Funded childcare for fostered children

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Funded childcare for fostered children

Foster carers who work outside of fostering may be able to access funded childcare for their fostered children.

Children in foster care may be eligible for 15 hours of funded childcare if it is consistent with their care plan and foster carers are in paid work outside their role as a foster parent.

For three and four year old children, the 15 hours is in addition to the universal 15 hours that every child is entitled to from the term following their 3rd birthday.

Before you apply for funded childcare for fostered children you should talk to the child’s social worker and confirm they believe accessing childcare is in the best interests of the child.

Eligibility criteria

The following criteria must be met for 15 hours of funded childcare to be awarded to a fostered child:

��ϲ��ͼ�� is the Corporate Parent of the child; if the corporate parent is another Local Authority you must contact them for an application form
it is in the child's care plan that attending a childcare setting for the additional hours is in their best interest
all foster parents in the household are working outside of fostering, or if a couple, at least one parent is working and the other parent is in receipt of a qualifying benefit
the foster parents are British or Irish nationals or have a visa allowing them to have access to public funds
the foster parents must live in England
the foster parent(s) must be in paid work, in addition to foster caring
non-foster parents within the household must be:
- working and earning the equivalent of 16 hours per week at the minimum wage or national living wage
- earning less than £100,000 per year

How to apply

Applications must be submitted in advance; funding can commence from the term after the child turns 9 months of age and the application has been received.

The application form must be completed in full and submitted to the Early Years Systems Team with all of the required supporting evidence.

Applications submitted between:	Funding can start from:
1 September to 31 December	1 January
1 January to 31 March	1 April
1 April to 31 August	1 September

Following a successful application, a code will be issued to the foster parent(s); the code must be refreshed every 3 months to continue being valid. If the family circumstances change and the above criteria is no longer met, the code will end and the fostered child will no longer be eligible for funded childcare*.

*If the child is two years of age, they will be eligible for Two Year Old Funding. If the child is 3 or 4 years of age, they will be eligible for 15 universal hours of funded childcare.

Funded Childcare for Fostered Children Application Form

Additional charges

Holiday and absent periods

If your child is accessing their funded hours over more than 38 weeks (stretched), you should not be charged during the holiday periods unless your child is accessing additional hours or services.

If your child is accessing their funded hours on a ‘term-time only’ basis and you do not wish to access paid for hours over the holidays, your childcare provider may not be able to guarantee your child’s place for the following term. You may be offered the option of paying a retainer to secure the place. This should be discussed with your child’s setting.

You are not able to claim back any funded hours that you child has been unable to attend. This includes illness, holidays, or any other absence. The funded hours will be used to keep your child’s place open until their return.

Lunchtimes

The funded place can be taken over a lunch break if this is offered by your childcare setting. Your setting may offer a meal at an additional cost, or you may be able to take a packed lunch; this should be discussed with your childcare setting before taking up the place.

Additional hours

You cannot be charged a registration fee if your child only accesses the funded hours. If using additional hours or services, you may be charged a registration fee, this should be discussed with your childcare setting.

If you are booking your child’s place in advance, you may be charged a refundable deposit to secure the place. This must be refunded to you by the end of the first term in which your child accesses funded hours.

Entitlement to benefits

Accessing your child’s free entitlement should not have a negative impact on your financial status, however it may reduce the amount of money you receive towards your childcare costs.

Useful links

Childcare

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