How to accept childcare vouchers as a personal tutor

[Haberdash]

I am about to start offering personal tutoring to children in various subjects at my house. A friend told me I could be paid in childcare vouchers, which I know a lot of parents would like as some have asked me. But I have no idea at all where to start.

I know I have to register with ofsted but I don't really understand what this is going to mean. I mean our house is not really toddler friendly but everyone I teach maths to will just be sitting at a desk. I am really not providing childcare in the normal sense of having lots of children to just play with. Will I have to get rid of my fire for example? Will I be inspected?

Any help would be hugely appreciated.

You can't. The vouchers are for childcare.
Ofsted registers childminders and nannies. You are not planning to be either.
Some larger tuition centres have to register with Ofsted and they can offer to accept childcare vouchers in some circumstances.

Agree, ofsted don’t register personal tutors.

^What she said. If you're working as a self-employed tutor then you won't have anything to do with either Ofsted or childcare vouchers. You should have a DRB done though (most tutoring agencies will allow you to do this through them even if you then don't end up taking any clients from them). There's no regulatory body for tutors but you could join the Tutors Association (you can get a DRB through them as well)

Glitterbiscuits is wrong, and I know this because my work childcare voucher scheme policy specifically says you can pay private tutors using the vouchers if the tutor is OFSTED registered. I was looking at it yesterday.

Look at the section "What counts as childcare?" In this article on Moneysaving Expert:

www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/childcare-vouchers/

Individual tutors cannot register with Ofsted. Some tuition centres like Explore Learning accept vouchers.

What would they register as? It’s her home so would have to be a cm but this isn’t childminding? That’s a third party website you’ve linked to so I’d be careful about taking it as gospel.

Ok, I must admit I'm no expert re OFSTED and what they will and won't do, but doesn't the requirement for registration depend on the age of the children and how long the person is "caring" for them? I understood that if you are going to care for a child in your home for 2 hours or more a day, you should register. That would cover a tutor if the session was 2 hours, wouldn't it? There are some discussions on the TES website of teachers debating this, and they seem to think they would have to be registered.

Childminders are highly regulated by Ofsted, in the same way as nurseries. The OP doesn't want to become a childminder.
Anyone can call themselves a tutor without any qualifications or experience. It's totally unregulated.

You can pay with childcare vouchers, you can pay stagecoach as well which isn’t childcare.
At our local private school you can pay with tax credits as teaching is free they only charge for breakfast and afterschool club.

I find it all very confusing. If you look at it this edenred guidance www.childcarevouchers.co.uk/Documents/CCV%20Beneficiary/CCV_TFC_guide_for_parents.pdf it says

" Currently you can claim Childcare Vouchers for children up to the age of 15 years old (or 16
years old if disabled) to use on afterschool clubs, child minders, holiday camps, swimming
lessons, sports clubs, dance classes, private tutors and more (as long as they are regulated by
Ofsted). However, the new scheme only applies to children aged 12 and under. If the child is
registered disabled the age is up to 16 years old. "

So it seems you can accept them as a personal tutor. But then what exactly are you registering as for Ofsted and what happens after you register?

MyDcAreMarvel What is stagecoach registered as with ofsted? I mean, is it one of these options? www.gov.uk/childcare-parenting/becoming-a-childcare-provider

Yes they must be registered with ofsted to accept the voucher. They look after your children whilst teaching them drama singing etc.
In the same way you would be looking after dc whilst tutoring them.

MyDcAreMarvel OK thanks. So do I register as a childminder? And if so, will I be inspected as a childminder?

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachmentdata/file/650101/EYYandchildcareereg_handbook.doc

I'm going to put myself as an ex Ofsted inspector.
You aren't going to be a childminder. You are going to be a tutor. Ofsted don't register tutors.

No not as childminder , best to ring ofsted and ask how to go about it.

I did email ofsted and got a completely unhelpful reply. Here it is:

Anybody wanting provide care for children under the age of eight must register with Ofsted, unless they meet one or more of the exemption criteria. The full details of the criteria, which set out the circumstances that allow you to provide childcare whilst not being registered, can be found in our Registration not Required factsheet.

Please note that we are not able to provide further advice on whether a service you wish to provide falls under any of the criteria given in the handbook. It is your responsibility to read the requirements and identify how these apply to your service.

If you are not required to register with Ofsted, you can still choose to do so by applying to join the Voluntary Childcare Register. More details on the application process can be found in the Early years and childcare registration handbook, and at the Ofsted website.

glitterbiscuits I can't get that link to work.

I completely get that I am not a childminder. What I don't understand is how to get paid with childcare vouchers as this requires you to first be registered with ofsted. Looking online it seems that lots of personal tutors are paid this way and the Edenred website says explicitly that it is possible.

Very confused.

Bu it does answer your question! Apply to be on the voluntary register!

Op do this:
Joining the voluntary part of the Childcare Register
You can apply to join the voluntary part of the Childcare Register if you want to do childcare for which registration isn’t compulsory, for example look after children aged 8 and above.

If you join the register voluntarily you’ll get a certificate. The parents of the children you care for may also be able to get other types of support, like help with childcare costs.

You’ll need to pay the registration fee and annual fee, and you can be inspected.

Who can register
To apply you must:

have the right to work in the UK
be 18 or over
undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check
You must also fill in the ‘Health declaration booklet’ if you’re either:

applying as a childminder on the Early Years Register
working directly with children

As PPs have said, you can apply to the voluntary part of the childcare register.

But do think carefully whether you really want to, because I can see very little advantage in it for you. It will cost you £100's every year in fees, insurances, etc. and mean you will be liable to an intrusive inspection regime as well as more paperwork. You may well find it invalidates your current domestic insurance policy, necessitating a new insurer with higher premiums.

The benefits will be almost entirely enjoyed by your clients. They will pay less by using childcare vouchers. That said, the government is looking at phasing out the CV scheme: at the very least it will close to new entrants within a month.

Accepting CVs will give you some sort of unique selling point, but you need to consider whether or not that comes at too high a cost to yourself.

itsaboojum Thanks. I have given up on the idea now, sadly.

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