If you’re going back to work and you’ve got children, you can get financial and practical help with childcare. From tax credits to flexible working arrangements, there’s lots of support available to make your life easier.

Early year’s education

All three and four year olds are entitled to twelve-and-a-half hours of free early year’s education a
week, for 38 weeks a year, with a ‘registered provider’ such as a school, nursery or playgroup,
regardless of income or circumstances.

Some large employers provide registered early years education at the workplace. You can also
use a registered childminder if they’re part of an approved childminding network.

Tax Credits

Child Tax Credit
Child Tax Credit is an income-related allowance for parents and carers of children or young people who are still in full-time education. Nine out of ten families with children qualify for Child
Tax Credit.

Working Tax Credit
If you’re working more than 16 hours a week and you’re on a low income, you may be able to get Working Tax Credit too.

The Working Tax Credit includes a specific element to support the cost of registered or approved childcare for working parents. The childcare element can help with up to 80 per cent of your eligible childcare costs.

There are limits on the weekly costs you can claim. If you pay childcare for:
• one child, the maximum you can claim is £175 a week
• two or more children, the maximum is £300 a week

Time off and flexible working

Time off (‘parental leave’)
If you’re a working parent, you can take up to 13 weeks parental leave for each child until their fifth birthday (you get more than this if you have a disabled child). Your employer doesn’t have to pay you when you take this leave, but they might as part of your employment package.

Flexible working
Flexible working lets you ask your employer for a new working pattern to help you care for your child. You have a right to request a flexible working pattern if you’ve got a child aged under six or a disabled child under 18. Your employer has to consider your request seriously.
To have the right to ask for flexible working, you must:
• have worked for your employer for at least 26 weeks
• be the child’s mother, father, adopter, legal guardian or foster parent – or be the partner of one of these
• have responsibility for the child’s upbringing
• be making the application so that you’ll be able to care for the child
You’ll need to fill in an application form when you apply for flexible working. You can only make one application a year.

Job Grant
Job Grant is a tax free lump sum you may get when you start full-time work (at least 16 hours a week). You’ll get it if you (and your partner if you have one) are aged 25 or over and you’ve been getting one or more of these benefits for at least 26 weeks before you started work:
• Income Support
• Jobseeker’s Allowance (both types)
• Incapacity Benefit
• Severe Disablement Allowance
For lone parents and couples with children the grant is £250. (If you or your partner are under 25 years, different rules may apply.)

Child Maintenance Bonus and Child Maintenance Premium

Anyone receiving Income Support (IS) or income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA(IB)), who is getting maintenance for a child or children, may be eligible for the Child Maintenance Bonus. The bonus builds up at £5 a week up to a maximum of £1,000 and is paid as a one-off lump sum when you find work, or when your working hours increase to a level where you no longer get IS or JSA(IB).
However, the Child Maintenance Bonus is not available under the new child support scheme, introduced for new cases from 3 March 2003.
Instead, anyone who cares for a child and who is getting IS or JSA (IB) will keep up to £10 a week of any maintenance paid for their children. This is known as the Child Maintenance Premium.
If you are covered by the old scheme, you’ll continue to build up the bonus until you are transferred to the new scheme.

Getting help from your employer

Many employers now offer their employees help to pay for childcare, this can include:
• paying you cash to pay for childcare
• paying the childcare fees directly
• paying the child’s school fees
Should your employer offer any of the above, you will be liable for tax and national insurance contributions on whatever aid is given. There are other types of childcare support your employer could provide however, without you having to pay tax or national insurance contributions. These are:
• childcare vouchers
• directly contracted childcare
• workplace nurseries

http://www.direct.gov.uk

Helping parents who work outside the normal ‘nine to five’ to balance their work and family lives requires new policies and services, rather than simply persuading existing childcare providers to work longer hours themselves.

Two new research reports for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation argue that stronger action to protect working parents from the growing pressures of the 24-hour, 7-day-a-week society may be at least as important as making childcare services available at evenings and weekends.

