Early Years Supplementary Grant
Many thanks to those providers who responded to the Early Years Supplementary Grant Consultation to gather views on how to manage the 11p uplift on two-year funding. The outcome was as follows;
Standard 11p increase= 86.54%
Supplement Based = 11.54%
Other Option = 1.92%
The Local Authority finance team are in the process of calculating money owed for 2-year-old funded hours claimed from September 2023 and onwards. These additional amounts will be paid to the relevant providers along with the Spring Term 2024 estimate payments due to be made from the w/c 8th January 2024 onwards.
Confirmation of the date that eligible working parents will be able to apply for their codes to gain access to 15 hours of childcare per week for two-year-olds from April.
From 2 January 2024, eligible working parents will be able to apply for their 15 hours childcare for their two-year-old. Parents have until 31 March to apply for a code, with the best time to apply in mid-January to the end of February, in case they need to provide further information to support their application. Applications will be via the existing application webpage though obviously this is not accessible to two-year olds until January 2024
To apply for a childcare code each parent needs to be working and earning the equivalent of 16 hours a week at national minimum/living wage and under £100,000 adjusted net income per year. This means that each parents need to earn from just over £8,600 per year to be eligible for 15 hours a week of childcare during term time.
More information on the range of childcare support available to parents can be found in the Childcare Choices toolkit, where they can explore the early education entitlements and other government help with childcare costs.
Launch of start-up grants for childminders
The Childminder Start-up Grant Scheme is now open for applications. The Scheme will support new childminders by providing them with grant funding, worth £7.2m over the next two financial years, helping childminders with the cost of setting up their own businesses.
The childminder start-up grant scheme will be available to all new childminders who have completed their registration on or after 15th March 2023. Individuals who have previously been registered as childminders and wish to re-register into the sector may also apply for the scheme. There must be at least a 12-month gap between the date of their previous registration being cancelled and their new registration being finalised.
As previously announced, we will offer £600 to new childminders registering with Ofsted, and £1200 to new childminders registering with a childminder agency. £1200 grants will be paid in two instalments, with a 6-month limit on claiming the second instalment. Childminders must apply for the grant within two months of registering as a childminder, or within two months of the Scheme launching.
You can apply via https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-a-childminder-start-up-grant
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