Rules regarding free 15 hours childcare.

Hi guys, me again! I have Ofsted coming this week or week after but up until today had no current leads until September (taken so long I've lost two potential customers :( ) I have received an email tonight from a family wanting 3 full days a week for a 4 year old, up until september when they'd like school pick ups, obviously this would be amazing and I am in desperate need of some income after having nothing for nearly 5 months now (started the childminding process last September!). But they have just asked if they can use the free 15 hours that they currently do at nursery. I wanted to check the regulations on this because they didn't really cover it in our LA course (I have a vague recollection that you may have used to be accredited or something but not now)- could somebody please clarify on this as I don't want to give miss-information. Thanks.

Hi. I've been registered a month now - took exactly one year from the date I sent my application in until the day my registration certificate was in my hand -those months without earning was so frustrating so know exactly how you feel! I've got my local Pacey development officer (sorry don't know what they are actually called) coming out today to discuss offering the funded care so I can let you know what she says. I know it does vary depending on area - I'm in Kent. X

You need to contact your LA and ask if they'll let you do funding before your graded visit. Some do, some don't. The official standard is that you have to be graded good or outstanding (although I believe some LAs are still asking for accreditation/network membership). Hth

Thanks, I emailed my QI Officer who has replied saying I can't offer it until I have my first graded inspection which will be "at least 6 months away". Another brick wall for me then. As all three/four year olds are entitled to funded places and some two year olds and you can only have 1 under one how does anybody start childminding??? Why would a parent choose a childminder who can't offer funded places over one who can? Do I need to change all my advertising to "only accepting 1-2 year olds". Feeling very demotivated right now, might as well just declare myself flipping bankrupt now if I can't childmind most children for another 6+ months :(.

I have children that do their funded hours at nursery and then I collect them at lunch time - or they do some days at nursery and others with me. Some parents see the benefit of a group setting but much prefer a childminder.

Some 2 year olds are not able to claim the free funding as it is reliant on qualifying criteria.

I am in Wales and we have to be networked (there isn't a network in my area) at the moment I have 2 three year olds that do their funding at nursery and come to me the other days, a 2 year old not entitled to funding but goes to play group I collect at lunchtime and have her full days other days. I have a 4 year old that does not access any funding as Mum "does not want her in the system" she could be in school full-time. I have a baby as well. 3 afterschoolers (3,4,4) Here they are able to access full-time school the term before their 4th birthday so we don't have them for long (although in Wales it is not just rising 5s that count as 5 year olds if they are in full-time school). I am making good money:thumbsup:

I prefer part-timers as if they leave you do not loose all your income - bad experience when 2 sets of fulltime siblings 2x EY 2x school gave notice in the same week due to redundancy and deciding not to work anymore:(

Must be my luck then as all 4 enquiries I've had have been using the funded hours elsewhere but aren't happy where they are so wanted them to come to me. So frustrating, being a teacher for 4 and a half years, getting a good Ofsted grading for my teaching and knowing I can provide high quality care, other parents wanting to use my services but once again having to wait an innumerable amount of months for someone to say I actually can do what I've done a degree in and continuously trained for. Wouldn't be half so bad if there was any consistency and each local authority sang from the same hymn sheet, looking on the forums there are childminders who have been uninspected for over a year offering funded places with no previous childcare experience/training/qualifications other than the standard childminding course, which again, varies from local authority to local authority. :panic:

You should query it with your LA again and quote the official guidance to them.

https://www.gov.uk/government/upload...uthorities.pdf

If you look at section A3 it says:

Section A3: Quality
Outcome: all children are able to take up their entitlement to funded early education in a
high quality setting. Evidence shows that higher quality provision has greater
developmental benefits for children, particularly for the most disadvantaged children.

Two-, three- and four-year-olds:
To secure quality, local authorities are required by legislation to:

3.6 Fund new providers registered with Ofsted until their first full Ofsted inspection
judgement is published.


That means that newly registered providers should be able to access funding before they have their first inspection. The idea is that they have recently completed the relevant training and had an Ofsted visit.

Your LA might still say no, but it depends how far you want to fight them.

