Only two per cent of people who currently work in early years are male. Do you think there should be more effort to increase the numbers of men working in childcare and early years?
Below is a list of the most commonly asked questions about childcare. If you do not find the information you need here, you may find it in other sections of this website in the Parent Information section. If you still cannot find the answer you are looking for, please contact us.
How can I start on a career in childcare - where can I get training to do that?
How can I find childcare in my local area?
You can contact your local Family Information Service (FIS), who can provide you with a list of registered childcare providers in your area, including childminders, children's centres, nurseries, pre-schools, playgroups, crèches and out-of-school and holiday clubs. Some FISs can also give details of parent and toddler groups, local leisure clubs and other family services.
You can get contact details for your local FIS by phoning 0800 2 346 346 or by using the ‘Find your FIS' link on www.familyinformationservices.org.uk.
How can I make sure the childcare I use is good quality?
All registered childcare services in England are registered and inspected by Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills) at least once every three years. Following an inspection, a report on the childcare service is available and you can request to see this from the childcare provider or view it online at: www.ofsted.gov.uk and use the unique registration number of the provider to search.
As a registered service, the childcare provider is on the national childcare register and has to meet the standards and regulations set out, which are:
When visiting a childcare provider always ask for references and speak to other parents about the care provided to get another perspective of the quality of the service.
For more information about quality in childcare services and the EYFS see our factsheet ‘Choosing quality childcare'.
In Scotland childcare services are registered and inspected by the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care, and in Wales by the Care Standards Inspectorate.
This is care that is registered with the Government's education regulatory body Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills). Ofsted regulate and inspect services for children, young adults and learners of all ages in England. As part of their work they register and inspect those who provide childcare for children from birth to 18. In Wales childcare is inspected by the Care Standards Inspectorate.
Most childcare providers looking after children under five have to be registered by Ofsted. Some are not required to register but may choose to join the voluntary part of the Ofsted childcare register. For further information about childcare registration, see How can I make sure the childcare I use is good quality?
How can I get help/childcare for my child who has a disability/special needs?
Childcare services are required by law to cater for children with disabilities. Some areas may have childcare services that are specifically tailored for children with disabilities and special educational needs while in others, services are included within existing childcare provision.
The Early Years Team at your local authority may have funding specifically to assist childcare places for children with disabilities or special needs. This funding can often be used to pay for additional staff or specific equipment at a childcare setting.
Contact your local Family Information Service (FIS) for further information. You can get contact details for your local FIS by phoning 0800 2 346 346 or by using the ‘Find your FIS' link on www.familyinformationservices.org.uk.
For more information and details of useful contacts, download our factsheet 'Childcare for children with disabilities and special educational needs'.
My friend has offered to look after my children while I'm at work. Does she need to be registered?
This will depend on the arrangement you make and the ages of your children. She will not need to be registered if:
If your friend intends to regularly look after your child in their home and your child is:
If your children are all aged eight or over, although there is no requirement to register, there is a voluntary part of the Ofsted Register that she may want to join. Financial help with childcare costs is available for eligible parents who use registered childcare. Further information about registration is available on www.ofsted.gov.uk.
Your local branch of the National Childminding Association will be able to give you details of the process involved in becoming a registered childminder. Contact them on 0800 169 4486 for details.
This will vary considerably depending on the type of childcare you use, the age of your child, the area you live in and whether you need childcare at atypical (outside the normal times for childcare, such as in the evening, overnight or at weekends) times.
The average cost of a full-time nursery place for a child under 2 is £167.00 per week, but prices vary quite dramatically. Costs are generally less for children aged two and over, for childminders and for after-school care. If you require childcare during 'unsocial' hours', such as very early in the morning or overnight, you can expect to pay considerably more for this. The Daycare Trust annual childcare costs survey shows the typical costs of childcare in the UK.
Daycare Trust also publishes a summer holiday childcare costs survey each July. See 'Childcare costs surveys' for information.
What financial help is there to pay for childcare costs?
Financial help towards your childcare costs will depend on your circumstances; whether you are working, about to start work or studying, as well as your income level, childcare costs and the number of children you have.
There are two main types of financial help towards the costs of childcare available for working parents; the childcare element of Working Tax Credit and employer supported childcare.
The childcare element of Working Tax Credit is intended for parents on a low income and can pay up to 80 per cent of your registered childcare costs if you (and your partner if you are part of a couple) work more than 16 hours per week. The amount you are awarded is dependent on your income, your childcare costs and the number of children you have.
Employer supported childcare, often referred to as childcare vouchers, is a way for you to make savings on the childcare you pay for by saving on your tax and National Insurance contributions through your employer's payroll. Your employer needs to operate a scheme for you to benefit and you need to be using registered childcare to be eligible.
