress.
“Stress was at an all time high for our family, I felt like I had exhausted all options and even considered quitting my job as the stress and frustration was intolerable,” Sarah admitted.
In a final attempt to find a solution, Sarah once more took to the internet and discovered Flexible Childcare Services Scotland’s Fintry Mains setting in Dundee.
She called the nursery but was told there wouldn’t be a place until after the Summer Holidays. Sarah was placed on a waiting list, and fortunately, a few weeks before schools returned she received a call to confirm that she had a place.
“After the phone call with Megan it felt like there was finally hope,” Sarah said. “Not only was the nursery flexible but we also realised that the nursery offered funding for both term time and year round places”.
The ability to book by the hour, combined with additional breakfast and after-school slots, meant both parents could comfortably maintain their work schedules.
“After we were offered a place everything seemed to run extremely smoothly and our daughter couldn’t be happier at the nursery. It actually outshines the previous nursery she was at, and the cost of lunch for her is covered too which we are delighted by. We’re now all thriving as a family and the burden and stress has finally been lifted. We’ve had absolutely nothing but positive words to say about Fintry Mains and we can easily book in advance when we know I am working with no worries or money stress. It really has been a game changer for our family!”
