Funding Options

Paying for Childcare can be costly and confusing to say the least. There are many different options to help parents with the cost of childcare fees. Some are available to all parents and some have specific requirements based on personal circumstances. we have put together some information for you to help you find the best options for your family.

 Childcare Choices is a government website with lots of information for parents and carers about how to get support to pay towards childcare fees, you can either visit the page or see below for more information, www.childcarechoices.gov.uk. On the website they have a childcare cost calculator which you can fill in and this will show you what help you may be entitled to, this is available at: https://www.gov.uk/childcare-calculator?utm_source=childcarechoices&utm_medium=microsite  

This is available to all working families, including the self-employed (in the UK), who have children under the age of 12 years (or under 17 if disabled). It can be used to pay towards childcare fees, wrap around care, before and after school care and holiday care. For every £8 you pay in, the government will add an extra £2, up to £2,000 per child per year. More information can be found at;

https://www.gov.uk/tax-free-childcare?utm_source=childcarechoices&utm_medium=microsite

This is available to all working families, including the self-employed (in the UK), who have children under the age of 12 years (or under 17 if disabled). It can be used to pay towards childcare fees, wrap around care, before and after school care and holiday care. For every £8 you pay in, the government will add an extra £2, up to £2,000 per child per year. More information can be found at;

https://www.gov.uk/tax-free-childcare?utm_source=childcarechoices&utm_medium=microsite

If your child is born between:

1 January – 31 March, funded places can start in the summer term (from 1 April)
1 April – 31 August, funded places can start in the autumn term (from 1 September)
1 September – 31 December, funded places can start in the spring term (from 1 January)

The 15 hours of free childcare/early education for two-year-olds is not intended to cover the costs of meals, other consumables (such as nappies or sun cream), additional hours or additional activities (such as trips). Providers may charge a fee for these additions. If you choose to pay for these it is an arrangement between you and the childcare provider. However, you must not be required to pay any fee as a condition of taking up a 15 hours place, and must be offered alternative options.

For settings in Staffordshire; https://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/Children-and-early-years/Childcare/think2/Apply-Online.aspx

Is available to all families in England with 3 and 4-year-old children

15 hours of free childcare or early education for 38 weeks

A total of 570 hours per year, that you can use flexibly with one or more childcare provider

Some providers will allow you to ‘stretch’ the hours over 52 weeks, using fewer hours per week

 

Is available for working families in England with 3 and 4-year-old children

30 hours of free childcare or early education for 38 weeks

A total of 1,140 hours per year, that you can use flexibly with one or more childcare provider

Some providers will allow you to ‘stretch’ the hours over 52 weeks, using fewer hours per week Further information or to apply online please visit www.childcarechoices.gov.uk or follow the link; https://www.gov.uk/30-hours-free-childcare?utm_source=childcarechoices&utm_medium=microsite

For working families, in the UK

With children under 16 (or under 17 if disabled)

70% of childcare costs, up to a cap

If you cannot make a new claim for Tax Credits, you may be able to apply for Universal Credit instead.

For working families claiming Universal Credit, in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales

With children under 17

85% of eligible childcare costs, up to a cap

Weekly payments from Care to Learn if you’re at school or sixth-form college

Help through your college if you’re in further education

A weekly grant if you’re in full-time higher education

You could get weekly payments through Care to Learn –  if you’re under 20 at the start of a publicly-funded course, such as a school or sixth form. https://www.gov.uk/care-to-learn?utm_source=childcarechoices&utm_medium=microsite
You can apply for Discretionary Learner Support –  to pay for childcare if you’re 19 or over and in further education, for example, if you’re studying for an NVQ, BTEC or PGCE. https://www.gov.uk/learner-support?utm_source=childcarechoices&utm_medium=microsite
You can apply for a Childcare Grant –  if you’re in full-time higher education to pay for childcare costs for children under 15 (or under 17 if they have special needs). https://www.gov.uk/childcare-grant?utm_source=childcarechoices&utm_medium=microsite

From April 2015, nurseries, schools, childminders and other childcare providers have been able to claim extra funding through the Early Years Pupil Premium to support children’s development, learning and care. 

National data and research tells that children eligible for free school meals tend to do less well, for example in 2014, 45% of children eligible for free school meals achieved the expected level at the end of the early years foundation stage compared with 64% of other children.  The Early Years Pupil Premium will provide us with extra funding to close this gap.

The Early Years Pupil Premium provides an extra 60 pence per hour for three and four-year-old children whose parents are in receipt of certain benefits or who were formally in local authority care but who left care because they were adopted or were subject to a special guardianship or child arrangements order. This means an extra £342 a year for each child taking up the full 570 hours funded entitlement to early education.  This additional money could make a significant difference to us.

We can use the extra funding in any way we choose to improve the quality of the early years education that we provide for your child. This could include for example additional training for our staff on early language, investing in partnership working with our colleagues in the area to further our expertise or supporting our staff in working on specialised areas such as speech and language.

It is well documented that high quality early education can influence how well a child does at both primary and secondary school so we do want to make the most of this additional funding. You may be aware if you have older children that a pupil premium has been available for school age children and it has proved to have given a real boost to the children receiving the funding. We want to do the same for our early years children entitled to this funding.