If you are about to start work and have been on qualifying benefits for the required amount of time, you may be eligible for assistance through a Job Centre Plus scheme such as the New Deal for Lone Parents.
If you are thinking of studying you may be eligible for some assistance with your childcare costs through your learning provider or a Government scheme.
For detailed information about tax credits, employer supported childcare, back to work assistance and student support, visit: www.payingforchildcare.org.uk.
My child is three and I understand they are entitled to free childcare. How do I find out about it?
All children from the age of three are entitled to at least 12.5 hours per week of free early education. They will become eligible for this in the school term following their third birthday.
The free early years entitlement currently provides 5 sessions of 2.5 hours per week for 38 weeks of the year. This will increase to 15 hours per week by 2010, and you will be able to use this more flexibly; for example, over 3 days instead of 5. You can use your free place at a nursery, pre-school, children's centre or with a childminder (if they are part of an accredited network). Your childcare provider will receive payment for the place direct from the local authority, you do not have to apply for it yourself.
If your child is already attending a childcare setting that provides the free early years entitlement, you will receive a reduction in your fees (from the term following their third birthday): your provider cannot charge you for any part of these free hours.
For more information, and to find which providers in your area offer the free entitlement, contact your Family Information Service at your local authority. You can get their details by contacting 0800 2 346 346 or by using the ‘Find your FIS' link on www.familyinformationservices.org.uk.
What kind of childcare is eligible for financial help through tax credits and employer-supported childcare?
Only registered childcare qualifies for tax and National Insurance exemptions through employer-supported childcare, and for support through tax credits. See 'What is registered childcare?' for information about registered childcare.
Can I claim financial help if a family member looks after my child?
Childcare provided by a relative of a child is generally not eligible for help from the childcare element of the Working Tax Credit or the tax and National Insurance contributions exemptions on employer-supported childcare.
The sole exception to this is when a relative has been registered as a childcare provider and happens to care for a related child, but whose primary or main paid child-caring is for children to whom they are not related. So that being a paid child-carer for the child to whom they are related is incidental - they must be looking after at least one other child who they are not related to. This care must be provided outside the child's own home.
A relative of the child means a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, brother or sister, whether by blood, half blood, marriage, or affinity.
How much can I expect to pay a childminder?
Childminders are self-employed so, to some extent, can set their own fees. There is no set rate. However, as a guide, the current typical cost for a full-time place for a child under 2 with a childminder is £156.00 per week. Childminder costs are often slightly lower than nursery fees: this reflects the difference in overhead costs. For guidance on hourly rates and specific details on holiday pay etc, contact the National Childminding Association (NCMA) on 0800 169 4486.
How many children can a childminder look after?
Ratios for how many children a childminder can look after are set out in the Early Years Foundation Stage and are as follows:
Children who are four, but who are attending school full time can be classed as age five for the purposes of these ratios.
For more information about the Early Years Foundation Stage, visit nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/earlyyears.
My childminder says I still have to pay for my child's place while we are on holiday or when my child is sick and I'm looking after them. If my child is not using the place, why do I have to pay for it?
Childminders are self-employed so they set their own policies regarding sick and holiday pay. When the childminder starts looking after your child, you should sign a contract with them. The contract should give details about when you will and will not pay fees, for example, what happens when your child is on holiday and also when your childminder is on holiday, when your child is off sick, and when your childminder is sick. The contract should also outline, if appropriate, any notice periods that you can give to reduce or cancel fees for a period, for example, some childminders may not charge or may reduce a fee if either one of you or notifies the other far enough in advance of holidays.
The National Childminding Association can provide sample childminding contracts and can advise on more common practice among childminders with regards to fees, contracts, holiday and sick pay. Contact them on 0800 169 4486.
I already receive Working Tax Credit to help pay for my son's childminder. I asked her if the fees would be reduced now my son is three and eligible for an early years education place, but she says she doesn't provide these. Why is this?
While it is possible for you to get help with your childminder fees from Working Tax Credit, you may not to be able to claim your child's free early years education place from her.
If your childminder is not willing or able to consider joining a network, you could consider taking up the free place at another setting and asking your childminder to collect/drop off your child and then offer the remaining hours you need.
Your Family Information Service should be able to tell you about the childcare providers in your area who are offering free early years education places. You can get their details by contacting 0800 2 346 346 or by using the ‘Find your FIS' link on www.familyinformationservices.org.uk.
I'm not happy about the quality of care provided by my childminder. What should I do?
All childminders must follow the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, which includes requirements for them to:
For more information about the Early Years Foundation Stage, visit nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/earlyyears.
If you have any concerns about the way your childminder is caring for your child, if possible, you should first raise this with them. Many issues can be resolved at an early stage in this way and your concerns may have been the result of a misunderstanding.
