25/08/2024
✨️Public Service Announcement✨️
There's so much confusion around childcare funding, and there is support out there to help with those rising costs, but it's hard to find. So I've tried to simplify it as best I can for you!
Tax free Childcare is where the government contributes 20% on your childcare costs. You are eligible if your child attends an Ofsted registered childcare provision, including nannies, childminders, nursery, or wrap round school childcare. You apply for this on the government website under 'Tax Free Childcare'. You will need a regulator number from your childcare provider to link up your accounts. You pay money into the account online, the government tops up the money with 20%, and the money is then sent directly to your childcare provider. You can use this in conjuction with funded childcare, which is explained below.
The 15 or 30 hours funding is means tested so you will apply for this on the government website under 'funded childcare' and it will tell you what you are eligible for. The amount each provision gets is actually quite low and does not cover every week of the year. So, if your child is attending a year-round provision, you may have a monthly invoice to cover the extra costs. This always comes as a surprise to parents where 'free childcare' actually sometimes means 'heavily discounted childcare'. So check with your setting to see if they have any additional costs despite receiving funded childcare. This is not the settings fault, they are merely trying to survive on very low funding. The 15 or 30 hours funding applies to child-minders, nurseries and pre-schools for children under 5.
Hope this helps, and make sure you claim what you are entitled to! It's always a lot of admin for a sleep deprived and busy brain, but future you will be so thankful when you're saving some pennies.
