Nursery World - DfE axes childminder funding scheme

The Government has scrapped the only national Government funding scheme set up to help new childminders start their business, despite falling numbers in recent years.

The Department for Education said that the Childcare Business Grant Scheme for newly-registered early years childminders and childminder agencies in England will end in March 2019 because of low take-up.

The move has been criticised by early years organisations at a time when the number of childminders is dropping and has fallen by 27 per cent since 2012. The Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years warns that ending the grant is 'likely to accelerate the decline in childminders'.

Nursery World asked the DfE about the number of applications received and the decrease in applications.

The DfE said that since the scheme was refocused on childminding businesses in December 2016, there had been just under 5,900 applications as of 21 November 2018. Of these 4,529 grants were awarded. 1,185 individuals did not complete their application and 242 applications were rejected for not meeting the criteria.

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