If you have already approached your childminder, or don't feel that it is appropriate to do so, and you still do not feel that your concerns have been dealt with and they are continuing to provide an unsatisfactory level of care, you can contact the Ofsted helpline on 0845 640 4040 and raise your concerns with them. Ofsted will investigate the issue and will feed back to you. See Ofsted's factsheet 'Concerns and complaints about childcare providers', available on their website, www.ofsted.gov.uk, for further information.
If you feel that your child's safety is at risk, or there are child protection issues, you should remove them immediately, contact the Child Protection Team at your local authority and/or the police. You can get contact details for your local authority from your local phone directory, or online at www.direct.gov.uk. You should also contact the Ofsted helpline and let them know what you have done.
My child's nursery says that I have to pay fees for the whole year, including the weeks when the nursery is closed (for staff training/holidays) and when we are on holiday. Do I have to pay at times when my child does not attend?
All the fees you pay to the nursery should be outlined in the contract you sign when your child's starts at the nursery. This should include what happens when:
Some nurseries do charge fees for weeks when the nursery is closed and this is usually to reflect the costs they have to pay, including staff holiday and sick pay and overheads.
Once you have signed the contract, you are bound by the terms in it, so if you have signed a contract which includes paying for weeks when the nursery is closed, you will have to pay those fees. For this reason, it is very important to make sure you fully understand the contract and your responsibilities before you sign it.
Contact the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) on 01484 40 70 70 for more information about nursery fees and contracts.
I think my child's nursery may not have enough staff for the number of children they have there. How many staff should there be at a nursery?
Staff:child ratios for day nurseries are set out in the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, as follows (members of staff:children):
The ratios include any children of staff or volunteers. Regular volunteers can be included in these staff ratios, but students on short-term placements cannot. These staffing levels must be maintained during outings and in some circumstances it may be necessary to have more staff available. There must be suitable arrangements in place to maintain staff:child ratios during staff holidays, sickness and emergencies, for example.
For more information about the Early Years Foundation Stage, visit nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/earlyyears.
I'm not happy about the care my child is receiving at nursery. What should I do?
All nurseries must follow the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage framework, which includes requirements for them to:
For more information about the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), visit nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/earlyyears.
If you are unhappy about the care your child is receiving, first of all speak to the nursery manager. It's important to raise any issues with them, as it may be a misunderstanding and you may be able to come to a solution by talking it through. It may be helpful to look through the EYFS information so that you know what you should expect from a setting.
If, after talking to the nursery manager, you do not feel that your problem has been addressed, follow the nursery's complaints procedure - the manger will be able to give you a copy.
At the end of the nursery's complaints procedure, if you still don't feel that the issue has been resolved, you can call the Ofsted helpline on 08456 40 40 40. They will follow up any complaints made, and can ultimately de-register a service where quality is not meeting the standards required.
If you feel that your child's safety is at risk, or there are child protection issues, you should remove them immediately, contact the Child Protection Team at your local authority and/or the police. You can get contact details for your local authority from your local phone directory, or online at www.direct.gov.uk. You should also contact the Ofsted helpline and let them know what you have done. See Ofsted's factsheet 'Concerns and complaints about childcare providers', available on their website, www.ofsted.gov.uk, for further information.
Are nannies registered and inspected by anyone?
Nannies are childcarers who are employed directly by you and who provide care in your own home. There is no central governing body that registers and inspects nannies, au pairs or babysitters, because childcare provided in your own home does not have to be registered. Nanny agencies should carry out criminal records checks and should follow up references, but it is advisable for you to also do your own background checks and follow up details of previous employment and qualifications.
For further, more detailed information about nannies, see our section 'Finding and choosing nannies', which provides information about choosing a nanny, questions to ask at interview, contracts and pay and tax and National Insurance arrangements.
Voluntary part of the Ofsted Childcare Register
Some nannies choose to become registered voluntarily under the voluntary part of the Ofsted Childcare Register (vOCR). Nannies who are registered have met specific requirements in order to do their job and have undergone an enhanced Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check, will hold an appropriate first aid qualification and will have training in the common core skills. They will also hold a Public Liability Insurance certificate. For further information about the vOCR see Ofsted's website, www.ofsted.gov.uk. The voluntary part of the Ofsted Childcare Register replaced the Childcare Approval Scheme.
Where can I get a list of nannies?
As nannies, au pairs and babysitters do not need to be registered and inspected by a central governing body, there is no central register of nannies. Local telephone directories often hold listings of childcare and nanny agencies, who help find suitable nannies and au pairs for families. Most agencies, however, charge a fee for doing this. You can also try contacting your local Family Information Service, as some do have contact details of local agencies and may have details of nannies who have registered on the voluntary part of the Ofsted Childcare Register (see above).