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Originally Posted by joannes

Must be my luck then as all 4 enquiries I've had have been using the funded hours elsewhere but aren't happy where they are so wanted them to come to me. So frustrating, being a teacher for 4 and a half years, getting a good Ofsted grading for my teaching and knowing I can provide high quality care, other parents wanting to use my services but once again having to wait an innumerable amount of months for someone to say I actually can do what I've done a degree in and continuously trained for. Wouldn't be half so bad if there was any consistency and each local authority sang from the same hymn sheet, looking on the forums there are childminders who have been uninspected for over a year offering funded places with no previous childcare experience/training/qualifications other than the standard childminding course, which again, varies from local authority to local authority. :panic:

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Unfortunately la's are protecting themselves as well. If they were to say yes and you didn't get the "good" grade they would then have to withdraw the funding from you so the children would have to find another space.

Not all 2 yos are able to access funding and its only been since sept that ANY childminder with a good or above grade can offer the funding so yes they are children out there else they would be no need for us :-)

As other posters have said some share their hours between setings, some just stay with you.

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Originally Posted by FussyElmo

Unfortunately la's are protecting themselves as well. If they were to say yes and you didn't get the "good" grade they would then have to withdraw the funding from you so the children would have to find another space.

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That's not necessarily the case. LAs don't tend to remove funding that quickly. If the setting works with the LA & shows they are making changes to improve, the LA can carry on providing the funding. There are 2 nurseries near me that have received requires improvement grades. They still offer funded spaces as the LA expects them to improve. Another nursery lost its funding as it was graded unsatisfactory and showed no signs at all of being able to improve. It still took a while for the funding to be removed though. The LA tends to wait until the funded children have moved on to school, then just doesn't allow it for any new children.

If it helps at all I have been working since nov 12 and still dont offer funded spaces. It is all possible. Oh and im pretty much always full too. Im also in the very luxurious place of saying no to families on occasion.

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Originally Posted by Mouse

That's not necessarily the case. LAs don't tend to remove funding that quickly. If the setting works with the LA & shows they are making changes to improve, the LA can carry on providing the funding. There are 2 nurseries near me that have received requires improvement grades. They still offer funded spaces as the LA expects them to improve. Another nursery lost its funding as it was graded unsatisfactory and showed no signs at all of being able to improve. It still took a while for the funding to be removed though. The LA tends to wait until the funded children have moved on to school, then just doesn't allow it for any new children.

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They do around here - different la's again

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Originally Posted by FussyElmo

They do around here - different la's again

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And yet strangely our la will let new minders take on the funding :rolleyes: but you have to go through the accreditation process and they are warned if they don't get the good or above grade then they will lose their funding :(

Right, winge over lol. My lovely QI officer has just checked and said as soon as my certificate comes through I can apply for the funding and go through the checklist so shouldn't be a problem with me knowing the EYFS well. Thank bleep! Was beginning to feel slightly cursed and doomed with all this haha. Thanks for your advice ladies. Going to chase Ofsted up now til they get sick of hearing from me :-p

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Originally Posted by joannes

Right, winge over lol. My lovely QI officer has just checked and said as soon as my certificate comes through I can apply for the funding and go through the checklist so shouldn't be a problem with me knowing the EYFS well. Thank bleep! Was beginning to feel slightly cursed and doomed with all this haha. Thanks for your advice ladies. Going to chase Ofsted up now til they get sick of hearing from me :-p

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That's great news, although a bit naughty of them to have said no in the first place.

It would make things so much easier if all LAs followed the rules and worked the same :rolleyes:

My QI officer came out and I've basically got to show her in 4 weeks how my observations are going and that I am following the EYFS and there's a sheet to follow but providing I've got all that in place in 4 weeks I can offer the funded places.

That's great news! The funded places are only for term time aren't they? is it 38 weeks of the year I'm sure I read online (although term time in school is 39 weeks so not sure which week you dont count) :-/ I have chased Ofsted today who've said I've been passed to Tribal who should be ringing this week to arrange a visit in the next week or two. Arggghhh! Hurry up already!!! lol. Want it out the way now.

Ah that's brilliant - sounds like you're really close to being registered. Yeah it's term time only and the set fee is a bit more than my hourly rate so that will cover it being term time only for me. I'm getting full though, I'm so pleased -one month of being registered and I've literally got 2 days a week I can offer 1 early years place - I may need an assistant at this rate! :-) You'll probably find the same, as soon as you'd registered it'll pick up quickly. X

Ive got a parent who knows me and wants to bring their 2 children full time to me once registered but her son turns 3 in june and will be wanting to claim the 15hrs funded childcare (sept it will start i think) but if i wont kno if i can offer it straight away then they'l probably keep them in the nursery :-(