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Funded Childcare in Wales...
Funded childcare in Wales was expanded in February 2025, so that eligible families with children aged 3 and 4, can access support with their early years education.
To find out more about what is meant by early years, please have a look here.
The available funding schemes in Wales are explained below, but to find the best funded childcare option for your family, it's recommended you take a look at the government's Best Start in Life website, formerly known as Childcare Choices.
3-4 Year Old Funding...
ALL children aged 3 and 4 are entitled to 10 funded hours per week. This is known as 'universal early education' childcare' and the hours must be used for structured learning in a setting that follows an educational framework.
Children of eligible parents are entitled to a further 20 funded childcare hours per week, for 48 weeks of the year. This is provided in addition to the 10 hours of education, giving children up to 30 hours of childcare per week for nearly the full year.
The 10 hours for education can used in a childminding setting if the childminder has been approved by their local authority to offer the funded hours. Essentially, the intention behind this scheme is to ensure children are accessing formal learning whilst parents have flexible childcare support to suit their family's needs.
To find out more about this, follow the link below to the funding pages on the gov.wales website:
2 - 3 Year Old Funding...
Children of eligible parents can access 12.5 hours of childcare each week through the Flying Start Programme. This programme is available in areas of Wales that are considered to be 'disadvantaged.
The childcare is delivered across 5 days of the week in 2.5 hour sessions, and these hours can used in a childminding setting if the childminder has been approved by their local authority to offer the funded hours.
In addition to the childcare, the Flying Start Programme also offers access to parenting support, health visiting service and help with speech, language and communication.
Follow the link below to find out more about this programme:
Funding for Babies
Funding is not available for babies, however there maybe some support available locally through your Family Information Service (FIS).
To find your local FIS, please follow the link below:
Other Childcare Support...
If a family is eligible, they maybe able to use universal credit payments towards childcare costs. To find out more about this and other options available, please follow this link to the gov.wales website.
Other Help to Pay for Childcare
Tax Free Childcare
If a family is eligible, they may be able to claim tax free childcare! To find out more about what that entails, please have a nosey here, which will take you to a dedicated section on this website.
Applying for Funding...
In order to access the 30 hours funding for a child, their parents need to first check if they are eligible and then they can make an application.
The link below will take them to the guide with further links so you can all learn more and start the process:
GUIDE TO ACCESSING CHILDCARE FUNDING
Flying Start Programme
Parents need to contact their Family Information Service (FIS) to find out if their child is eligible for this funding and if it's available in your area. Use the link below to find your FIS:
Consumable Fees...
Childcare providers are likely to ask parents to pay consumable fees for items that are not covered by the funded hours. This may include items such as; snacks, meals, trips out, sun cream, nappies, wipes etc.
This is of particular significance for those children in receipt of 3 - 4 year old funding as the rate paid by the government for this age group is considerably less than that for 2-3 year olds, and even more so for than the rate paid for the 9 - 23 month old age group!
Consumable fees and funding rates have been 'hot topics' for a long time across the entire childcare sector. Sadly, it appeared that some settings were being vague with their consumables and overcharging parents, whilst others were not asking for any contributions and were struggling to make ends meet.
The Department for Education updated its statutory guidance, providing clarity and transparency for both providers and parents, regarding the access of funded places and the associated consumable fees.
The article below from the DfE explains the new policies on charging and it also contains a link to the Statutory Guidance, which has a specific parents' section under Part C.
Childminding Expenses
Whilst childcare fees are expensive, hence the government subsidies to support parents with this, there are also a lot of expenses that childminders need to cover! As many work from home, it is often assumed that their overheads are low, but that isn't the case!
Childminders need to pay for registration, insurance, Ofsted or agency fees, statutory training, continuous professional development, organisation memberships, specialist equipment to suit their cohort, resources, home adaptations to make it safe, suitable vehicle and car seats (if applicable),
resources for both indoors and out that suit all age groups and support all areas of learning and development... the list goes on and that doesn't include items like meals, snacks and trips that would be included in the consumables fee.
Childminders are a unique breed whose careers are lifestyle choices, because they often work from home and it's hard to separate the two. They provide their mindees with the best of both worlds; excellent educations in warm and nurturing homes.