Childcare services at atypical times

A study of the barriers preventing expansion of existing childcare services to cover non-typical hours identified just a few, innovative, services that have started to emerge. These included a community nanny scheme, weekend childcare provision at a hospital and a childminding network to help police employees.
But researchers at the Institute of Education’s Thomas Coram Research Unit (London University) who surveyed the 150 Early Years Development and Childcare Partnerships in England discovered that while there was near-unanimous agreement on the need to develop childcare services outside normal working hours, fewer than a third had yet taken any action. They also found that:

• While most parents working non-standard hours apparently relied on partners, relatives or friends for childcare, demand for formal childcare services appeared greatest for an hour or so on either side of the working day, rather than late evening, overnight or at weekend.
• Childminders were generally seen as the most appropriate formal care providers at non-standard times because of their home base. However, a survey of 600 childcare providers found that few childminders or nurseries took children before 7am and hardly any worked beyond 7pm or at weekends.
• Although more than a third of childminders were prepared to consider working outside their current hours, this rarely extended to late evenings, overnight or weekends. They and other childcare workers were often concerned about the impact on their own families if they worked longer hours.

June Statham, co-author of the report, said: “Childcare services at non-standard times of day cannot simply be bolted on to existing services. It may be better to develop new types of service, recruiting people without current childcare responsibilities, rather than expecting existing providers to extend their hours.”

Ann Mooney, co-author of the report, said: “The overriding requirement is to consider the needs of children and to help parents balance their family responsibilities with the requirements of paid work. We need policies for atypical hour’s childcare services, but we also need to consider how employment policies and working hours could be made more ‘family friendly’, so that parents have less need for care at these times.”

Combining self-employment and family life

The second study carried out by NatCen, the National Centre for Social Research, used representative survey data on more than 10,000 families with children under 15 to examine the experiences of self-employed parents. This showed that around one in four families have at least one self-employed parent. Among these:

• Almost half the mothers interviewed (47 per cent) had chosen self-employment mainly for childcare reasons, compared with a small minority of fathers (6 per cent).
• While self-employed mothers generally enjoyed more flexible working arrangements than their employee counterparts, this was less true of women who employed other people in their businesses. The latter were more likely to work long, atypical hours and to make use of formal childcare services. They were also more likely to report unmet demand for childcare.
• Although many self-employed mothers had decided to become self-employed for the flexibility it can provide, this was not always a matter of free choice. Some low-earning self-employed mothers chose self-employment because they lacked access to affordable childcare.
• Long working hours were widespread among self-employed fathers. Nearly six out of ten fathers (59 per cent) who employed other people worked more than 48 hours a week compared with 41 per cent of self-employed fathers who had no staff and 28 per cent of fathers who were employed. Almost two-thirds of the self-employed fathers with staff said they usually or sometimes worked on both Saturdays and Sundays.
• Self-employed couples were especially likely to work long, non-standard hours. More than a third (35 per cent) worked a combined total of over 90 hours a week, compared with less than 15 per cent of other dual-earner couples.

Alice Bell, co-author of the report, said: “Self-employment is often associated with flexibility and choice over when, where and how much to work. While the evidence suggests this is generally true, this study reveals important qualifications concerning long hours and atypical working as self-employed parents try to meet their work and childcare responsibilities.”

Ivana La Valle, co-author of the study, added: “It could be argued that self-employed parents should benefit from similar legislative protection against excessive working hours to the law covering employees. However, these research findings also raise the question of how far government should go in promoting a ‘24-7’ society given the negative consequences for family life. For example, less Sunday working would benefit many owners of small businesses who are parents, as well as employees with children.”

http://www.jrf.org.uk

Whether your child is sporty or interested in the arts, how to keep them busy if you can’t take all the time off work is an issue that will affect parents.

All parents need to keep their children occupied in some way or the other during their summer break. The type of activities you plan will depend purely on your child’s interests. Some children are very creative and will prefer to do things with their hands while others will like to run around and play. For parents it is difficult to keep their child occupied by themselves. You can rarely find a job that fits into your child’s school year. It is difficult for parents to take leave right through their children’s summer vacation. What do parents do during school holidays?

