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Snowwhite
25-04-2016, 01:40 PM
I live in Wales and i just cannot decide who to vote for with the election that is coming up! Basically Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru are pledging that they can offer free childcare for working parents of three and four year olds. Am i right in saying that this already happens in England? If so, then do you find it benefits you and are you busier with children than you used to be or does it just not work for you? I can struggle at times to fill my vacancies so if it can bring more work then great! Do you get payed on time and the same amount you would normally charge?
I'm just in a right flap about whether or not it's a good idea for me to vote for them or not!!

chris goodyear
25-04-2016, 05:58 PM
I used to refuse to offer the funded as it was at a lower rate than my hourly rate and I thought (or was told through the grapevine) that there was more paperwork and visits from the council (like a local ofsted) and I didn't fancy all that. I did lose potential clients who went to a childminder who offered the funding and a year or so ago I looked into it more fully (went to meetings etc) and realised I could lose a lot more work, especially when the 30 hours free care comes in, and which parent wouldn't want to take advantage of that? We got more per hour for the 2 year olds making it over my current rate and less for the 3 & 4 year olds so swings and roundabouts. This term the rate has gone up so now I'm not losing out at all. I have 5 funded children at the moment which I obviously wouldn't have had and as for payment it has always been on time. I know of no one who has been visited by the council and the extra paperwork is minimal so I'm glad I decided to go for it. Speak to your LA to find out more or even better a childminder who already offers it.

moggy
25-04-2016, 06:27 PM
Scheme in England:
https://www.gov.uk/help-with-childcare-costs/free-childcare-and-education-for-2-to-4-year-olds

I have offered it in the past but choose not to now as the £ I'd receive per hour from the local authority is considerably less than my usual rates and the admin was a nightmare when I did do it.
I have never had trouble filling my EYFS spaces without offering it and I have no plans to offer it even when the 30-hours comes in next year (it is 15-hours at the moment, for 3-4 year olds) as there is no chance they will match my hourly rate.
But, if they matched my hourly rate I'd be happy to do it. It is a complete postcode lottery- some get pounds more in some areas compared to other areas, LAs can set their rates as they wish.

Snowwhite
25-04-2016, 08:37 PM
Thanks Both. Is an LA like an inspector?

chris goodyear
25-04-2016, 09:22 PM
Local authority.

moggy
25-04-2016, 09:27 PM
Thanks Both. Is an LA like an inspector?

No, sorry for the abbreviations, LA = Local Authority, so your local County Council, Town Council or City Council.
Central Government send the free-entitlement money to the LAs and the LAs then decide how much of the money to hand over to providers like us and how much to keep for themselves.
The whole calculation method is under review right now, for the big change to the system when the 30-hrs comes in next year, so no one knows what is going to happen. There is a 'national average' published for 2017 but that is meaningless unless you know exactly what your LA is going to decide. My LA has given a prediction of the likely level of funding for the 30-hrs in 2017 and it is still far too low for me.

Snowwhite
26-04-2016, 03:35 PM
Thanks Moggy

bunyip
26-04-2016, 06:21 PM
Just remember:-


Funding is a huge political football. It's intended to help politicians buy votes, but it doesn't seem to be designed to help parents or childcare settings.
Whatever you vote for is going to be a long way from what you get. Anyone here vote for academy schools being imposed? or the destruction of the NHS? ......... I thought not.
It doesn't really matter who you vote for because the government will always get in.



Old anarchist saying: Don't vote - it only encourages the b...........ds.

;)

tulip0803
26-04-2016, 09:51 PM
I am in Wales - in a rural area. Lots of questions about them all - in my area the children start school the term that they turn 4 so lots of 3 year olds start school, So 4 year olds are already in full-time free school with some 3 year olds there too. All 3 year old funding (12 1/2 hours) is through morning Meithrin. Childminders in this area are not able to offer it. We are not a flying start area as too many households have access to cars!

Welsh Labour - pledging 30 hours a week for 48 weeks of the year for 3 & 4 year olds - How are they going to deliver it? how are they going to fund it? How much are they going to pay for it? Obviously will have to be available across settings as this are only has school & morning meithrin term time and childminders (no after school/holiday clubs,no nurseries)

Plaid Cymru - Free full-time Pre-school childcare for all 3 year olds (no mention of childminders!) - How can they deliver it in a rural area that cannot sustain an all-day pre-school - meithrin has 6 children on some days most 2 years old. How are they going to pay for it?

Welsh conservatives - Free 30 hours term-time child care - How are they going to pay for it? How much are they going to pay? Who will deliver it?

UKIP - to deregulate childcare !!!!! and offer funded hours & tax credit payments to anyone to increase supply and reduce cost!!!!!! (think the best quote was the last election when asked why people in Wales should vote UKIP "We put English people first!" :laughing: )

All of them are not telling us how they will fund their free hours and until they give details about how they will. Who they will pay. What they will pay etc we cannot make any plans or decisions based on this one pledge. xx

With the new inspection framework childminders are being inspected on 4 areas, Well being being the most important. Anyone that offers funded hours will have a joint inspection CSSIW/ESTYN on 6 areas. This replaces the doubling up of CSSIW & ESTYN inspections that have been happening and settings having 2 inspections. x

Simona
04-05-2016, 07:20 AM
I live in Wales and i just cannot decide who to vote for with the election that is coming up! Basically Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru are pledging that they can offer free childcare for working parents of three and four year olds. Am i right in saying that this already happens in England? If so, then do you find it benefits you and are you busier with children than you used to be or does it just not work for you? I can struggle at times to fill my vacancies so if it can bring more work then great! Do you get payed on time and the same amount you would normally charge?
I'm just in a right flap about whether or not it's a good idea for me to vote for them or not!!

As in England and Scotland 'FREE' childcare it is NOT...it means the govt pay you any mount and often providers have to subsidise it because your fees will be higher.
On the whole all LAs will pay you less than your standard fee...in some cases they are actually reducing the current fee or changing the number of weeks they fund!!...or paying more for the additional 15 hours....this is happening in England right now!

One thing to understand is that any free early education (It has now been renamed childcare)...is not compulsory...you choose if you want to participate and then set the fees outside the entitlement to any level you want to remain sustainable.

As Scotland and England already have the free childcare scheme Wales will surely follow...keep us posted on how the policy develops!