Funded Hours at a Childminder: How the Payment Works

Using your 1,140 funded hours with a registered childminder is straightforward once you understand who pays whom. It can be a great solution for families who want the flexibility and consistency of a childminder while taking advantage of the free entitlement. This guide explains exactly how the payment flow works, what to look out for, and how the funded scheme interacts with the childminder's own pricing.

The basic principle: Funding Follows the Child

Scotland operates a Funding Follows the Child model. Every eligible child has an entitlement to 1,140 hours of funded early learning and childcare per year (from age 3, earlier for eligible 2-year-olds). The funding belongs to the child, and parents can choose where to use it, provided the chosen setting is a council-approved funded partner that has signed up to the National Standard.

Council nurseries are guaranteed funded providers. Private nurseries and registered childminders can choose to opt in by signing a partnership agreement with their local council.

How the payment flows

The mechanics are clean:

1. You apply to use your funded hours at a named childminder via your council's portal.
2. The council confirms the childminder is an approved partner and that your child is eligible.
3. You and the childminder agree a schedule — typically 30 hours per week term-time, or fewer hours stretched across the year.
4. The childminder bills the council monthly (or whatever the council's cycle is) for the funded hours delivered.
5. The council pays the childminder directly. You pay nothing for the funded portion.
6. Any extra hours you've contracted for above the funded allocation are billed to you at the childminder's private rate.

You don't handle the funded money. It moves from council to childminder without passing through your account.

Why some childminders don't sign up

The council's hourly rate to childminders is typically around £5-6 per hour. Childminders' private rates in Scotland generally run £6-8 per hour, sometimes more in city centres or for experienced practitioners.

That means a childminder taking funded hours can be earning less per hour than they would for a privately paying family. Some accept this because they value the steady council payment, the longer-term contracts, or simply want to support families who couldn't otherwise afford care. Others choose not to sign up because the maths doesn't work for their business.

This is neither a black mark against childminders who opt out, nor a free lunch for those who opt in. It's a commercial decision that affects which families they can serve.

A typical weekly arrangement

Here's an example of how funded and paid hours sit together for working parents using a childminder.

Some families instead use stretched delivery: rather than 30 funded hours × 38 weeks (= 1,140), they take roughly 22 funded hours × 52 weeks, smoothing the funded portion across the year. Stretched delivery is offered by many funded childminders and is worth asking about if you work year-round.

What happens during the childminder's holidays

A funded childminder is a self-employed sole trader. They take annual leave, and during those weeks:

• No funded hours are delivered, so no funded payment is made
• There is no contractual obligation for the childminder to provide alternative care
• You pay nothing — but you also have no provision

Plan for typically 4-5 weeks per year of childminder closure. Use your own annual leave, family help, or arrange backup with another registered childminder. Some local areas have informal "buddy" networks where childminders cover each other.

If the childminder leaves the funded scheme

A childminder can choose to exit the funded partnership, usually with notice to the council. If this happens mid-year:

• The council will work with you to relocate your funded hours to another provider
• Your child can stay with the same childminder if you switch to fully paying privately
• Funded entitlement doesn't disappear — it just moves to wherever you next use it

Read the funded provider clauses in your contract so you understand what notice the childminder must give you if their funded partnership ends.

Splitting funded hours

Many parents split funded hours between a childminder and another provider — for example, a childminder on Mondays and Tuesdays, a council nursery on Wednesdays-Fridays. Most Scottish councils permit this provided both settings are approved partners. The split is recorded in your council application and each provider bills for their portion.

What "extras" might still cost

The funded hours cover the care and early learning delivered during the funded sessions. Some childminders charge separately for:

• Meals (if not included in the funded session)
• Outings with admission fees
• Consumables (nappies, wipes — though many include these)

These extras should be transparent in your contract. Funded hours are not "free" in the sense that nothing costs anything; they cover the core care and learning delivered during those hours.

Bottom line

Funded hours at a childminder give you the consistency of one carer, the flexibility of childminder hours, and the financial benefit of the funded entitlement. The system works smoothly once it's set up, but only with childminders who have opted in. Ask early, plan for the holiday gaps, and treat the council and the childminder as your two key contacts.