There are many out of school care providers, holiday clubs and summer club/camp providers that can be booked to take care of your child when they are on their school break. Working parents do not always have the time to search and find good, quality local clubs. To make it easy for parents to find out of school care for their children My Family Care created their Out of School Care service.

Out of School Care
This is a search and booking service and the first of its kind in the UK. They help parents find their nearest out of school care and holiday camp providers. Booking a holiday camp or a summer camp through the site will be the same charge as if going direct to the site.

Parents can search and find at a short notice the summer camps or holiday clubs that are best for them. The Out of School Care service can be booked up to 3 months in advance. You can also book much closer to the time – sometimes the site will ask you to call Out of School Care for information, as providers work to strict ratios. It is better to book the club you want in advance as it gives you the time to investigate the different options available and feel comfortable with the club you’re booking.

Out of School Care is the perfect solution for parents who want to keep their children busy with quality activities during their school break. The summer camps and holiday clubs help your children develop their hobbies while keeping them occupied. This is a good way to bring out your child’s creativity and develop your children’s confidence. At summer clubs and holiday camps your children will make a lot of new friends and interact with people in their own age group, increasing their friends circle. These holiday camps and clubs help your children realise their potential while bring out the best in them.

So as soon as the summer holidays begin, get in touch with Out of School Care.

Holiday camps and play

We cannot under-estimate the importance of holiday camps. Holiday camps initiate play and motivate children to interact with each other. Out of School Care, an online search and booking service for parents looking for holiday camps, believes that children need to explore with their senses. This exploration starts as soon as the children get their hands on to something interesting. Holiday camps help improve a child’s concentration level. Enjoyable play can arise from continuous provision through an appropriately planned learning environment, or as adult-initiated special play experiences. Holiday camps focus on creating a well- resourced indoor and out-door learning environment, since it has been noticed that children return to and revisit things that were important to them that morning, the day before of the previous week.   

Holiday camps and children’s development

According to Out of School Care important life skills are learnt through play. Holiday camps help children to interact with each other and with adults as they run around, play team games and sports. It is at holiday camps that children learn to choose friends, be creative, adapt and develop new skills. Children learn to express a wide range of emotions at holiday camps, as holiday camps stimulate children to be expressive.

Benefits of holiday camps

Holiday camps purposefully designed indoor and outdoor games benefit children in a number of was. Stated here are just a few:

• Holiday camps are known beyond reasonable doubt to lead to desired behaviour change in bringing about enhanced self-esteem and a sense of purpose, a reduction in offending behaviour, social inclusion and correction of eating disorders
• Holiday camps lead to participants taking up an active sport on a regular basis
• Holiday camps have a wide array of skills and techniques that help people to learn from the consequences of their actions, this helps in shaping values and attitudes eg: towards environmental conservation, considerateness towards others and self-improvement
• Learning the skills of social interaction (making friendships)
• Experiencing life away from parents/home (learning to become independent)
• Enjoying a complete change, rest and relaxation

What can we conclude?

From this one can conclude that holiday camps are essential to a child’s growth and development. Every child need to be sent to a holiday camp as it is through play initiated by holiday camps that children learn many life skills the most important being, interaction with peers. The good play experiences that children have through holiday camps can turn a child into a well balanced grown up and prepare him/ her with the essential life skills needed to live a well balanced life.

Source:

·          http://www.n-somerset.gov.uk/Education/Early+years/play/benefitsofplay.htm (Benefits of holiday camps the points have been taken and modified)

Play is a serious business and a lack of play opportunities for children is becoming a form of deprivation, according to play experts and national organizations. According to BBC news article “All too often the subject of play has been trivialised, consigned to local newspaper pictures of bouncy castles and ‘gappy toothed children with their happy faces painted like clowns’ says Penny Wilson of the Play Association Tower Hamlets. ‘ This has nothing to do with what play is about. Play is an instinctive and essential part of childhood which is becoming more and more under pressure, with evidence that a lack of spontaneous play leaves a long term legacy. Play allows children to work out their emotions. When you’re playing you’re finding out who you are. Play isn’t about fun. Even with very small children, you can see there is a symbolism to their play, there is a meaning to it.”

