Childcare and early years support

[james.robinson]

Hi everyone. I’m James and I lead Mencap’s policy work on children, young people and families, covering the early years, education, children’s social care and social security parent support.

I’ve been working for Mencap on for more than 6 years now and, even in that time, a lot has changed: a reorganisation of the NHS, 2 welfare reform Acts, changes to the way education is delivered and a new special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system, to name but a few. All of these changes affect people with a learning disability and their families in one way or another.

But perhaps the greatest change has been around the issue of childcare. It’s long been a political football; a chance for governments to show that they support families. And this has spawned a whole new, and potentially more affordable, childcare system with the stated aim of reducing the costs that families have to fork out on childcare for their children. By the end of the last parliament, government spending on childcare support was £5 billion a year and a further £1 billion a year has been pledged until 2020.

The most recent of these changes came through the Childcare Act 2016 which introduced an additional 15 hours of free childcare for 3 and 4 year old children of ‘working parents’. This is on top of the 15 hours of free early education that families of all 3 and 4 year olds can already receive. This latest change is due to come into force nationally from September 2017.

These things are all useful to bear in mind when looking for childcare for your child. But what does this all mean for children with a learning disability?

Well, we know that disabled children struggle more to access childcare, either because settings aren’t equipped to meet their needs, or because it tends to cost families more for a childcare place (an average of over £5 an hour, in fact!). This is in spite of laws that ensure that children with a learning disability have the right to receive childcare and that childcare providers must not deny disabled children access to childcare because they are disabled.

This means that, while these new measures are welcome, families of children with a learning disability still suffer a severe disadvantage in the childcare system.

I’m here to answer any questions you have about childcare, or, indeed, wider early support for children with a learning disability. You may have a burning question about the new childcare reforms coming in next year; you might want to know more about your legal rights; you might just want to find out what support you and your child can get.

Either way, I’ll be here until the end of February, so now’s your chance to ask that question you’ve always wondered about!

[c_bone]

Hi James. You mention there is 15 hours of free education and childcare available for 3 and 4 year olds? Is this per week? My son is 18 months old (2 in August) and I’m starting to think about what happens when the new term starts in September. He has Down’s syndrome and I want him to start his learning as early as possible, plus I want to go back to work, since my middle child has just started primary school. I think I’ll struggle to pay his childcare costs as they’re so high. Is there anything I can do to make it more affordable, like it is for parents of 3 and 4 year olds? Would I need to be in work first?

Thanks.

[james.robinson]

Hi @c_bone, thanks for your question. First of all, yes the 15 hours of free education is per week, or 570 hours per year in total. Fortunately for you, there are also 15 hours of free childcare per week for some 2 year olds as well as 3-4 year olds, so you may be able to take this up for your son once he turns 2.

The free childcare offer for 2 year olds isn’t available to everyone, but if your son is in receipt of Disability Living Allowance or a statement of SEN/an Education, Health and Care Plan, for example, they will be eligible to receive it.

You don’t have to be in work to qualify for this; for example, your son can get 15 hours of free childcare per week if you are on out of work benefits like Jobseekers Allowance. The gov.uk pages have a full list of eligibility criteria for the offer: https://www.gov.uk/help-with-childcare-costs/free-childcare-and-education-for-2-to-4-year-olds. You can apply for it via your local authority children’s department.

In addition, there are a number of additional measures to help reduce some of the costs of childcare, including tax-free childcare, employer childcare vouchers and financial support for low income households. There’s more information on the Mencap website: https://www.mencap.org.uk/advice-and-support/children-and-young-people/early-years-support/childcare

I hope that’s helpful and maybe there’s something in there that can help to make childcare more affordable for you. Please let me know if you have any further questions.

James

[mumof2]

Hi James,

Do you know what childcare is available for children of school age with severed/profound special needs and a diagnosis of autism? He’s non-verbal. And what would you typically expect to pay for the childcare? I would like to work and have been a single parent for 4 years without the option of working more than two days a week as childcare for two kids would be extortionate over the holidays.

Thanks.

