All year round nursery when working TT - Universal credit help

[Concreterosee]

Im so very confused about this and I would be so grateful for help & advice. i have spent all summer trying to arrange pickup/after nursery childminding with it all going tits up. (First childminder was asking me to do fraud and claim 2weeks settling in with UC, second childminder’s home stunk of cigarettes and generally had an unpleasant feeling about her) these were the only two available to do pick ups from his nursery where he does 30hrs 8.45-3.25.
A friend has agreed to do paid pick ups for now until she finds work. Long term I need to have a more stable plan in place.
Single parent. I work 16 hours a week TT only. The nurseries near me offering 8am-6.30pm childcare (Central London) only offer all year round places with stretched 30hrs.
now my question is would UC help me with 85% childcare costs for an all year round nursery place if I was only working TT?
I was thinking of only claiming for childcare used ‘term time’ and taking the hit of paying Christmas Easter Summer holidays + half term holidays out of my own pocket.
hope this makes sense 🫩😫

Are you not eligible for the 30 hours?

UC will pay up to 85% up to a max of about £1000 a month, it doesn't matter if it is term time or all year round.

Hey hun, he’s eligible for 30 hrs which he’s currently doing at his nursery 8.45-3.25. However Monday -Wednesday I need childcare until 6pm due to my working hours. I work term time only. So my only worry is that I’ll have him in a nursery that only offers all year round contracts with stretcher 30 hours and I will not be able to claim 85% during the holiday period when I would not be working

Can you not use your funding all year round for a Mon-Wed space?
That would give you 7ish hours a day funded and you can claim 85% of the rest back through UC.

If you use funded childcare all year round, you will only get 22 ish hours per week and will need to pay for any additional hours.

it’s really important to find out how your preferred nursery offers their funded sessions and the cost of additional sessions.

Otherwise, even if you can claim back 85%, certain settings may just not be financially viable for you.

UC will help bridge the gap between the funded hours and hours you need to pay for. they will expect a reasonable amount of hours compared to childcare paid for. Eg claiming for 50 hours a week when you only work 12 wouldn’t work.

The only thing is- are you sure you’re going to stay eligible for the 30 hours if you only work 16 hours term time only? Unless you earn significantly more than nmw you won’t meet the earnings threshold.

I earn over the threshold as I am part of SLT but currently part time and my pay is pro rata TT.
was just confused as to whether I could still claim 85% childcare back if he’s attending nursery during the holidays when I’m not working but I feel even more confused now 😫

If you are eligible for UC then yes.

Get your child in a nursery that covers your work hours, use your funding and claim UC the additional hours you pay.

In my experience as a cm the good ones don't do pick ups for babies from nursery...we offer the same thing and should be working to the same standards so it's like asking Sainsbury's to deliver your Tesco shop. Your baby takes up a space for the day. Did you consider finding a full time childminder?
Smoking is a big no
Settings are not allowed to make extra hours conditional for funding but can say which hours they offer funding. Your allowed to claim UC for any paid hours.

@Concreterosee in that case, yes you will be able to claim the UC help. There may be a question from them if you haven’t earned anything one month but if you’re SLT I assume you are paid over 12 months?

I’m a bit confused with the fraud and 2 weeks settling in. Do you mean the CM wanted you to claim when your child wasn’t there or she wanted to charge you for the settling in sessions?

In my LA if the contract is for more hours than is used during settling they pay the full funding as the space is held for child and can't be used as long as they are attending, there is a full start date and parent does not want to use full hours. I believe it's limited to 3 weeks. Similarly if funding hours are say 9 to 5 and parent picks up early the setting is allowed to claim..

I don't get the fraud bit....were you doing 2 weeks settling in on reduced hours so she was keeping a full space and you expected not to pay the full fee in which case you can claim or was she saying don't pay me but I'll give you a receipt so you can claim the full week?