Play is vital to the development of good physical and mental health as well as learning. It is through play that children explore social, material and imaginary worlds and their relationship with them, elaborating all the while a flexible range of responses to the challenges they encounter. Children are getting lesser opportunities to play as more and more structured ‘educational’ activities takes its place. Play deprivation is now recognised as a real issue. The National ‘Playwork Principals’ states “All children and young people need to play. The impulse to play is innate. Play is biological, psychological and a social necessity, and is fundamental to the healthy development and well being of individuals and communities. Play is a process that is freely chosen, personally directed and intrinsically motivated. That is, children and young people determine and control the content and intent of their play, by following their own instincts, ideas and interests in their own way and for their own.”

Play can be provided by a host of different environments not just play areas. Play can also be provided within breakfast, after school and holiday clubs, in the home, garden, beach, woods, parks, countryside, etc. It is essential that we provide a wide variety of play opportunities for our children. Out of school clubs employ qualified and experienced playworkers who have a good understanding of natural play. It is equally important to recognize that play is not necessary provided in structured activities such as sports clubs, drama clubs, etc. although the activities provided in these clubs also have a value. Providing play is not an expensive challenging exercise. There are a number of free and easily accessible opportunities for play e.g. playing outside or indoors maybe in a bedroom, on the stairs or even in a cupboard! Play equipment is best when it is free and easily accessible e.g. stones, wood, things you have in the home like sheets, pillows (for a pillow fight maybe) boxes, etc.

It is also important to recognize the risks involved in play and the fact that it is an important part of positive child development, that minor accidents are a part of play and a necessity for children to learn their own capabilities and develop their skills. No- one has learned to ride a bike without falling off! This is an acceptable danger as the benefit far out weighs the risks. In this climate of Health and safety anxieties it amazes us that people still let their children learn to swim! A very dangerous activity, but here, again the benefit far out weighs the risks. 

Bibliography: http://www.club4kids.org/

Play is learnt while we are still babies. It starts with sucking toes, moving arms in the air or the waving of legs. As a child develops and grows, play becomes more sophisticated: the child stars to ride a bike, climb trees and understand different games/sports. A cornerstone of good early years practise is that children learn a great deal through play. This principle applies just as much to babies and very young children as it does to slightly older ones. Play brings children closer to each other and helps them become independent. They are able to work problems out and to develop their own concentration and imagination. 

Children need to explore with all their senses, an exploration that frequently starts with a child getting their hands on to something interesting. We’re often told that ‘children learn by doing rather than being told’ – so resources and planning ideas need to focus on making materials available and playing games with children. Enjoyable play can arise from continuous provision through an appropriately planned learning environment, or as adult-initiated special play experiences. Parents need to focus on creating a well-resourced indoor and outdoor learning environment as it has been noticed that children return to and revisit things that were important to them that morning, the day before or the previous week. 

It is through play that children develop essential life skills, they learn how to interact with their peers and with adults, they learn to choose friends, they learn how to run around, play team games and sports, they learn to be creative, to adapt and develop new skills, and they learn a whole range of emotions. It has been said that children who are encouraged to express themselves freely through play are able to perform better at school.

Purposefully designed indoor and outdoor games can benefit children in a number of ways such as:

• Outdoor programmes are known beyond reasonable doubt to lead to desired behaviour change in bringing about enhanced self-esteem and a sense of purpose, a reduction in offending behaviour, social inclusion and correction of eating disorders
• Sports programmes lead to participants taking up an active sport on a regular basis
• Development trainers have a wide array of skills and techniques that help people to learn from the consequences of their actions, this helps in shaping values and attitudes  eg: towards environmental conservation, considerateness towards others and self-improvement
• Learning the skills of social interaction (making friendships)
• Experiencing life away from parents/home (learning to become independent)
• Enjoying a complete change, rest and relaxation

One can conclude that, every child needs to be allowed to play as they learn so many skills from playing and from falling over. Play is essential to every child’s development as good play experiences can turn a child into a well balanced grown up and prepare him/her with the essential life skills needed to live a well balanced life.

