Approved Childcare

Childcare vouchers cover children up to the age of 16 but can only be used to pay registered/approved childcarers. These include:

• a childcare provider approved under a Ministry of Defence accreditation scheme abroad
• an approved foster carer (the care must be for a child who is not the foster carer’s foster child).

In England only:
A person registered under Part 3 of the Childcare Act 2006. This will include persons on the following registers operated by Ofsted:

• the Early Years Register
• the general Childcare Register – compulsory part
• the general Childcare Register – voluntary part.

Schools - care provided by the governing body of a school is approved if it takes place:

• outside normal school hours (this means the normal hours of compulsory education adopted by the school as appropriate for the age of the child)
• on school premises, or
• on premises that are covered by the inspection of the whole school activity by Ofsted or the equivalent inspection body for certain independent schools.

Other care providers:

• a domiciliary worker or nurse from an agency registered under the Domiciliary Care Agencies Regulations 2002 providing childcare in the child’s home
• a person approved in accordance with the Tax Credits (Approval of Child Care Providers) Scheme 2005 to provide care in the child’s home or on other domestic premises

In Wales only:

• a childcare provider registered by the National Assembly for Wales (through the Care Standards Inspectorate for Wales)
• out-of-school-hours childcare, provided by a school on the school premises, or by a Local Authority
• a person approved under the Approval of Child Care Providers (Wales) Scheme 2007 providing childcare in the child’s home or if several children are being looked after, in the home of one of the children
• a domiciliary worker or nurse from an agency registered under the Domiciliary Care Agencies (Wales) Regulations 2004 providing childcare in the child’s home.

In Scotland only:

• a childcare provider registered by the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care
• out-of-school-hours childcare clubs registered by the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care
• childcare provided in the child’s home by, or introduced through, childcare agencies, sitter services and nanny agencies which are required to be registered.

In Northern Ireland only:

• childcare registered by a Health and Social Services Trust
• out-of-school-hours childcare, provided by a school on the school premises, or by an Education and Library Board, or
• a person approved under the Tax Credits (Approval of Home Child Care Providers) Scheme (Northern Ireland) 2006 providing childcare in the child’s home.

NB: Childcare provided by a relative* of the child is generally not eligible for help via the childcare element of the Working Tax credit or the tax and NICs exemptions on employer-supported childcare. The sole exception to this is the situation in which a relative has been registered or approved as a child-carer, and happens to care for a related child, but whose primary or main paid child-caring is for children to whom they are not related. In short being a paid child-carer for the child to whom they are related is INCIDENTAL to their usual paid child-caring. This care must be provided outside the child's own home.

* A relative of the child means a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, brother or sister -whether by blood, half blood, marriage, or affinity.