How does a Childminder get approved for the 15hrs free funding?

[poppetsandbears]

My council offer 15hrs free at nurseries and "some childminders" for 3 year olds, but my Childminder isn't sure how she can apply to be approved for this funding. Does anyone know?

She just needs to contact her early years rep at the local authority, or whoever usually offers her training and support.

However ... she might not want to do it. It means more paperwork and potentially less money for her.

She just needs to contact her early years rep at the local authority, or whoever usually offers her training and support.

However ... she might not want to do it. It means more paperwork and potentially less money for her.

She opened a year ago and hasn't had the full Ofsted inspection yet, will that affect whether she can accept the funding?

Sorry about the double post

I'm not sure. It might do. She can ask though.

I was under the impression you need to be graded a good or outstanding to be able to provide the funding so she may have to wait until after she has been inspected.

It's different criteria in each LA.

They have to deliver early years foundation stage stuff and document it on the same way a nursery would. For example, they can't just look after the children and do nice things with them, they have to actually demonstrate what they are learning. My childminder did do the training so I could use my free hours with her but I felt that she wished she hadn't, it was extra work and the same money (as far as I know, she never mentioned getting less) but I didn't get progress reports like a nursery would provide.

Childminders have to deliver the EYFS regardless of whether they offer the FEEE or not.

Progress reports are not a mandatory part of that, only the 2 year check is.

My childminder was definitely more of a 'home from home' kind of minder, and possibly many are like this; she was ofsted registered but didn't follow a structured program of activities as such, which is why we chose her. She definitely made the implication that when we asked her to do the free hours she would have to be more 'regimented' and make more records of what she had done with them etc. She has actually now refused to offer the free hours now my ds has left so there must be a difference in what they have to document in order to offer the free hours?

Same amount of documentation and assessment of the children. The difference is the paperwork to return to claim the funding and the hourly rate paid for funded hours. Also some CMs won't do it, because then they have to be able to offer just the free hours and might want to have full timers instead.

Yes mine was very reasonable about it to be honest, we would have had to remove ds (he only did 1 day a week anyway) and put him elsewhere so we enquiries and she said she would do it.