child care vouchers, still a bit confused

[thebody]

can any ofsted registered cm accept them? someone told me I had to be specially credited, hope not as some of my parents want to use them... please tell me not more red tape..... thanks

No any Registered CM can use them. They are very easy to use.

thanks a lot coolj very relieved..

I wonder if the other person got confused with CM accepting the early years free educational grant thingy like pre-school do. You do have to be accredited to accept them.

oh no really, any other opinions out there...

But you will need to be registered with teh company providing the vouchers so that you can cash them in.

But also as Cargirl says there are 2 types which are often confused.

1. Salary sacrifice type vouchers - you just need to be OFTSTED registered and then registered with teh provider (whcih should be painless)

1. Free childcare to 3yo government funded vouchers. I didn't even realise that child minders could take these TBH...not really looked into it though so could be wrong.

I had this very same situation with a parent last week! Childcare vouchers, from companies like Accor, Busybees, Care4, can be accepted by any registered childminder. They make the arrangements with their employers to use some of their salary for this, you register with the relevant companay and you get paid. However, as CarGirl says, only accredited childminders can be paid with the early years vouchers, ie those that the local authority pay to nurseries etc for the 12.5 hours children get when they turn 3. Takes a few months to get accredited I think - several monitoring visits over six or so months by your local network, so not quick to set up! hth, x

Thats great, thanks Sm scotland, my mindees are all under 3 so thats a relief..