In the years gone by it was a difficult task to source local, affordable and quality out of school clubs or holiday camps for children. Parents would receive word of mouth recommendations, or they would read leaflets posted in their children’s school or they would browse through difficult to navigate government websites to find an out of school club or summer camp for their children to keep them occupied through their holidays. Even if they found an out of school club or summer camp there was no way of knowing if they had space or the ability to take online bookings or how reliable and organized the club or holiday camp was. Hence keeping their children occupied was a nightmarish ordeal  

 Now a website have been developed as a simple search and booking service for parents looking for out of school care and children’s holiday club providers in their area. This website is a simple, online cost effective solution for parents who are fighting a loosing battle trying to keep their children busy and occupied during their summer vacations as this website zero’s in, on out of school care clubs and summer camps in your locality to provide you with only the best.

 This website also works with companies to help provide their employees with the backup childcare they want and need. This has proven to be advantageous to the companies as it helps manage absenteeism (Childcare problems during holidays are a major problem and a little discussed reason for absenteeism. A funded comprehensive child care plan for school holidays addresses this problem head on). It also helps balance work life by providing help with the employee’s childcare issues, this way the company directly helps the parents achieve the work life balance they strive for. The out of school childcare website is cost effective, they only charge a small management fee and only when the service is used the company can pay the amount it had agreed to contribute. This is a better solution than buying permanent places at holiday clubs that most employees simply cannot use.  

So what are you waiting for, register with this website and enjoy the services, and the peace of mind that it has to offer.

Sharing a nanny is a perfect childcare solution for parents who are working part- time and cannot afford a nanny. These parents can now share a nanny by visiting a nanny share website to find a local mum with the same childcare requirements and together they can employ a full time nanny and shared the cost. Nanny share gives you the flexibility and quality care of a nanny and the cost can be shared with another family.

Finding another family to share a nanny with was always difficult. Earlier if one wanted to share a nanny, one had to put an advertisement in the local newspaper. It was always a nightmare, slow and time consuming. Now with an online database of people looking for families to share a nanny with one can search through the database and contact these families at leisure.

There are parents who work part- time and require childcare only 2 or 3 times a week either in the morning or in the evening. These families can use an online database to find another family to share their nanny with. It works well as the nanny can work for one family in the morning and for another family in the afternoon, hence both families can have the flexible care they need and share the costs between them.  

Employing a full time nanny is very expensive as mentioned in the Metro dated Tuesday April 18, 2006 “Many of the countries 111,484 registered nannies can afford a luxury life style too, with those choosing to live in their employer’s home commanding an average salary of ₤ 28,171 in London. Salaries for those who live out are about ₤ 30,000 a year, often more than what teachers and nurses earn”. For this reason, it is only wise for parents working part- time to share a nanny with another family. Finding a family to share a nanny with is very easy and cost effective now. You can register with an online database that helps you to source out families wishing to share nannies in your locality. These online databases have a very large resource bank of families wishing to share a nanny and hence finding a family to share your nanny with, will be not at all time consuming and difficult as in the old days.

So hurry up and register with these online databases if you are a mum working part- time and cut down your childcare costs, by sharing your nanny with another family in your locality.

Most people are rather nervous when it comes to answering interviews. Hence I have jotted down a few points that will hopefully help you when answering a nanny interview.  

When you go for a nanny interview ask your potential employers questions about their family. Remember a good nanny takes interest in the employer’s family and wants to learn about their child rearing philosophies, daily routines, their children’s interests and the family’s nanny requirements. This sort of friendliness and attention demonstrates to the family that you are serious about your career as a nanny and that you desire to fit into their family.

