Claiming funding for looking after my son

[RandomAccessMemory]

I'm a Childminder in Essex and as well as looking after other parent's children I also look after my own son, my son turned three a week ago and I was looking forward to being able to claim free entitlement funding for him from the spring term.

However I have just discovered that because I'm looking after my own son the local authority will not allow me to claim the funding for him, they say that there is a blanket ban on childminders claiming funding for children whom they are related to.

I don't want to send him to another childminder so should I kick up a fuss? I don't see why I should miss out just because I happen to be looking after him.

I would find another cm in the same situation and claim for each others children.

Our country values 'work' so much, and (mainly) mother's looking after children so little that it's more cost effective to swap and look after someone else's kids, even if it means you have to put the exact same number of kids into childcare.

It's madness. But posters won't see it because they've swallowed the kool aid about looking after kids not being work.

My response was to OP happyemoji who said that home edders should get some funding. Can I wind my neck back out now as I think we are on the same page?

looneytune I'm a bit disturbed that you're a CM yet don't seem to know the rules of your own child always counting in your numbers

"Lol, I’m a childminder and I find it ridiculous you wanna claim money to look after your own child. Send him to nursery and get another child in?"

Do you put your child through your books properly? Issue invoices, pay fees, do all the paperwork EXACTLY as you would for a minded child? Do you treat your child exactly the same as a mindee?

Claiming for your own child would be far, far to hard to monitor. It took enough of a fight to allow people to claim tax credits if they were related to the childminder. There's no way they are going to start funding people to care for their own child - way too open to abuse.

Strawberry.

Your are being obtuse, a minder can obtain an exemption on ratios related to under 5’s for sibling care and her own children providing she can show all needs are being met and the ratios for under 8’s are not exceeded
And childminders with 3/4/5yo’s can have them in addition if they attend a maintained nursery or school or childcare setting and child minders are doing wrap around.

If you think being a childminder is so shit and so restricted and doesn’t work if you have your own kids then don’t be one, pay childcare and get a different job.

I can understand the OP’s frustration. She is a registered childminder with an ofsted registration to look after children. One of the children she looks after happens to be her own. She as a professional would provide EYFS learning journeys to each child she looks after including her own child. What she is saying isn’t rocket science she’s just baffled as to why she cannot claim the early years funding for her child whom she looks after alongside her mindees.

Can I wind my neck back out now as I think we are on the same page?

Of course you can.

needsasock
no they can't if it's new business. COC is exactly that. if your child starts nursery at 3 you cannot then take on a new child which would take you over 3 and claim COC.
the wraparound point is valid but very few nurseries I know of provide the full 30 hours. it's either mornings or afternoons which of course doesn't count as wraparound as it's not a full school day.

and I think you're confusing me with someone else. i never said being a CM was shit and restrictive

Maybe think of it this way OP.

By looking after your child yourself you are reducing your earnings to some extent ie the extra amount you'd get by being able to take one more child in your setting.

For most parents who stay at home to look after their child, they reduce their earnings to zero .

Make you feel any better?

Jeez.

If i didn't have any mindees then unless I resigned my childminder registration I'd technically still be working, just not receiving an income. So I wouldn't be able to claim any benefits associated with being out of work regardless

No you wouldn’t, you would be treated exactly the same way as every other out of work universal credit claimant with nil income

No you wouldn’t, you would be treated exactly the same way as every other out of work universal credit claimant with nil income

Really? Even with an active Ofsted registration? I honestly was unaware of that.

no they can't if it's new business. COC is exactly that. if your child starts nursery at 3 you cannot then take on a new child which would take you over 3 and claim COC.
the wraparound point is valid but very few nurseries I know of provide the full 30 hours. it's either mornings or afternoons which of course doesn't count as wraparound as it's not a full school day

According to PACEY you can and you can do what every single other parent had to do if those hours are not funded for you and pay for them yourself.

needsasock
you cannot claim COC for new business

He's your son, you wouldn't pay yourself for taking care of him so why would be eligible for funding? These rules are in place to prevent what is essentially benefits fraud.

Yep random it’s How universal credit works it’s month by month flexibility is solely related to income earnt not hours worked or professional registrations.

Now I haven’t looked into allowable expenses for Childminder’s thinking of the disregards allowed to earnt income applicable with the older benefits and the reality may mean that when you get a work coach which everybody who earns under a certain amount gets they would be sensible and push you towards getting mindees instead of other stuff at least initially and that hopefully one would think that maintaining your professional registration training paperwork and all the other stuff you have to do and activities related to enticing parents to use you should count towards your blanket work search hours but in practise who knows.
But it’s worth being mindful off if your income (minus 190ish a month disregard) does drop to mean you would get payment and your hours of available work searching are tired into care responsabilites so your child would allow you to reduce availability based on age.

Strawberry

Continuance of care is One exemption
Wrap around is another
You can have new mindees whilst using wrap around rules for established mindees who fit that inc your own.
Obviously that still leaves the holidays issue but that’s a factor for every working parent who uses childcare.

It’s not ideal but it’s a good start

Those saying you can't be paid to look after your own child, would you feel differently if the OP owned a small nursery?

Ot depends on whether the child is 'on the books' ie if the child's place is paid for,

OP so how much have you paid for your ds's care until now? Have you paid tax and NI on that amount before you received it?

OK so imagine a nurse working for the NHS has a child who is ill, do you think the tax payer should pay a wage?

A teacher who home schools?

No, the issue of funding for home ed is completely different. I say that as a parent who has home educated.

A home educating patent has opted out if the system, just as someone who sends their children to private school has - and bears financial responsibility.

The op is working IN the system, delivering the EYFS.

Most home educators don't want funding because with it comes regulation from people who want to see school replicated at home.

The OP wants her son to take part in the EYFS. In her setting. Not to have to go elsewhere to receive his funding.

My friend is a childminder. One of the children she looks after is her niece and her sister can't claim funding for her because she's being looked after by a childminder who happens to be her Auntie.

If you want the money, send your child to another minder for their free hours and get another child in and get it that way.

Wow what a great thread!

you cannot claim the money to look after your own child because hes yours.

Ha! Paid to look after your own child, seriously?

How entitled

My SAHP partner gets fuck all state money either FWIW OP

You’re not childminding your own son though, you’re parenting him. If people were able to do this, you’d have a hell of a lot more registered childminders doing it and claiming the money, instead of sending their children to an educational setting, which is what it’s mainly for, not for lining their pockets.