Childcare Government Grants

[Clare1406]

Can anyone please explain the way the childcare grants work to me please. My childminder has recieved a pack to fill in as my DS is 3.4yrs old & eligable. But she says that they do not pay her until the end of the quarter, therefore, she may not register for it! That means that i loose out surely, as i know he is entitled to 2.5hrs free a day 5 days a week. Or is that wrong?
Please help!

Unless your childminder is an ACCREDITED childminder then she cannot claim the government funding! I too am a childminder and cannot claim as i am not accredited and to become accredited means i will have to complete a course and do lots of paperwork etc and it takes along time to complete. You can use these vouchers in a private nursery or play group which is ofsted registered only. You are entitled to 5 X2.5hour sessions per week.

I'm a childminder too and considering it....but if I wouldn't get paid until the end of the Quarter - I may have to not register too (it's an awful lot of work for a C/Mer to register)

Thanks GFBB.
She is registered with ofsted as they came to access her in October, & i also claim tax credits, which i can only do if she is registered.
So does that mean it should be easy enough to do? I don't want to push it too much in fear of upsetting her, as DS loves her, & vice versa.

the way round it as a childminder is for the parent to pay the normal fee for one quarter and then discount once the money had been paid which in effect means that the parent will get discount for one more term after funding or gets a refund when leaves for school! Thats how my old nursery did it. We paid normal fee and got refund at end of term!

ALL childminders are registered with OFSTED but you have to be LEVEL 3 qualified and have training before you can get accredited!

If the nursery is registered with OFSTED you are entitled to 5 sessions per week at 2.5 hours long. I think the discount is £412 per 11 week term and works out about £7 ish per session.

And level 3 is an absolute nightmare....too much work

To get accredited I was told I would have to do 39 observations on each child (in the appropriate age range) so if all mine were in that age range I'd have to do something like 273 each year....Nurseries may have time to do that but I'm a bit busy changing nappies and feeding them

That's a good way of looking at it Bonkerz that way you aren't with out the income

NUrseries will automatically sort out you nusery grants, its not nothing to do with tax people! You should just get a letter telling you when you child is due for the grant and how much oyur fees will reduce by for example.....

Child turns 3 in may, will be entitled from april term and for 11 weeks oyur full time fee will be reduced. So if you pay £130 per week full time care then your fees will go down to £92.55 or there abouts. it works out as a discount of about £38 per week based on a full time nursery place.

that childcare tax credit and it pays upto 90% of your childcare costs. My guess is that if they pay all her costs it means she hasnt told them she gets a discount for her child being 3!!!!

Thanks everybody, it makes more sense now.
DS has started pre-school on Thur/Fri, as i work on Mon,Tues,Wed. But CM has offered to take DS on these 3 days if she doesn't go ahead with registering, so i can get the free sessions, which i thought was really nice of her.
Yes KatieMac, that does sound like hard work, i take my hat off to all you CM's who have shed loads of babies & toddlers running round you house. I get irritated if DH leaves the newspaper on the floor. But then again, i am a bit anally retentive when it comes to cleaning & tidying!

thats completely different to the grant funding

If you work 16hrs a week or more ( both parents in a 2 parent family) then you may be entitled to extra money from the Tax Credit people.

They pay upto 70% of your childcare fees (to a registered provider)

However if you earn too much they can reduce the amount you get.

The nursery grant is different and all 3 yo's are eligible.

sounds dodgy to me!!! sorry but if her childs under 3 and she dont work she must have given false info cos her child doesnt need to be in childcare!

Some deprived areas get funding from an earlier age.....also some Social Services pay for Nursery especially when the children are deemed 'at risk'....Not sure if there are any other reasons

Some deprived areas get funding from an earlier age.....also some Social Services pay for Nursery especially when the children are deemed 'at risk'....Not sure if there are any other reasons

Sorry

Well in that case I hope it's a mistake - not fraud

If one of the parents is disabled I think you can qualify for childcare