Magazines such as ‘Nursery World' and ‘The Lady' also have directories or adverts for nannies and nanny/au pair agencies. Both magazines are available from larger newsagents.
More information about recruiting a nanny can be found in our section 'Finding and choosing nannies', which provides information about choosing a nanny, questions to ask at interview, contracts and pay and tax and National Insurance arrangements.
A full time nanny can cost anywhere between £250-£450 per week, depending on factors such as whether you provide a room for them or not, the number of children you have, their ages, average rates in the area you live, hours the nanny is required to work and specific duties they may undertake (for example, is it only childcare, or will there also be food preparation/washing for children or the whole family).
You (as your nanny's employer) are also required to pay tax and National Insurance on behalf of your nanny. This will be on top of the rate stated above. This can be done by the Revenue's PAYE (Pay as You Earn) scheme. You can contact your local Revenue tax office (get contact details for your local office from http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/) for information and can also call their Employer Helpline on 0845 714 3143 for more information.
Is a nanny the same as an au pair?
No, they are quite different. A nanny is an individual who is employed (often full time) to care for your children, they often have relevant childcare qualifications. Au pairs are students, usually from within Europe, who are here to study and to learn or increase their knowledge of the English language. Often au pairs do not have childcare experience or qualifications, so are usually better suited to care for school-aged children. They should not be left in sole charge of children below the age of three. As students, au pairs can provide no more than 30 hours of childcare per week, and must be able to attend their language/study lessons. Au pairs must be provided with room (they must have their own bedroom) and board and it is usual to also provide some payment on top of this.
It is recommended that all nannies should have Public Liability Insurance, so that they are covered if any action is taken against them. Public Liability Insurance is usually only provided to registered and experienced nannies and is not a legal requirement. Nannies who are registered on the voluntary part of the Ofsted Childcare Register need to have Public Liability Insurance.
It is a legal requirement that you, as their employer, have Employers' Liability Insurance. If the nanny has an accident, for example, and sues you, you are then covered.
This is an arrangement where a nanny is shared by more than one family. If you only need to use a nanny on a part-time basis and would like to share the cost of them with another family, you might want to consider a nanny share. For example, you may need a nanny three days per week and the other family uses the nanny the rest of the week.
Alternatively, you may want need to use a nanny all week, but only have one child and still want to share the cost of employing them. In this situation, you or the other family could use your home as the base where the children were looked after. The nanny would be looking after the children of two families at one of the children's homes. (You could arrange to alternate the home where the care took place. You would need to check your insurance for details of your nanny looking after your child in someone else's home or another child being looked after in your home.)
I want to become a childminder. How do I go about it?
The first step to becoming registered as a childminder is to attend a no obligation pre-registration briefing session in your area where you can learn more about the registration process. These no obligation sessions are usually arranged by the Early Years team or Family Information Service (FIS) at your local authority. You can get contact details for your local FIS by phoning 0800 2 346 346 or by using the ‘Find your FIS' link on www.familyinformationservices.org.uk.
The National Childminding Association (NCMA) will also be able to give you information and advice about becoming a childminder in your area. For details of your local NCMA office contact them on 0800 169 4486.
Childminders in England are required to be registered and inspected by Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills) and in Wales by the Care Standards Inspectorate.
I'd like to set up a nursery/pre-school/holiday playscheme. What would I need to do?
There are a number of organisations who should be able to help you with setting up, as a start you can contact the Early Years Team at your local authority to find out whether there is any local funding or support for new providers. To get in contact with your local Early Years Team, contact your local Family Information Service (FIS). You can get contact details for your local FIS by phoning 0800 2 346 346 or by using the ‘Find your FIS' link on www.familyinformationservices.org.uk. Depending on the type of service you want to set up, there are organisations who might be able to offer further information and support, which include:
As a provider of care and education for the under fives you would need to follow the Early Years Foundation Stage, which is a compulsory framework of care for any setting working for more than 2 hours per day with children aged 0-5. Details of this can be found at: nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/earlyyears. Your Early Years Team may have details of training and support in implementing this.
As an Early Years Provider you will also need to join the Ofsted Early Years Register. In order to do this there are many regulations regarding staffing, adult to child ratios, health and safety etc to satisfy. For further details you should speak to the Ofsted Registration advice line on: 0845 601 4771 or visit: www.ofsted.gov.uk/childcare.
How can I start on a career in childcare - where can I get training to do that?
For general information about a career in childcare and what to do to get started, you may find the following websites useful; www.childcarecareers.gov.uk and www.cwdcouncil.org.uk. These sites can give you information about working in childcare, local contact information and links to other organisations who will be able to give more specific information about working in different settings.
You may also wish to contact the National Day Nurseries Association or the National Childminding Association. Both of these organisations have more specialist knowledge in getting started as a childcare provider.
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