What is the Childcare Offer for Wales?
The Childcare Offer for Wales provides working parents of three and four year olds with up to 30 hours per week of combined Foundation Phase Nursery (FPN) education and additional funded childcare for up to 48 weeks per year. The Offer will build on children’s existing FPN education entitlement during term time, and provide up to 30 hours of funded childcare for nine weeks of the school holidays.
In RCT, we offer 15 hours of FPN education and so eligible children will receive an additional 15 hours of funded childcare per week. Some schools in RCT offer full time FPN education for nursery aged children. In this instance, eligible children will still receive the funded childcare for 9 weeks of school holidays, but their term time entitlement to the Childcare Offer will be made up with their FPN provision.
Please note – the number of hours of FPN varies across Local Authorities in Wales. If you have children from different LA’s accessing the offer in your setting, you will need to ensure you know how many hours of additional funded childcare each child is entitled to. The combined FPN education and additional funded childcare should not total more than 30 hours per week.
What does it mean for me as a provider?
Providing you are registered with CIW you could receive funding for eligible children accessing the Offer in your setting. If you wish to take part and receive funding for children who reside in RCT, you must sign a provider agreement (below) and return to the Childcare Offer team in RCT. For children from other LA’s, you will need to contact their Childcare Offer teams directly and sign their provider agreements.
Can I accept children from different Local Authority areas?
Yes, as long as the parents meet the eligibility criteria, they can use CIW registered settings in any LA area. Choice of provider is down to parental choice.
Do I need to deliver the Foundation Phase to deliver the childcare element of the offer?
No. Some children will continue to access FPN education in maintained settings. Childcare providers do not need to deliver both the FPN education and childcare elements of the offer.
Do I need to be able to deliver the offer for 48 weeks per year to take part?
No. Parents can access the offer through different providers that best suit their circumstances. Providers who only offer term-time provision, or provision only in the school holidays, can still deliver the offer, depending on the needs of the parents.
How much will I get paid?
All providers will receive a rate of £4.50 per hour for children receiving the childcare element of the offer.
Can I charge parents a top-up rate?
No. You cannot charge hourly top-up rates if you’d normally charge more than £4.50 per hour.
Can I charge for food and additional activities?
Yes. If necessary, you can charge parents for additional elements such as food, transport (e.g. drop off/pickups from school) and off-site activities which incur a cost.
Welsh Government guidelines state that parents should not be charged more than £7.50 per day for a full day session (approximately 10 hours). This would include three meals at £2 per meal and 2 snacks at a charge of 75p per snack. For a half-day session (approximately 5.5 hours) parents should not be charged more than £4.75 (two meals at £2 per meal plus a snack at a charge of 75p per snack). For sessional care where a meal is not provided but children receive a snack, guidelines are that parents should not be charged more than 75p per day for snack provision.
How will I get paid?
Further information about how to claim will be sent to you once you have signed up to participate in the offer.
How do I take part?
In order to deliver the offer, please complete the Provider Agreement Form and return to the Childcare Offer team via email to childcareofferproviders@rctcbc.gov.uk or by post to:
Childcare Offer Team
Tŷ Trevithick
Abercynon Road
CF45 4UQ