Formal childcare in Luton - www.luton.gov.uk
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Formal
childcare
in Luton
Family
Luton
In ic
f orma
tio n S e r v
e
www.luton.gov.uk
What is formal childcare?
Any registered childcare (i.e. not care provided by friends or relatives) which is required in order to
enable parents to work or to undertake training leading to work.
Formal childcare does NOT include:
- education or activities provided by a school for a pupil during school hours, unless the pupil has
not yet started key stage 1 (thereby including nursery and reception classes)
- care provided for a child by a parent, step-parent or person with parental responsibility; or any
relative; or foster parent (local authority or private)
- care provided by a children’s home, a care home, a hospital or a residential family centre, a
young offender’s institution, a secure training centre, or a secure care home within any of those
establishments.
1
Where formal childcare is provided
Registered childminders – provide childcare in the childminder’s own home.
Pre-schools – meet at a variety of premises which include church halls, community centres or private
premises.
Home childcarers – provide childcare in the child’s own home, can work for up to two families at the same
time.
Day nurseries – are normally held in purpose built or adapted private premises.
Children’s Centres – these are located across the borough.
Maintained nursery schools and classes – these tend to be on school sites but are usually within a separate
building and normally have their own entrance.
Out of school care – this is often provided at venues where care / education has / is about to happen: for
example before a school opens at 9am or after school finishes at 3.30pm.
Holiday playschemes – some providers run playschemes during the holidays – these can be on school sites, in
community centres, churches etc.
Parent and toddler groups – these meet in various venues which include churches, community centres,
children’s centres.
Crèche – crèches are often arranged specifically to meet the need of parents for example while they are
training, attending a conference or even shopping and are often held close to where the parent is.
2Types of formal childcare
Registered childminder
Registered childminders provide high quality home based childcare, play, learning and family
support within local communities.
Registered childminders provide:
- consistent care - as the child is cared for by the same registered childminder every day
- flexible care – a registered childminder can care for a child whose parents may work atypical
hours and will provide full, as well as wraparound, childcare
- inclusive care – a registered childminder can care for children of different ages and abilities
together within family groups
- community focused care – reflecting the needs of local communities and enabling children to
be part of local communities
- a personalised service – meeting the individual needs of children and families
- a supportive service – babies and younger children in particular do best in home-based
childcare because they are cared for in smaller groups and by the same registered
childminder or nanny every day
- Ofsted registered if they provide care for children under eight.
3Pre-schools
A pre-school offers registered childcare for children aged two - five. Pre-schools
are often non-profit organisations which are run by parent committees and
volunteers.
Registered Pre-schools provide:
- government approved early years education all year round
- they are regularly inspected by Ofsted
- offer ‘sessions’ from two and a half hours to four hours
- children receive learning and development activities suitable for their age
- extended care – many pre-schools are able to offer extended childcare, in the form of longer
sessions which can cover the whole day
- all staff are trained at pre-schools to deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage.
4Day nursery
Day nurseries provide care and education. Various organisations can manage day nurseries.
These include the council, the community, privately run and some may be based at a workplace.
Community nurseries offer full day care and are often managed by ‘not for profit’ organisations.
Privately run nurseries are independent businesses. Day nurseries based at workplaces tend to
be linked to employers who offer the places to staff children.
Day nurseries provide:
- care and education for children six weeks to five years
- some day nurseries may offer out of school care for children five to eleven
- normally open for 50 weeks a year, full or part time places available
- Ofsted registered.
5Children’s Centres
Children’s Centres provide services to families with under fives within the local community.
Through Children’s Centres, families can access integrated early years education and care.
Children’s Centres childcare can be provided by either the private or voluntary sector.
Children’s Centres provide:
- integrated early education and childcare
- high level of qualified staff
- family support – advice on parenting, specialist services that may be required
- health service for children and parents – breast feeding support, health visitor etc
- information and links to help parents find work – local job centre plus and training
opportunities, adult learning
- open a minimum of 48 weeks a year, five days a week for 10 hours a day
- Ofsted registered.
6Maintained nursery school and classes
A nursery school can be located in the same grounds as a school for older children and the
children tend to feed into that particular school. However attending the attached nursery does
not guarantee a place at the school. Nursery schools have their own staff, foundation stage
teachers and sometimes their own head teacher, nursery nurses and classroom assistants.
There are different types of nursery schools, state nursery schools which are funded by the local
education authority, and private nursery schools which are independently run.
Features of nursery schools:
- they deliver the government approved early years curriculum
- inspected by Ofsted regularly
- provide childcare for children three - five years (some will take children from
two and a half)
- usually operate during school hours - 9am to 3.30 pm - term time for full or
half day sessions
- some nursery schools provide out of school care before and after school during term time
- sometimes there may be a waiting list and you may have to live in the particular catchment
area of the school to be eligible for a place.
7Out of school care
Out of school care or out of school activities provide formal childcare before and / or after the
‘normal’ school day. Out of school clubs are usually held at school.
Out of school care:
-
is particularly beneficial to families where parents need to bridge the gap between school
hours
and work hours
- can include sport, art, music or extra study groups.
- Ofsted registered if they care for children under the age of eight.
8Other childcare
Holiday playschemes
Holiday playschemes operate in school holidays. They offer different age groups of children a
range of organised activities, from sports to arts and outings.
Holiday playschemes provide:
- childcare in the school holidays
- if the playscheme runs for more than two hours a day it will be registered and inspected
regularly. Should this be the case, the playscheme will be run by staff who will be
appropriately qualified.