[james.robinson]

Hi @mumof2,

Thanks for your question - a very good one! The story is a little different for school aged children as the options tend to be fewer (as I’m sure you’ve found!) and there are fewer subsidies like the free childcare offer I’ve mentioned in previous posts. However, there are still options available to you such as:

• Extended schools that offer things like breakfast or after-school clubs beyond normal school hours. If your son’s school doesn’t offer these services, they can also be offered by local authorities or other voluntary organisations. A large number of these will be registered with Ofsted as well. There is usually a cost involved in this, which will vary considerably.

• Childminders offer a very flexible approach as they’re self employed and can work with groups or individual children. They usually negotiate rates with parents, typically based on an hourly rate, and can be highly variable in price. I’ recommend you contact the organisation PACEY to find out more information about childminders: http://pacey.org.uk

• Nannies are also an option, providing care for a child in your own home. However, they don’t need to have early years qualifications like childminders. Again, you act as their employer so rates vary depending on the individual situation.

• Work place nurseries are sometimes offered by some employers and some are even offered for free.

Many of the above have specialisms in meeting the needs of disabled children and will normally advertise this fact. However, this can make them more expensive. The best place to find out what’s available is probably through your local Family Information Service - this should be pretty easy to find, but here’s a useful tool if not: http://finder.familyandchildcaretrust.org/kb5/fct/childcarefinder/home.page

You can also see what childcare is available locally to children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) by looking at your council’s ‘local offer’ which will be on their website.

In terms of costs, I completely understand the issues facing you - ones which are shared by many. As I mentioned in the previous post (above), there is some financial help, including childcare vouchers (that are given to you by your employer) and tax free childcare (in which 20% of your costs could be met by government). You can also get financial support for childcare through child tax credits and working tax credit (worth up to £1,960 a year) if you satisfy certain criteria including working 16+ hours a week and using an registered provider (find out more here: https://www.gov.uk/working-tax-credit or call the Tax Credit helpline on 0845 300 3900). You can apply for the latter even if you’re about to start a new job or are on leave.

I’m sorry I can’t be more specific around costs you would expect to pay. This is because there is tremendous variation across the piece, particularly for school age children and especially for children with additional needs as the nature of the needs can result in great fluctuations in price. For example, an independent parliamentary review into childcare for disabled children found that parents carers of disabled children reported paying £5 or more per hour (86% of parents), £11-20 per hour (38% of parents) and even as much as £20 per hour (5%). The national average cost per hour for childcare across all ages is around £3.50-£4.50.

I hope that’s a helpful start and please let me know if you have any further questions.

James

[Rachel]

Hello there,
I am new here, so am not even sure if this will post!
I have a daughter with downs, who is 18 months old.
I returned to work in september, but am unable to fulfil my contract hours (i had a discussion with my boss in april, and he said i could reduce my hours. Sociel services had tried to help me find a specialist childcare place due to her medical needs- she is on oxygen and peg fed etc but couldnt match her needs)
so at the moment i am working one day a week less than i should.
I applied formally and my request was turned down (even though i work for the dwp, and there is lots of scope to accomodate different working patterns)
What does this age two childcare entail, does it have to be at a mainstream nursery etc?
An educational psychologist came and assessed my daughter this week, so i dont know if this links in to why she has been assessed now, she came with my portage visit, who obviously knows i have been unable to get childcare in place.
Thank you in advance, hopefully this appears in the right place!
Rachel

[james.robinson]

Hi @Rachel, thank you for your comment, you ask some really interesting questions that I can certainly try to help you with.

I have a few ideas that might help you - leave it with me while I do some investigating and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

In the meantime, to answer one of the questions you mentioned, the free childcare offer for 2 year olds doesn’t have to be in mainstream provision: the criteria for providers is that they have to be ‘approved childcare’, specifically:

• an Ofsted-registered childminder, playscheme, nursery or club

• a registered school

• a childminder or home care worker with a registered agency

Not all settings will choose to offer free childcare. The best way of finding out which settings provide the offer is through your council’s local offer (available on their website) or through your local Family Information Service.

Thanks again,
James

[james.robinson]

Hi again @Rachel,

I’ve pulled together a bit more detail for you.

Your concerns seem to boil down to 2 major issues, as far as I can see: a lack of childcare for your daughter to meet her needs and problems in finding the work flexibility you need to balance your work and caring responsibilities. I’ll try and tackle both of these, one at a time.

