Please please please don't start harassing your childcare provider about this funding change today

I think the majority of parents have more sense than this and are not expecting costs to go down that much if at all - as it is usually recouped elsewhere in other additional costs.
It can't just be childcare providers who have a reasonable amount of common sense.

@ShirleyPhallus ok not thick but desperately naive!

I have no idea, I don’t have school age children 🤷‍♀️

Well I haven’t, but I also have never needed to ask a childcare provider for guidance on the fees etc. I’m just saying that it doesn’t make anyone “thick” to think that if they have questions about childcare funding then the childcare providers themselves might be a sensible place to start!

Did they ever do this for e.g. schools during the pandemic? Mostly it was emails to heads the night before which were light on detail.

I think that's a very unrealistic expectation of the current government...

My twins are with a childminder

I know that the LA pay over £4 per hour currently on the funded scheme and according to the budget today that will go up

I pay £42.50 per child for a 9 hour day so circa £4.72 per hour so the LA payment means she isn't out of pocket currently and won't be when it's cascaded down the age group

I also know they are paid the entire term upfront for funded children

Children rarely leave her setting. She's ofsted outstanding

My twins are 2 now - 3 next February but I'm hoping since it says 2 year olds will get 15 hours from April 2024 whereas I was going to have to wait to use the 30 hours from September 24-September 25 when they start school then I will at least be able to access the 15 hours between April and September 2024

Seems like the first new funding isn't going to be available until April next year (and that will just be 15 hours for two year olds). I can imagine that some parents won't take in this detail, and will be expecting money off their childcare bill next month.

I can imagine this will make things tricky for childcare providers, and I hope it doesn't get too difficult for them!

Or should I say, the organisers of the system - not the providers. Your letter only gets to them today 😊

Honestly, what have you EVER seen previously that leads you to think such a thing? Anyone vaguely aware of current affairs is highly, highly likely to know that this is just not how things happen.

Do you not think that if all childcare providers had been pre warned and therefore thousands of people already knew about this, it might have been leaked a while ago…?

I mean 🤣🤣 that would be nice but highly improbable

Where are they going to fit all these extra kids?

I’d have thought that the government would send out a nicely laid out letter to childcare providers laying out how it will all work, that lands with them today as the general announcement is made

I don’t think it makes people “thick” to think otherwise tbh

Surely you should have suitcases of money delivered by now?! Genuinely confused about why people think it will be sorted anytime soon. It all takes time working out the detail

@BernadetteIsMySister

its not what you say, it's the way you say it

it's unrealistic of parents to think their childcare provision will have any answers today, however, parents struggling to buy food, heat the house, will be reacting, more than thinking.

A bit like the Govt really. I have no idea where they think all this additional childcare will come from ... & if funded like the current scheme it's not going to help childminders & nurseries survive.

And for many settings the news if it happens will mean loosing more than £2 an hour on all the 1 to 3 year olds on top of the loss they make on the the 3 to 4 year olds. Just as minimum wage goes up along with their rates, food, utilities etc. They were struggling to stay open at last months fees a bigger loss is on its way. Then paying childcare won't be the problem it will be finding any.

I haven’t complained about parents though, you said childcare providers are being unrealistic and I answered that by saying some parents are being unrealistic. That’s not me complaining, purely batting that back to you as we seem to be getting demonised a little.

I don’t have the answers, I’ve contacted all parents to say as much this morning. I was getting texts at 11:30pm last night asking me for details. The OP was just asking people to be patient, that’s not a big ask is it?

I think this will be a bad thing for nurseries. They are already struggling to lrovide the subsidised childcare.

Quite, fairly easily resolved rather than complaining about parents.

If I was someone who generally didn’t follow politics all that much, but did listen to headlines and especially to those that might affect me, I think I might well assume that something being announced loudly and with great fanfare across the entire UK media might actually be thought out, planned and ready to go. I mean, that’s how it should be, so why, on hearing that childcare support will be extended, would you automatically think “oh, not for a year though”. Duties on things like fuel change almost immediately don’t they?

No settings have to offer it. I don't know why childminders wouldn't though, as long as they're ofsted registered they can, and they can charge top ups to parents to make up the shortfall. If they can't be bothered to do the initial set up (which isn't arduous) then it's probably their loss to be honest. I don't blame people for not forgoing what they're entitled to.

It was unrealistic of parents to think we will have all the details before the budget is even announced. No one is asking people to wait weeks but perhaps a few days would help. Do you really think settings are going to get all the information in a matter of hours? Of course not!

That's just it parents are not asking you to have all the answers, that's just you scaremongering and making a mountain out of a molehill. Just a simple couple of sentences on your website- / email and answerphone, As suggested will do rather than complaining about repeating this and that to parents. But naturally parents will
Make enquires and it is unrealistic not to expect this - that doesn't make them not very bright. I would think most of them are probably very bright hence knowing how hard it is to get a place and trying to plan ahead

Our nursery sent out a message on the Famly app this morning basically outlining that they didn't know any more than we do as they've learned about this at the same time as us and they will update us in due course. I thought that was a sensible approach. 🤷‍♀️