9Parent and toddler groups
Parent and toddler groups offer the opportunity for parents and carers of toddlers and babies
to attend sessions together. Most groups do not have a waiting list, therefore parents and carers
can just turn up.
The advantages:
- gives your child a change of scenery and a chance to meet and play with other children
- gets the parents and carers out of the house to meet other parents and share experiences
- they are informal but tend to meet on a regular basis.
10Crèche
Crèches provide occasional childcare for children under eight. They can run alongside other
forms of childcare. A crèche is a facility where a child can be left on an occasional basis, for
example while a parent is shopping (many shopping centres provide a crèche facility) or while a
parent attends training.
11How much will it cost
The cost of childcare varies according to the provider – it is advisable to identify the type of
childcare which best meets your needs and then to call FIS (details on page 15) to get the latest
information on costs in Luton.
As a general indicator, on average the various providers charge the following rates:
Registered childminders £210 per week
Pre-school’s / playgroups £9 per session
Out of school care From £3 per session
Nurseries in Children’s £195 per week
Centres
Maintained nurseries Free (because children usually
only attend when they are
eligible for 3/4 year old funding).
However parents can pay for
additional hours.
Holiday playschemes £16 per day
Day nurseries £185 per week
Home childcarers £240 per week
Please note that the prices quoted above are an average. For exact charges it is important to contact
your provider of choice directly.
In Luton all three and four year olds are entitled to 15 hours of free care and education for up to 38
weeks per year.
12Can I afford childcare?
Whatever your financial circumstances, there may be help available to meet the cost of good quality childcare.
There are many benefits that working families don’t claim (e.g. tax credits), because they do not know enough
about them or they believe they are not eligible. It is always worth looking into these benefits, as you may be
missing out on money which could make a big difference to the affordability of your child’s care.
Tax credits
If you have children (employed or self employed), you may be entitled to receive Tax Credits.
There are two types of Tax Credits: Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit.
Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit do not affect your Child Benefit payments, this benefit is calculated
and paid separately.
Child tax credit (CTC)
CTC is available to families with children whether you are working or not. How much you can claim depends
on how many children you have, your weekly childcare costs and your annual household income. Your annual
household income will include any other state benefits you receive.
The most you are able to claim per week is up to 70% of childcare costs, but no more than;
£175 if you have one child
£300 if you have two or more children
For accurate figure relating to your own eligibility please contact HMRC Inland Revenue on 0845 300 3900
or visit www.direct.gov.uk/taxcredits
13Working tax credit
Working tax credit supports working people (employed or self employed) on low incomes by topping
up earnings. The childcare element of working tax credit can pay up to 70 percent of eligible child
care costs, to a maximum of £175 per week for 1 child and £300 for two or more children. The
childcare element of working tax credit is paid to the main carer of the child and not the main
earner.
There are additional elements to working tax credits available as follows: for 25+ working at least
30 hours, disabled worker and severely disabled.
For more information call the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) tax credit helpline on 0845 300
3900.
www.hmrc.gov.uk/taxcredits
14Family
Luton
Family Information Service (FIS)
Every local authority has its own Family Information Service (FIS), where you can find
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out the various childcare and early educational services available in your area. Luton’s
FIS provides information, advice and guidance on a variety of services, help lines and
websites that can be useful to parents, carers, children and young people from 0-19 years old.
The FIS database contains detailed information on childcare providers and the services they provide. They can
send you a list of these providers who are Ofsted registered on request.
Luton’s FIS have their own directory of service for children and young people, which is easy to use with a
choice of search options to cater for all levels of internet expertise. The online directory allows the general
public to search for a wide variety of information ranging from childcare, family services and additional needs
to drugs and alcohol services. The online directory will also have information on local holiday schemes and
youth clubs as well as details of local/national counselling and therapy organisations. This directory can be
accessed online at: www.luton.gov.uk/childservicesdirectory
As well as the childcare service Luton’s FIS officers can help parents get back to work by offering advice and
guidance to those who are looking to work in childcare.
For further information or if you would like to contact FIS, please see the back cover for details.
15What does Ofsted use to make judgements and what do they mean?
Ofsted use a straightforward four-point scale to make a judgement on how well a provision meets each of
the outcomes set out in the every child matters agenda. They use this to make an overall judgement on
the quality of the care provided. The judgements are:
Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality
Good: this aspect of the provision is strong
Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound
Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough
If a service is judged as satisfactory, good or outstanding, the report may include requirements or
recommendations to help the service improve its provision further. They will be asked to respond to any
requirements set within a timescale and another visit may take place to check progress. Other
recommendations may be followed up when they are next inspected.
What happens if the quality of care is inadequate?
Ofsted will judge the quality of care as inadequate if there is a failure to deliver a suitable service for the
type of children’s service provided. If they make this judgement they will make this clear to the service
at feedback and discuss what needs to be done next to improve the service. Another inspection will take
place within a short timescale.
16Contact Details: Luton Family Information Service is open from 8.45am to 5.15pm, Monday to Thursday and 8.45am to 4.30pm on Fridays. If you wish to speak to an Information Officer face to face, please come to the Family Information Offices located on the 2nd floor at Wesley House (address below). There is an answer machine service for calls outside of these hours. Please leave a name and number and a FIS officer will get back to you. Luton Family Information Service: 2nd Floor, 19 Wesley House, Luton, LU1 2SE Tel: 01582 54 88 88 Fax: 01582 54 76 70 Email: fis@luton.gov.uk
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