It’s first of all important that you’re aware of what childcare is available to you in your area, most of which will be from age 2. This can be found on your council’s local offer or through your local Family Information Service. You might also want to explore the full range of childcare options, including childminders who can often offer more specialist skills and those who are registered are also eligible to deliver the 2 year old free childcare offer. The organisation PACEY can help with this.

However, it’s clear that you are finding that the childcare that is available for your daughter is limited which could be because she’s not yet 2 or, as you say, could be linked to providers’ confidence in meeting her needs. What I would say, with regard to the latter, is that it’s important you’re aware of your (and your daughter’s) rights to access childcare and receive early education, irrespective of needs. Many childcare providers will have what is called a Special Educational Needs Coordinator (or SENCO for short) who can help to discuss how they can support your daughter and offer you the chance to ask questions of them too.

It’s also worth being aware that providers will also be given an additional amount of money in future to help meet additional needs, which should increase your options.

It also sounds like assessments are taking place at the moment which will hopefully help to better establish your daughter’s needs. The assessment you mention could be part of an Education, Health and Care needs assessment, to help determine whether your daughter is eligible for an Education, Health and Care Plan (that recently replaced statements of SEN). This could help improve your daughter’s rights to receive specific support, including early educational support. You can also request assessments for your daughter’s social care needs as well - this is known as a ‘Child in Need’ assessment and should also consider your wider family needs too. Your council should also be aware of your needs for support as a carer and should assess for these if they think you appear to have needs for support.

Moving on to flexible working. As you mention, you’ve had a discussion at work about reducing your hours, but you also have a right to request flexible working hours that might help you to address some of the issues you mention. You can find out more information here: https://www.gov.uk/flexible-working/overview. If this is the request that was turned down, then it must have been done so in a ‘reasonable manner’, including offering an appeals process. You might also want to consider whether any discrimination has informed the decision not to offer you flexible working e.g. direct disability discrimination by association might apply if you can show that the reason for the refusal is because your child is disabled. Carers UK has written a useful factsheet on this.

I’d also recommend, if you haven’t already, looking to see if there are any options for childcare in the workplace e.g. creche facilities or other onsite childcare options.

I hope this is a useful start and please come back to me if you have any further questions or there are other issues you’d like me to cover.

James

[james.robinson]

Hi @mumof2,

I just wanted to get back to you quickly on your question about the typical cost of childcare. Since my reply to you, I have found a ‘childcare calculator’ online.

This gives the average cost of childcare depending on a number of situations, but doesn’t account for the fact that costs for families with having a child with SEND are, as I mentioned in my previous post, generally higher.

I hope that’s helpful.

James

[Izzy15]

Hi,
Our daughter is 6 years old and has been given a place at Special School for September. This means we need to find a new child minder which in itself isn’t easy but the main worry is the transport. The form we’ve been sent states that the child can only be collected from and taken to their home address. As we’re both teachers we need to find wrap around care but this would now appear impossible according to the form.

[james.robinson]

Hi @Izzy15, thanks for your question.

A lot of parents have issues with ‘home-school’ transport arrangements either in terms of eligibility for free transport or flexibilities, and it sounds like the latter is the case for you with regard to your childcare arrangements.

Transport arrangements vary from local area to local area, so it might be best for me to pick up the specifics with you over email as I can then look into your particular council’s policies around this: james.robinson@mencap.org.uk

However, there is national guidance that all councils should base their policies on, with specific reference to pick up points:

“With regards to pick up points, local authorities may at their discretion use appropriate pick up points when making travel arrangements. For arrangements to be suitable, they must also be safe and reasonably stress free, to enable the child to arrive at school ready for a day of study.”

It’s therefore clear that the suitability of transport arrangements for the individual child/family should be taken into account by the council when making these decisions. This looks like it could be relevant with regards to the requirement to only collect and drop off your daughter at the home address and might be worth exploring further.

Thanks again,
James

[SarahL]

Hello @mumof2

Did you find any suitable (and affordable) childcare for your son? Do you have an update you could share with other parents on here.

Thanks
Sarah

[SarahL]

Hello @Rachel

Did you manage to find suitable childcare for your daughter? Was James’ advice any help? It would be lovely to hear how you are both getting on.

Many thanks
Sarah