Childminder providing 'nursery funding' instead of nursery...what do they have to do?

[LibbyLou123]

Hi

I'm a childmidner and was just wondering what I have to do to be able to accept 3 and 4 year olds for their free childcare......haven't explained that very well have I?!

I mean for the parents to be able to get the 5 free sessions a week that they are entitled to, from me, instead of a nursery.

Is it a lot more paperwork for me? Do I have to attend monthly meetings?
And do I write the invoice out as normal, and the parents claim the money back, for the funded sessions. Or do I just charge them for the normal hours they do at the moment, and I have to claim for the money for the funded hours myself?

Thank you!

I do know that you have to have your level 3 qualification, then it's a case of contacting your early years consultant for more info. I don't have my level 3 yet because funding has been withdrawn and now I have to pay £1500 for the course. Bah

You do have to be level three qualify and also have to go through accreditation which is a long process and only certain outstanding childminders are chosen in areas. In my county there are 25 places a year to gain accreditation but this varies county to county. You need to speak to your local development officer.

Ooh ok thanks. I'm already level 3 and the person from my authority who is in charge said she would be happy for me to be an accredited childminder, but didn't really explain about anything else.
It's more the feeling of having loads of meetings to attend that puts me off. My first child is dropped off at 7.00am and my last one doesn't go home until 7.00pm. I'm exhausted some days after that, and attending evening meetings is the last thing I feel like doing!

What do you charge per hour? I've read that very often the early years funding is often quite a bit less than most cm's charge per hour (particularly in the South) and you are not allowed to ask the parent to top the amount up to your normal hourly rate if it is short.