There are a few things that you have to take with you while attending a nanny interview:

• An organized, clear and easy-to-read CV free of spelling and grammatical errors.  Make sure you bring a cleanly printed copy
• Your dynamic experience as a nanny should be communicated in your CV.  What were your responsibilities?  Were you required to go above and beyond standard nanny duties? 
• Ensure that the contact details for your referees are current and accurate.  If you have written references, bring copies of those as well.
• Bring your certificates and diplomas in a folder to show the parents.
• Dress neatly and conservatively for your nanny job interview.  You should not be too dressed up as it’s impractical and not reflective of the job you are seeking, but nor should you dress as if you were going out to a club.  Nice trousers (no jeans or trainers!) or a skirt and sweater are always reliable choices.
• Smile, have a firm handshake, and be open and friendly.  After all, you are going to be looking after children
• Be open and honest, but be sure to share the positive aspects of your previous nanny jobs.  All negatives or bad experiences are actually opportunities to learn and grow
• Speak clearly and slowly.  Articulation is key.   
• Most importantly, ask lots of questions about the family, the children’s interests, their daily routines and activities.  If the children are present, be friendly, introduce yourself, and ask them about themselves.  Connecting with the children should be your primary goal. 

Nanny agencies recommend that the first interview be only between the nanny and the parents. If the family thinks you are the right person for them, you will be called for a second interview. So do not inquire about salaries or accommodations in your first interview.  It is more important to get to know the family with whom you are interviewing. Remember, you are trying to determine whether they are the right fit for you as well. It is at the second interview that you get to meet the children and know the full scope of the nanny job that is being offered to you. If you have been selected past the second interview your probable employer will call you and the other final candidates separately for a trial day where they will guide you through your daily routine and see how you participate. If they are satisfied with your performance you have got the job!

So all the best with the interviews and hope you succeed! 

After having short listed a few candidates for the post of nanny every family would like to interview them before offering them the job. A nanny agency like nannyshare can schedule these interviews for you as per your availability. 

In order to keep your relationship with your nanny lasting and rewarding for both parties, there needs to be a clear understanding between nanny and family from the beginning. How the family operates and how the nanny operates needs to be clearly articulated. The more experience nanny and family have in nanny-family relationships, the longer the interviews get, and more questions are asked. The more questions and topics covered in the initial interview, the more disagreements, problems, surprises and grey areas are totally avoided later. If the nanny asks a number of questions during the interview it shows that she has maturity, professionalism and a will to make a nanny-family relationship work.

Try and set a friendly and open tone during the interview so that with good nanny candidates it feels like a conversation. I highly recommend that you conduct first round interviews in the absence of your children. Initially, it is important for you to learn all you can about the nanny before introducing her to your children. If you still like the nanny after the first interview, then you can schedule a second meeting in which she can meet your children.

The site nannyshare gives you some points that are to be kept in mind during the interview

• On the personality of the candidate:

How well did you like the candidate?

How closely do their ideas about childcare match your own?

How easy would it be for you to share you home with them?

How well did they meet your expectations?

• On the professionalism of the candidate

How good are their qualifications?

How good is their knowledge of childcare?

How good is their first aid knowledge?

How committed to being a Nanny were they?

How well did they answer the interview questions?

How closely did their answers match you expectations?

• A background check of the candidate

How relevant is their previous experience?

How good were there references?

Are they experienced enough?

• How suitable is the candidate for the job?

How well do they match your criteria?

How keen did they seem to get the job?

How good is their availability?

How did they feel about the package on offer?

How well did you feel you met their expectations?

Check for the following documents

Insure you have copies of the following: references, Qualifications, Driving license, passport

• You need to discuss the following with the candidate

Responsibilities, house rules, the salary and benefits, start date

·         Make an overall assessment of the key strengths and the areas requiring improvement. Write a few summary comments about the interview for future reference.

With this you should get a good idea about the personality, strengths, weaknesses and professionalism of your nanny. You will also be able to judge whether your children will be able to adjust with her or not. All the best with the nanny interviews!