CM's- nursery vouchers

[ficam]

Hello, Im quite new to childminding and I have had a parent ask if I can accept vouchers when their child is 3. Firstly can childminders accept the vouchers? Is there lots more paperwork involved? How do you go about registering for this?

Thank you in advance for any help!

For you to offer the free Early Years Entitlement you need to be an accredited childminder which is arranged through being a member of a Childminding Network. These are organised through either the NCMA or your local Authority. You also need to have a relevant level 3 qualification e.g. DHC or NVQ level 3 in Childcare.
Is your parent meaning the free Education or is it the actual childcare vouchers which go towards their care, in which case they can be used at any time not just when they turn three.

What badgerhead said and also I think you will need to be in a quality assurance scheme, you will get regular checks from networkie people (not ofsted) about every 10wks or so. Quite a bit more paperwork as well apparently and the voucher £ is quite often less than an average CM's hourly rate so you could technically be worse off. I would call your support minder if you still have one or your local EYP to see if your council accredits CM's first, as not all LA's do.

Childcare vouchers can be accepted at any age, dead easy and best way to be paid in advance.
Early years vouchers for free ed, don't bother as they are too much trouble and you end up being paid less.I won't do them, leave that to the playgroups.

Thanks for the advice. I will talk more to the parents and find out exactly what they are after and then see how to go about it. Thanks