Happy Half Term!

[Pixie dust]

Our LA has told us what the hourly rates will be but I hate that we have to jump through hoops tossing up to the funding agreement each year

Opps that's not what I meant to write, it should say 'accessing' funding but topical with it being Shrove Tuesday

Does that mean that your Easter hols are the 2 weeks after Easter?

Yes ours is the two weeks after Easter.

[Maza]

Ha ha, I did wonder what you meant Pixie dust!

I've got two current ones who will be eligible for the two year funding in April - one has been given a temporary code (whatever that means) and the other is still waiting to hear anything. The families have been with me for a few years now, so it feels nice to be able to be giving them a big 'discount', but like you say loocyloo, it will be 'interesting' once they start coming in cold using the funding. I haven't read the bit about deposits - I do hope we can charge them for a deposit.

We did pancakes yesterday and then they were all role playing making pancakes for the rest of the day. It was very sweet. Do you only make pancakes on Shrove Tuesday? I've got a couple of children who only come in on the Thursday and Friday, and I was toying with making another batch for them, but I've just remembered one is dairy free, so I'm not sure I will bother now.

I've got a quiet start to the week as one is off, as mum is going to try and get him into a sleep routine once and for all, and she's off work this week herself, so is going to use the time to do this. Slightly apprehensive about what the new routine will mean for me, lol. I've got baby into a great sleep routine here which means they sleep when the others do - and I don't want that to change!

[loocyloo]

Fingers crossed the new routine works for you Maza. I generally find that children can easily have a home routine and childminder routine!

For pancake day, i usually on make them on the tuesday, unless children are talking about it/role playing, then i might make them another day!

My dairy free little soul has now become soya free as well, so it has become a tad trickier! Dairy free yogurts/custards etc all seem to have soya in, or be extortionately expensive! I'm going to try and make a cornflour/oat milk custardy thing.

[Mouse]

Our half term is next week, but as I only have preschool aged children, it doesn’t really make any difference.

After Easter all of my children will be on funding. I’ll then have 2 under 2s starting and they’ll go onto funding in September. I can’t remember the last time I didn’t have any funded children at all, so I’m quite comfortable with codes etc.

One thing to note with taking a deposit is that if the child is only having funded hours, the deposit has to be repaid within 4 weeks of the child starting with you. If they’re having any additional hours that’s treated as your private arrangement so you can keep any deposit for those hours until the end of the contract.

[loocyloo]

Our half term is next week, but as I only have preschool aged children, it doesn’t really make any difference.

After Easter all of my children will be on funding. I’ll then have 2 under 2s starting and they’ll go onto funding in September. I can’t remember the last time I didn’t have any funded children at all, so I’m quite comfortable with codes etc.

One thing to note with taking a deposit is that if the child is only having funded hours, the deposit has to be repaid within 4 weeks of the child starting with you. If they’re having any additional hours that’s treated as your private arrangement so you can keep any deposit for those hours until the end of the contract.

Thanks for funding deposit info. Our 'headcount' is not usually until at least 4 weeks after term starts and if a child leaves before headcount, you don't get paid! Hmmm.. think I'll have to ensure that no one only uses funded hours!

[Mouse]

Thanks for funding deposit info. Our 'headcount' is not usually until at least 4 weeks after term starts and if a child leaves before headcount, you don't get paid! Hmmm.. think I'll have to ensure that no one only uses funded hours!

It's ridiculous that we've got to do things like that, isn't it? It's one of my biggest gripes about funding - the parents can pull the child out with no notice and we lose the money.

At the moment all my funded children will be from families who have been with me for a while. We've already discussed when they'll be leaving for nursery or school, so hopefully there'll be no surprises.