Funded childcare places

Childminders provide care and education often in their own home. They can look after up to a maximum* of 6 children under the age of 8, but normally only 3 of them can be under 5 years old at any one time.

*If they have an assistant/or work with another childminder, this will increase the number of children cared for on site.

Most will work early mornings, evenings to coincide with school drop offs, collections and school holidays. Some also work weekends or provide care overnight. Costs can vary.

Considerations

Childminders are ideal if you want:

• your child to be cared for in a family home with fewer other children
• flexible care with many open all year around
• children of different ages to be cared for together
• school run/walking bus if parents need to get to work early or finish late
• the feeling of one-on-one care with children
• regulated and inspected in the same way as any other childcare type

Pre-school playgroups provide childcare and early education generally for 2 to 5 year olds.

Pre-schools must adhere to staff and child ratios as outlined by Ofsted and follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework to provide high quality childcare. They offer sessions that do not cover a full day for example, from as little as 3 hours to 6 hours during term time. 

Considerations

Pre-school playgroups are ideal if you want:

• your pre-school child to mix and learn to socialise
• a wide range of services
• if you're not at work full-time and prefer more sessional based care
• to volunteer as a helper

Day nurseries provide early education and childcare for children birth to 5 years old, and some day nurseries will offer before and after school provision.

They must adhere to staff and child ratios as outlined by Ofsted and follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework to provide high quality childcare. Opening times tend to coincide with a standard working day, typically between 7:30am - 6:30pm and many are open for 51 weeks of the year.

Considerations

Day nurseries are ideal if you want:

• your child in a fixed location 
• somewhere open virtually all year round
• the reassurance that there will always be someone there to care for your child - even if someone is off sick
• your child to mix with potentially lots of other children
• long hours of childcare in the day

We are currently working with all Early Years providers across Leicestershire to develop a tailored SEND report that will be easily accessible to all parents looking for childcare. The reports will be available under each individual provider's page at Find a childcare provider.

What to consider

When you are deciding about the right childcare provider for your child, you may want to consider:

• The provisions that are available and the size of the provision. For example, if you know your child doesn't like large open spaces or noisy environments, it may be worth considering a smaller provision or childminder.
• The qualifications and experience that staff hold, for example, have they had experience with children with similar needs in the past? Do they use Makaton? Are they British Sign Language trained? Have they undertaken any qualifications around Autism? Are they willing to engage in further training to support your child and their needs?
• Is your child allowed visits before starting? Are you, as their parents/carers, allowed to stay for some sessions? Are you happy with the settling in plan?
• What is their accessibility – do you need to consider ramps, so your child can access all areas independently?
• What changing facilities or accessible toilets are there in the provision?
• Do they use health plans and what are their protocols for any emergencies?
• The provisions behaviour policy
• How the setting communicates with you to celebrate and share experiences of the day?
• How lunch and snack times work – what if your child has any dietary needs or feeding equipment, how would this impact on their lunch times
• Experiences of working with wider professionals, including health teams, EYSEND advisors, Portage practitioners, Area SENCO’s, Speech and Language Therapists, Psychologists etc.

These are just some ideas to consider. Remember, as parents/carers, you know your child the best and will know what they need from their Early Years provision.

Get support

Children up to statutory school age with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) may be able to get home visits and extra teaching to help with their development.

For more information please visit Extra help for pre-school children, where you can find support that’s available, including support to access a provision if your child has a medical need.

These settings allow children to attend before and after school and sometimes during the school holidays (holiday clubs). They mainly provide care for 3 to 11 year olds (or older on secondary school sites).

They are in or near schools or youth/community centres and can be run by activity companies, nurseries, schools and voluntary or private companies. Some settings may collect your child from school and take them to the club if they are off the site of a school, which is a service many childminders also provide.

Some schools offer a variety of activities on top of the normal school day. These range from activities such as music, art or sport or extra study support. This may not always meet the need of working parents.

From September 2024, parents can expect to see an increase in the number of wraparound childcare places available across the country due the government expansion of this provision to support working parents.

The aim is that all parents in England with primary school aged children will be able to access wraparound care in their local area during the school term time.

Types of out of school care

• Breakfast clubs - open in the morning before school
• After school clubs - open after school until around 6pm
• Pre schools, day nurseries and childminders all can offer out of school care alongside schools
• Holiday play schemes - open during the holidays with varying opening hours

Considerations

Out of school care is ideal if you want:

• a safe and fun place for your child to stay after school until you can collect them at the end of the or drop off early on the way to work
• older children to be supervised where they can do their homework
• your child to play with other children and make new friends