15 hours childcare - Childminder

[OneDreamySnail]

Hi

My daughter, just turned 1, is currently accessing the 15 free hours for working parents with a childminder. She has 15 funded hours a week and I top up the remaining 3 hours.

My childminder is not term time only; we go abroad 2 weeks before Easter holidays, and the childminder is insisting that these 2 weeks before Easter that will be taken off, cannot be used during the Easter Holidays.

Does it matter which 38 weeks you decide to use within the year (the entitlement is 38 weeks of 15 hrs funded childcare), or is this limited to term times only? I have read that the entitlement can be spread out throughout the year to cover 52 weeks, so my assumption would be that the funding isn’t limited to term times only. My understanding is that as long as the funded hours do not exceed 15 hrs a week, you could technically send them during school holidays and take term times off if needed.

i would be grateful for clarity on this. Also, is there any way of checking how many hours the childminder has claimed for?

Thanks

What does your contract with the childminder say? It should be clear on there which weeks she is open, how many funded hours a week you are using and whether or not it is over term time or stretched over the year.

The childminder can provide the funding term time only.
She doesn't have to stretch or swap the funding.

Our nursery is either term time only or spread over the year should the provider offer that option. It's not a mix and match type situation with using the funded weeks whenever you want.

And no, you can't check how many hours the childminder has claimed for. That's her revenue and her private business. If your funding is for 39 weeks a year and she's decided it's term time only then that's that.

Yes she gets to choose how the funding is offered, not you. If she says its term time only and you pay for holidays then that what it is. No mixing and swapping to avoid paying.

Not sure exactly what you mean by checking how many hours the childminder has claimed for? You should have signed a form to say what you're claiming eg this term was 165 hours - 11 weeks of 15 hours.

In our LA this term was 12 weeks, just in case readers think this is a universal claim amount.

You have chosen to go on holiday during term time so you lose those funded hours , you don't get to swap the hours around . If your childminder had gone on holiday during term time she should then offer you the lost hours if she had claimed for them . Its down to the childcare settings how they offer the funding some do it term time and charge full fees for holidays others spread it over the year. I only offered term time as I took my holidays during the school holidays and did not want to have to owe families hours . In my la if I knew you were going on holiday before I submitted my funding figures I could not claim for those weeks so would have been charging you full fees anyway. This was all iny contracts parents signed.

I have the 15 free hours spread out over the full year, term time and school holidays. My childminder did tell me though that she can only claim the free hours when my child is actually there. So for example, when we have been on holiday or had sick days, the free hours can't be used and we would be charged as normal.

I only offer them term time only as do all of the other childminders in my area. If a family takes holiday during term time then they lose those hours. I won’t swap and change, everything is stated in my policies and my contracts. It’s not a case of picking and choosing hours as and when required. Hours are used on contracted days.

Do you think your childminder should not be paid because you decided to book holiday?

It's the childminders business. She can't have unpaid gaps (presumably you don't want her to offer your place away while you are on holiday?) because otherwise it's not a viable business model.

Am I missing something? You are complaining that you have to pay 6 hours while you are on holiday out of school term? So about £40?
I'd let it go. (Especially as you are in the wrong, check the contract)

To get the funding we have to state when the funding is available. For 38 weeks she can technically choose a different pattern to the school terms but she would have put this on the forms to get the funding and now has to stick to it.

If she's committed to the funding 38 weeks term time (giving the dates of the LA terms for schools) then she cannot provide that funding in the holiday it breaches the contract she has with the LA. Likely impacts her insurance cover too. And as is often the case with term time only hours she's planning to bulk her income up with holiday children so won't want to loose that income for funding she's kept a space for already

I’m a childminder in our LA the two weeks before Easter are non funded weeks . That is one week is Easter Holidays and the second week is the extra week in the year non funded . Eg schools are open 39 weeks but have 5 inset days - and funding is only 38 weeks.
So at my setting you would either have to pay full private fees that week or if a term time only contact and no private hours you wouldn’t pay .

Childminder and nurseries do not have to offer stretched funding and our LA does not pay stretched funding either.

if you are away from the setting during the 38 weeks you loose those funded hours. There is an option to offer the weeks in the same funding period only . But this is limited to 15/30 hours a week so the only option is if there is holiday in the funding period and the setting is open . Our setting is closed for most holidays .

Maybe only take holiday in school holidays .
When your child starts school you will find the school won’t open at the weekend or in the holidays if you miss a few days !

Would you expect school to open in school holidays?
You know how many hours she'd claimed because ...you signed a form and are only invoiced for 3 hours a week.
My la are paying 12 weeks this term.
Your being cheeky