More than a million families are already benefiting from 15 hours week of free childcare for 3 and 4-year olds, alongside around 160,000 of the most disadvantaged two year olds. Many of the details of the new scheme are not yet clear. The existing 3 and 4-year-old offer is a universal one, with nearly 90% of children of that age group accessing it.

The extra 15 hours are for children from families where both parents are working. It is not clear how much or how long parents will have to work in order to qualify for the extra childcare time. The government has committed to increase the average childcare funding rates in order to pay for the extra hours. Let’s wait and see!

Further Infomation

• Childcare Choices Website: www.childcarechoices.gov.uk
• PDF Download: Parents update Childcare Choices April 2017

• Access information and pertinent video links in relation to child developmental milestones.
• Utilise theoretical frameworks, via succinct knowledge summaries, video links and hyperlinked references to enhance an understanding of child development and its relevance to practice.
• Draw on significant legislation and policy relevant to work with children and families in NI.
• Utilise and reflect on pertinent case studies which are based on realistic scenarios in practice.
• Critically reflect on social work / early year’s observational skills and knowledge.
• Make decisions based on evidence whilst on practice placement or within the work setting.
• Enhance your professional competence in relation to decision making, based on observations and assessment of child development.
• Understand the impact of child neglect on child development.

The Northern Ireland Social Care Council has been working in partnership with Skills for Care and Development, the University of Ulster and Queens University Belfast to develop this new and innovative mobile application for Child Development. It is underpinned by the expertise of the two universities in Northern Ireland and the authorship and intellectual copyright belong to the Social Work Departments at Queens University Belfast and the University of Ulster through both authors, Dr Anne Campbell and Professor Mary McColgan.

The need for such a responsive tool was identified by the Office of Social Services who have jointly funded its development along with the Skills for Care and Development (the sector skills Council for Social Care and Early Years).

The app presents a cost effective method of delivering peer reviewed educational material and for this reason, the development of the app has been warmly welcomed by employers across all sectors in child care service provision.

Download it here…

Gateway Brockhurst has won five awards!  Well done to the children and staff for all their hard work. Now it’s time for the children to prepare, cook and eat the food they have grown, yum, yum.

Gateway Elson (St Columbas) has won the Container garden and the Tallest sunflower category!

Debbie Burks, Manager, said: we are all very proud of this the children have enjoyed helping in the garden!

Tax-Free Childcare will be available to up to 1.8 million households to help with the cost of childcare, enabling more parents to go out to work, if they want to, to provide greater security for their families. Here’s the top ten things to know about the scheme…

1. You’ll be able to open an online account
   You’ll be able to open an online account, which you can pay into to cover the cost of childcare with a registered provider. This will be done through the government website, GOV.UK. Tax-Free Childcare will be launched from early 2017.

2. For every 80p you or someone else pays in, the government will top up an extra 20p
   This is equivalent of the tax most people pay – 20% – which gives the scheme its name, ‘tax-free’. The government will top up the account with 20% of childcare costs up to a total of £10,000 – the equivalent of up to £2,000 support per child per year (or £4,000 for disabled children).

3. The scheme will be available for children up to the age of 12
   It will also be available for children with disabilities up to the age of 17, as their childcare costs can stay high throughout their teenage years.

4. To qualify, parents will have to be in work, earning just over an average of £50 a week and not more than £150,000 per year
   The scheme is designed to be flexible for parents if, for example, they want to get back to work after the birth of a child or work part-time.

5. Any eligible working family can use the Tax-Free Childcare scheme – it doesn’t rely on employers offering it
   Tax-Free Childcare doesn’t rely on employers offering the scheme, unlike the current scheme Employer-Supported Childcare. Any working family can use Tax-Free Childcare, provided they meet the eligibility requirements.

6. The scheme will also be available for parents who are self-employed
   Self-employed parents will be able to get support with childcare costs in Tax-Free Childcare, unlike the current scheme (Employer-Supported Childcare) which is not available to self-employed parents. To support newly self-employed parents, the government is introducing a ‘start-up’ period. During this, self-employed parents won’t have to earn the minimum income level.The scheme will also be available to parents on paid sick leave and paid and unpaid statutory maternity, paternity and adoption leave.

7. If you currently receive Employer-Supported Childcare then you can continue to do so
   You do not have to switch to Tax-Free Childcare if you do not wish to. Employer-Supported Childcare will continue to run. Parents won’t be able to register for Employer-Supported Childcare after Tax-Free Childcare is introduced, but those already registered by this date will be able to continue using it for as long as their employer offers it. However, Tax-Free Childcare will be open to more than twice as many parents as Employer-Supported Childcare.Employers’ workplace nurseries won’t be affected by the introduction of Tax-Free Childcare.

8. Parents and others can pay money into their childcare account as and when they like
   This gives you the flexibility to pay in more in some months, and less at other times. This means you can build up a balance in your account to use at times when you need more childcare than usual, for example, over the summer holidays.It’s also not just the parents who can pay into the account – if grandparents, other family members or employers want to pay in, then they can.

9. The process will be as simple as possible for parents
   The process will be light-touch and as easy as possible for you. For example, you’ll re-confirm your circumstances every three months via a simple online process; and there will be a simple log-in service where parents can view accounts for all of their children at once.

10. You’ll be able to withdraw money from the account if you want to
    If your circumstances change or you no longer want to pay into the account, then you’ll be able to withdraw the money you have built up. If you do, the government will withdraw its corresponding contribution.More information will become available ahead of the scheme being introduced so parents making childcare decisions are able to consider all their options.

• Eligible 2-year-olds will also continue to receive free early education and childcare for up to 15 hours per week. But what about parents with children outside this age range?
• Tax-Free Childcare was passed into law in December 2014, offering to cover 20% of childcare costs (up to £2,000 per year), for children up to the age of 12 for eligible families. However, the Government has released very little information about the scheme beyond a simple page on the GOV.UK website.
• At Budget 2013 the Coalition announced that Tax-Free Childcare would be available from autumn 2015, however the details are still to be disclosed.
• Once the scheme is up and running the existing Childcare Voucher Scheme will close to new entrants, and recent research has highlighted that some parents may be left out of pocket.
• Those who already take childcare vouchers can choose to remain in their employer’s scheme if they would be better off.

Childcare Savings Calculator