Stretched funding being removed???

[FriendlyNeighbourhoodAccountant]

I've been enquiring about childcare locally for when I return to work after mat leave and one of the childminders I spoke to has said the LA has emailed to say from summer 2024 they will no longer be allowed to spread 15/30 hours funding over the full year. Instead they must stick to term time only.

Has anyone else heard this? If so, is it all childcare settings or just a childminder thing? The local nursery I'm tempted by hasn't mentioned anything at all (although I need to specifically ask them this week about it). I saw a thread yesterday where someone else has mentioned not being allowed to stretch the funding. Can't see anything official.. not sure if its true/my local LA with a new rule/a country wide change.

It's not that it's being removed, but the LAs (many of them) are no longer offering to work out the stretched funding for us, only the Term time option. Therefore the additional work has to be completed by the settings. Funding is an extra admin burden already that we complete in our own time and so many are sticking to TTO, including me.

It hasn’t been removed in my area but most settings don’t offer stretched. Its extra work in a settings own time which gets complicated when you have a number of children claiming funding.

Thank you, perhaps its that then!

It all depends on which LA it is. Unfortunately they all work differently!
I offer funding, but only during term time- stretched is a faff. Maybe your childminder wants to change to term time only funding?

Potentially so, it was just the way she specifically said the LA has told her they can't stretch it anymore. Maybe she's using it as an excuse but I was curious!

Maybe that's just how she's interpreted the email? They aren't known for their clarity.

My local authority have recently said they won’t pay stretched funding anymore . They will pay us termly . Childminders can works out their own stretched hours if they want.
Our setting will only offer term time funding eg 38 weeks. Otherwise it is a lot of unpaid admin time and the risk of someone leaving mid term and having to repay money.
Why don’t you work out your yearly childcare costs , divide by 52 and put money aside each week. Then come non term time you will have a pot of savings to use .

Our nursery has always stretched funding over the year but will be stopping this from September and offering term time only. From the sounds of it it's going to be a lot of settings.