As with all childcare, what it best for you may not be the same for others. The key is finding the option that fits best with your child's needs, how much flexibility it can offer and affordability. Locations, holiday cover, hours needed are facto...
There are a number of different options for parents wanting to find the right out of school childcare for their pre-teens that fits around their lives. Here Debra Tammer from Bestbear, which provides information on childcare services to parents,...
Posted on 27 January 2016
You may have read in the news or seen in the press reports of an announcement the government has made about its plans for childcare funding in the UK, with a new scheme set to be implemented Autumn 2015 at the earliest which may replace the existi...
Working parents have lots of different types of support available to help them with the growing cost of childcare. Visit Working Parents Zone to discover how your family can save money through employer Childcare Vouchers. Working Parents Zone is a...
Few jobs fall neatly into the school day and school holidays, so most parents require wrap-around care until they are happy with their child being home alone. The good news is you can still use Childcare Vouchers after your child finishes full tim...
If I were a bonneted Victorian peasant, my heart would gladden at the thought of a long summer break from school during which my children would gladly assist with the harvest. As a modern day working parent my shoulders slump at the thought of...
Childcare Vouchers schemes will close to new joiners from 4th October 2018, so parents need to now decide whether they'll benefit from them, and then sign up before it's too late. To make things clearer, we've put a list together of 10 of the most...
As a working parent you will have experienced first-hand the crippling cost of childcare frequently reported in the news. Many reduce this cost using Childcare Vouchers (CCV). Recent planned changes to childcare funding will impact any parent du...
Wrap around childcare has become the norm for modern families with young children. It’s rare for parents to find a job that fits in around school hours or school holidays, meaning there’s a demand for childcare that covers the hours needed while t...
Posted on 30 September 2015
Returning to work after having a baby is tough for new parents, especially if there are money worries about the cost of childcare. In April 2015, shared parental leave was implemented, allowing both parents to share up to 52 weeks of leave, not ju...
Posted on 28 October 2015
In December 2015, as part of their on-going childcare strategy, the Government released draft guidance for consultation, outlining plans to allow parents the ‘right to request’ wraparound childcare at their child’s school for outside the school da...
Posted on 10 December 2015
Shared Parental Leave is celebrating its first birthday this month. The idea behind the initiative was to enable parents to share work and childcare responsibilities more equally than was possible under previous maternity leave rules. To what...
In England 3 and 4 year olds of working parents are already entitled to 15 hours per week of free childcare however the government has plans to increase this to 30 hours per week. When and where? The scheme was rolled out in September 2016 to 8...
A new baby means big changes for the whole family. Second (or third) time around, you’ve got a pretty good idea what’s coming. But your toddler has no idea what’s about to hit them and there’s a good chance they won’t particularly like it when it...
Posted on 20 September 2017
As you may know, we recently held ‘Working Parents Week’ where we hosted a number of webinars supporting working parents. Thousands of parents joined us over the week to learn more about childcare options available to them and went away with some...
Our ultimate goal as parents is to enable our children to live, think and function independently. Yet a recent survey found, a quarter of children today undertake absolutely no household chores . Working mums complete on average 26 morning tasks...
Getting children enjoying healthy food from an early age is the way to help them eat well for the rest of their lives. But how can you tell if your child is getting a healthy meal when you’re not there? Well the good news is that school meals hav...
Posted on 28 September 2016
When it comes to a big celebration, some parents thrive on planning, decorating and hosting. Others - myself included - want to make birthdays as fuss-free as possible. Whatever your preference, it's clear from talking with other parents that many...
Halloween is one of the most eagerly anticipated sugar mining opportunities for children. This year, (in addition to managing sugar consumption, dreaming up costume and party ideas) many parents are concerned about older children trick or treating...
Posted on 19 October 2016
With the school holidays in full swing the search is on for low cost, high impact childcare. We’ve done the legwork to provide you with a comprehensive guide to summer holiday childcare options to accommodate all budgets and age ranges from four t...
Update: Since this article was originally published the government has extended the deadline to join a Childcare Vouchers scheme to October 2018. The precise date in October is yet to be confirmed by HMRC. All other information provided in this...
Posted on 19 December 2017
You may have been following our on-going fight to keep Childcare Vouchers open alongside Tax-Free Childcare, to give parents a genuine choice of the financial support that best suits their families’ needs. As things stand, the Government will clos...
Posted on 24 January 2018
Update: Since this article was originally published the government has extended the deadline to join a Childcare Vouchers scheme to October 2018. The precise date in October is yet to be confirmed by HMRC. All other information provided in this...
Posted on 13 February 2018
Update: Since this article was originally published the government has extended the deadline to join a Childcare Vouchers scheme to October 2018. The precise date in October is yet to be confirmed by HMRC. All other information provided in this...
Posted on 13 February 2018
Update: Since this article was originally published the government has extended the deadline to join a Childcare Vouchers scheme to October 2018. The precise date in October is yet to be confirmed by HMRC. All other information provided in this...
Earlier this month the government announced that Childcare Vouchers will remain open to new entrants alongside Tax-Free Childcare for a further 6 months beyond the original April 2018 cut-off. This is all thanks to parents like you who signed the...
Due to the roll out of Tax-Free Childcare, the Government will close Childcare Vouchers to new entrants next month on 4th October 2018 . This will also apply to existing users who change employer for any reason – they will not be able to re-join t...