Over recent months, the team at tiney has been working closely with the Department for Education to secure key changes to the government guidance for childminders. We have been striving to ensure childminder voices are heard and their futures are prioritised.
We are really pleased that many of the changes we have been advocating for - including monthly payments for childminders, clearer funding rules, and ensuring local authorities recognise Childminder Agencies like tiney’s Quality Assurance processes without adding extra work for childminders - are now being introduced in the new Early Years and Childcare guidance.
While we’re thrilled to see these changes come into effect, this is just the beginning. We’ve been hearing promising signs on several other key issues that we’ve raised for our community (here’s looking at you, free milk!), and we’re working hard to drive further positive changes. Here’s a round-up of the latest changes to this important guidance:
1. Local Authorities must pay providers monthly
A key clarification in the new guidance (point A4.13) confirms that local authorities must pay childminders the full amount of their funded hours entitlement on a monthly basis, unless there is a strong justification not to.
This is a huge win for childminders, and something we actively lobbied for after hearing from our community about inconsistent and delayed payments from local authorities making it difficult to manage their businesses. More consistent payments will make a real difference, helping with budgeting and improving cash flow.
2. Local Authorities must recognise Childminder Agencies’ Quality Assurance
We know that some of our childminders have encountered problems in some Local Authorities where they have required additional inspections. Local Authorities (LAs) are now required to recognise and accept the quality assurance ratings provided by Childminder Agencies (CMAs) without imposing additional inspections.
This means that childminders registered with CMAs, such as tiney, will have their CMA quality assessments acknowledged by LAs as the official standard. If your Local Authority is not following this guidance, contact tiney immediately, and we will support you in challenging this.
3. Clarification on funding points
The updated guidance clarifies that CMAs cannot retain any funding from:
- The Dedicated Schools Grant
- The Early Years Pupil Premium
- The Disability Access Fund
At tiney, we already follow this policy. We have always passed on 100% of these funds to childminders and do not charge tiney fees on this funding. We will continue to follow this policy and also not charge on any other supplementary payments including IDACI, flexibility or quality supplements and grant payments.
The guidance also states that LAs must work with CMAs to determine whether funding is paid directly to childminders or routed through the agency. We are continuing to work on building strong relationships with over 130 LAs and supporting childminders with funding applications and admin across all LAs.
4. Childminders must provide a clear breakdown of charges on invoices
The new guidance requires all childminders to provide parents with detailed invoices that clearly separate free entitlement hours, additional private paid hours, food charges, non-food consumables, and activity charges.
For many childminders, this means adapting their invoicing process to meet these new requirements. However, tiney childminders don’t need to worry about making changes, as our invoices already include clear line items distinguishing funded hours from paid sessions, along with separate entries for any additional charges such as meals or other fees.
5. New Guidance on ‘consumables’ and what childminders can charge for
An area that has caused confusion for some in our community is what qualifies as a consumable and whether childminders can charge parents using funded hours for certain items. The new guidance provides more clarity by introducing specific (though not exhaustive) categories of consumables that can be charged for, though also clarifies that there can not be mandatory charges for parents who are using funded hours.
You can charge as ‘consumables’ things such as nappies, wipes, sun cream, meals, snacks and extra activities such as music classes, trips, or celebrations as long as these are not mandatory charges that parents cannot opt out of.
6. New Guidance on artificial gaps in funded hours
The new guidance also clarifies that funded hours cannot be allocated in ways that force parents to pay for additional time.
The new guidance explicitly states that funded hours must be structured in a way that allows parents to work without forcing them to pay for additional care. Funded hours must be scheduled in continuous blocks whenever possible and parents must be able to use their free hours without unnecessary paid gaps.
An example is that childminders won’t be allowed to offer funded hours from 9am-12pm & 2pm-4pm, with parents having to pay privately for the 12pm-2pm gap.
We’re here to help!
Reach out to our team if you have any questions on the above or if you’re interested in becoming a childminder with tiney.
In the meantime, we’ll continue to lobby for future changes, including further flexibilities for childminders, free milk eligibility and additional government support.
