Childcare for School Age Children

The Family Information Service can provide contact details of child carers in your area. Contact the FIS on 0800 195 1635 Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm for a list based on your personal requirements including opening hours and school collections, or go on-line at www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/fsd. Not all providers agree for their details to be available on this website so if you cannot find the details you are searching for please contact the FIS.

There are a number of options if you are looking for childcare for children over 5 years old. Although childcare for over children over 8 years old doesn’t need to be registered, the majority are registered through the Voluntary Childcare Register. Registered childcare has been inspected by Ofsted to make sure it meets National Care Standards. The premises are also regularly inspected to ensure they are suitable and safe.

People working as registered child carers have to meet strict standards of care. They’re usually CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) checked.

If you use registered childcare, you can claim Tax Credits to help with childcare costs.

The following types of childcare are usually registered:

Registered Childminders

Registered Childminders look after your children, along with others, in their own home. They usually look after children of any age.

Childminders can care for up to six children under 8 years old (including any of their own) at any one time. They can care for any number of children over the age of 8, providing the numbers don’t affect their ability to care for those under 8. However, a childminder can only look after a set number of children from each age category.

The average cost of a childminder in Lincolnshire is around £3.20 per hour. This works out as between about £130 for a 40 hour week. Childminders are often able to offer more flexible care to deal with shift patterns, early mornings/late evenings, weekends and some are registered to offer overnight care.

Many childminders will also drop off and collect from local schools, and offer care in school holidays. Most childminders take children to 11 years old but there are many that take secondary school age children.

Out of School Care

Out of School Care is available for children of school age and is made up of a combination of:

Breakfast and After School Clubs

They offer care before school starts, often from about 8am, and after school ends until about 6pm. Many schools run their own breakfast and after school clubs or allow others to run them on school grounds – these are usually only open to children attending that school. Some out of school clubs are run on non-school premises or by a local Early Years provision and most of these will drop-off and collect from local schools.

The average cost is between £3 and £8 per session for breakfast and after school clubs, though some breakfast clubs are free to attend and charge for breakfast from a varied menu.

Most primary and secondary schools offer breakfast clubs. Most primary schools have some kind of after school care, including activity clubs, and increasing numbers of secondary schools are offering after school activity clubs (often called Safe Place To Be provision or Extended School Services).

Holiday Schemes

Holiday schemes run during school holidays. They are usually full days from 8am to 6pm, but children can attend part-time if required. Clubs are run on school grounds or in other suitable places, and are sometimes activity-based such as sports or music. Some holiday schemes are run on non-school premises or by a local Early Years provision

On average, school holiday care costs between £15 and £25 for a full day.

Many are open for children up to the age of 11 years and increasing numbers are available for secondary school age children (Safe Place To Be provision).

Children with disabilities

Many child carers offer care for children with disabilities and additional needs:

• Inclusive Childminders - this scheme has been developed by the National Childminding Association (NCMA) in Lincolnshire. It helps childminders and families through support and appropriate training.
• A number of services also offer support out of school providers so they can offer an inclusive service to children.

Updated information

The Family Information Service send regular updates to all the county’s child carers to ask for up-to-date information on the services they offer, including opening times, school collection and charges, as well as whether they can care for a child with a disability or additional needs.

In addition, Ofsted send updated information on any newly registered or closed child carers so we have an accurate picture of care in the county. We need permission to share child carer’s details with enquirers and to add their details onto the internet.

Contact Details

Go to downloads tab for a list of NCMA development workers.