Could I ask a childminder a question please?

[Boobahs]

Is there any registered childminders on here that could answer a question for me please?

Yes go ahead

Thank you.

If you claim the 15 hours for a child in your care, but they don't use the whole 15 hours do you just claim for the hours they do or the whole lot?

You can only claim the hours the child is attending for. 15 or 30 hours are the maximum amounts. If a child is only contracted for 10 hours then you can only claim for 10 hours.

Ah ok. My childminder only has my son for 8 hours a week, but she said she has to claim for 15 hours as there's no other option. I might need him to do the other hours soon (possible new job) and wasn't sure if I can just ask her to up them or if she wouldn't have space for him.

You should be signing the parent declaration to confirm what hours you are claiming for? You must have signed for 15 hours?

Worse case scenario is she's over claiming and doesn't have space to have him as extra anyway!

He originally would have been doing 11 but she had to change it due to a mistake, but she has always said she has to claim 15 regardless. If she is claiming 15, then she should really have his space free, right?

Are you stretching your funding or just term time only?

In theory she should have space but if he's not attending then who knows.

Just term time only as I work in a school myself. I will have to ask her and hope she has the hours allocated to him free. Thanks for your help x

The childminder should only be claiming for the hours they have your child, you should sign a parental declaration each term to say what hours. If the childminder is over claiming she count get into a lot of trouble for it. She’s essentially being paid for hours she doesn’t have your child

She's being cheeky

This is not allowed. Your cm should be claiming for the hours your child attends only. So if she is claiming 15 hrs then yes he should be attending them. She must be doing this for financial reasons as the funding doesn't usually pay enough. However you are legally allowed to charge parents for extras such as meals and outings to hopefully make up the loss. Within reason of course. If your local authority find out what she is doing they will take the hours back off her and it is likely she will have already been paid them in full. They are very strict on this. Only other alternative is cm has to make the hours available to you in the future so you can use all of them that she has claimed.

Your childminder should only be claiming for the hours that your child attends. If the funding team find out about this she would have to pay back the extra hours she has claimed.

Sounds like she is fiddling things and giving his hours to somebody else. What a chancer.

Or maybe she's fiddling things to make up the money lost by offering funded places 🤷🏻‍♀️ Not that it is right at all, she shouldn't be doing it.