This is a featured post written in conjunction with childcare.co.uk . All words are my own opinion.
As lockdown restrictions begin to ease many of us will now be returning to the workplace and no longer working from home. As a working parent myself I understand first hand the issues of juggling parenting duties and working. Without the support of my family, of which I am aware how fortunate I am to be able to rely on them, I can only imagine how hard the struggle can be to find decent childcare. In my role of Birth photography I have to be able to find childcare for my children quickly, sometimes ensuring they are picked up from school and so quick emergency style childcare is a must. Thankfully I have a family close by that can help out, but many people are not in as fortunate position as I am.
With over 2 million users Childcare.co.uk is a trusted and easy way to find childcare in your local area. The website is split into two very distinct areas. One is focused on those looking for work. I haven’t accessed this side of the site so cannot comment on how it works but reading the initial instructions it does seem to be straightforward to register and look for work. The second area of the site focuses on those looking to hire, a parent or guardian.
Childcare.co.uk has won multiple awards including awards from the Department for education. It was started in 2009 and has grown to become the UK’s largest website for finding childcare. With over 2,500 reviews on trust pilot and an average rating of 4.9 it starts to become evident why over 2 million users have used and trusted the site with their childcare needs. I was surprised to see that the site features private tutors as well as babysitters, nannies and registered childminders which is what I expected. I hadn’t expected such a wide range of childcare available and wish I had seen private tutoring earlier into lockdown to help with homeschooling. There is no charge to use the website, and it is quick and simple to create a free profile.
With the recent COVID lockdown there has also been a few additions to the site to include Key worker childcare and NHS emergency childcare as two examples. These are selected from the search box as a normal search would be. I did a quick search for an area and found 11 registered professionals who had availability for emergency childcare. I think this is pretty good results as emergency childcare implies you need it urgently and immediately.
My eldest daughter is about to move into Year 6 and I am very conscious that due to lockdown we missed nearly half of her school year in Year 5. Whilst I am sure that her school will do everything in their power to ensure that she and her fellow classmates catch up, it does not stop me worrying about her SATS exams towards the end of the academic year. I did everything I could with homeschooling but with three children of ages varying from 4 to 9 it has not been easy to meet the demands and needs of them all. I have thought about the idea of a private tutor for some time, simply to help with bridging that gap and to help her prepare the best she can for her SATS examinations.
With Childcare.co.uk I am able to search for tutors that are local to me. I can set the distance I am prepared to travel and see a list of suitable profiles of tutors that are available. Within a 5 mile radius of my house there are 7 private tutors and 1 virtual tutor currently available. I have the ability to read their profiles and if I wish, start a conversation with them via the message button to discuss more details.
Another feature of the site which I am finding particularly useful is the school search. This September I need to start looking at high school for my eldest daughter. The search function is providing useful information to highlight schools I perhaps may not have heard of. I can check on Ofsted reports from the search results and then should I wish to contact the school directly.
Overall I have found Childcare.co.uk simple and intuitive to use. In addition to the search facility there is a wealth of information within the site and a good selection of training courses. I can see myself utilising the site a lot more over the next coming months especially to help my daughter as she begins transitioning to high school.
