Childcare Business Grants Scheme

The grants could help local authorities encourage more childminders in their area to provide 30 hours.

How much funding is available?

The Childcare Business Grants Scheme is funded by the DfE. The scheme has been relaunched with new amounts available from 1 May 2017 and is due to close by 31 March 2018. However, there is a fixed amount of funding available, so it will end earlier if all the funding is awarded before March.

Three types of grants are available:

• £500 for an early years childminder or childcare provider on domestic premises
• £1,000 for an early years childminder or childcare provider on domestic premises of children with special educational needs and disability (SEND)
• £1,000 for a childminder agency

What is the definition of domestic premises?

Ofsted guidance defines an early years childcare provider on domestic premises as "working with three or more other people in a home to provide care for children in the early years group where at least one individual child attends for more than two hours in any one day".

It adds: "This may be the provider's own home or someone else's home, but is not usually the child's own home."

You have to register with Ofsted if you are caring for the children of more than three families in one of the children's homes. This type of provider may either employ the other people as staff, or work in partnership with them.

What are the eligibility requirements?

Bidders must be a childminder or childcare provider on domestic premises; a childminder agency operating in England, and be registered with Ofsted; or a childminder agency on the Early Years Register and be able to provide a copy of their registration certificate.

In addition, bidders must be a "new" business. This is defined as either having started trading within 12 months of the registration date on the applicant's Ofsted/childminder agency certificate or is due to start within the next six months. From 1 May, a newly registered business will be considered one that has been registered with Ofsted or childminder agency within the last three months.

The grants must be spent on costs directly related to setting up the childminding or childcare business and proof must be retained of how the grant will be spent.

Do providers have to be offering 30 hours of free childcare?

Yes. The grants are specifically designed to boost the number of places for 30 hours by encouraging more providers to offer them.

New providers must be planning to offer the 30 hours for three- and four-year-olds, or be in partnership with a childcare provider that does. If they are a childminder agency, they must be directly encouraging and supporting the registered childminders on their books to offer the 30 hours, either themselves or working with others.

Who is not eligible for grants?

Since grants were established in 2013, the DfE has provided more than £4m of funding and made over 7,000 awards. Amounts under the previous schemes were lower. Those who received a grant under previous Childcare Business Grants schemes cannot apply unless they are now applying as a childminder agency. Private nurseries, after-school clubs or other types of provider also cannot apply.

Will use of grants be scrutinised?

Those who receive a standard (£500) grant could be selected for a post-payment audit. However, providers who receive higher grants will automatically have spending audited. Examples of eligible expenditure for a childminder and childcare provider on domestic premises may include: training costs, health check costs, Disclosure and Barring Service costs, Ofsted registration costs and equipment costs. Examples of eligible expenditure for a childminder agency may include: registration, training, the process of establishing the business, marketing, recruitment of childminders and advertising to parents.

Funding In Brief

A survey of 420 school leaders by The Sutton Trust and National Foundation for Educational Research has found that 30 per cent are using pupil premium money, earmarked to improve the educational attainment of pupils from low-income families, to meet funding shortfalls. The proportion is marginally higher among primary school head teachers, with 32 per cent saying they are using pupil premium money in this way, compared with 27 per cent of secondary school leaders. www.suttontrust.com

After receiving high numbers of applications for capital funding worth up to £50m, the government has increased to £100m the amount available to help nurseries, pre-schools and playgroups upgrade facilities and develop new buildings. The Department for Education said the total investment will create 18,000 additional childcare places from September. www.dfe.gov.uk

The Nuffield Foundation is launching a funding opportunity in May for the development and evaluation of early years interventions designed to improve the outcomes of disadvantaged children. The fundingcall is part of a partnership between the Nuffield Foundation and the Education Endowment Foundation focused on thedevelopment and evaluation of early years interventions.
www.nuffieldfoundation.org

Shared Care Scotland is inviting third sector organisations to apply for grants to develop short breaks for carers and those they care for. A total budget of £500,000 is available for 2017 with grants of up to £50,000 possible. The fund will support projects that develop and deliver short breaks and services for unpaid carers of all ages including young carers. www.sharedcarescotland.org.uk