Early Education and Childcare

Childminders are self-employed childcare providers who will look after your child in their own home. Childminders are registered with Ofsted, and are inspected by Ofsted at least once in every four year inspection cycle. They may offer full day care or childcare before or after school or during school holidays.

Day nurseries look after and educate children from birth to age 5. There are different types of nurseries, including private, community, local authority and workplace nurseries. All nurseries should be registered and inspected by Ofsted. All nurseries have a designated Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) to co-ordinate provision for children with special needs.

View a full list of nurseries in Doncaster.

Sessional care provision provides play and education sessions lasting about three hours for children aged 2–5.

Breakfast clubs and after school clubs, also called out-of-school clubs, generally provide care for children aged between 4 and 14-years old, but you should check with each individual setting to see if they have their own age limits. Clubs normally run during term time and can offer care around the school day. 

Holiday clubs offer similar services to out-of-school clubs, but run during the school holidays. Some can offer a full-day place, but some only operate on a part-time basis and will only be able to offer children care for the morning or afternoon.

Such as breakfast clubs, after school clubs and holiday activities offered by schools to their pupils. These facilities can also be searched for by using the FIS Childcare Finder.

• 15 hours for eligible 2 year olds
• 15 hours for all 3 and 4 year olds
• 15 or 30 hours for eligible 2, 3 and 4 year olds

The government have announced their plans to extend the early years funding entitlements for working parents of children aged 9 months upwards. The expansion will be rolled out in phases, with the first set of new funding becoming available from April 2024. Find out more about the expansion to early years funding from April 2024.

• Tax credits for childcare
• Universal credit for childcare
• Tax-free childcare

You may be able to get help with childcare while you study. Schemes include:

• Care to Learn - for learners under 20 who are in school or sixth form.
• Learner Support - for learners over 20 who are accessing further education
• Childcare Grant - for learners who are in full-time higher education

Find out more about help paying for childcare while you study on the Gov.uk website.

All three and four-year-old children, and some two-year-olds, in England have either 15 or 30 hours per week entitlement of early learning and childcare. You can find out more information about how early learning and childcare is being delivered in Doncaster on our website.

In high quality early learning and childcare settings everyone is welcomed and the atmosphere is open, caring and friendly. Children’s wellbeing is utmost and they are treated as individuals. Adults are sensitive to children’s different traits and personalities. Staff are interested in your opinions about what your child likes and dislikes. Children are encouraged to develop their own ideas, thoughts and opinions.

They are involved in a wide range of exciting activities which are helping them to develop a curiosity about the world around them. Through rich playful experiences, children are developing early language and early mathematical skills. It is clear that adults in the setting enjoy being part of children’s early learning and development

For most children play is natural and spontaneous. Research has shown this is the best way for young children to learn. Through play young children develop their emotions, creative, social and intellectual skills. During play young children can learn about the world around them and practise new ideas and skills and solve problems. Your child will be encouraged to do all these things with friends and/or on their own, choosing from a wide range of experiences and activities. Play is rich early learning and adults provide support to enhance the learning. Learning experiences to develop language and number skills are key during play activities. Early learning and childcare is about learning, playing, exploring and having fun in a safe environment.

Early learning and childcare can be delivered in a nursery setting attached to a primary school or family hub, in a private nursery or in a voluntary nursery. Childminders also provide early learning and childcare, some operating with assistants so they can accommodate more children. You can find information on local childminder providers on our Childcare Finder.

It may be useful for you to arrange at least one visit and ask for the opportunity for your child and yourself to take part in some activities. Some of these transition activities may take place online or over the telephone. Take time to ensure that the setting meets your needs and that you feel your child will be valued as an individual, feel safe, feel secure and will enjoy being in the setting. Go with your instinct. Ask yourself - do you feel happy and comfortable?

There will be many questions you want to ask and it might be helpful to make a list before your visit. The following are some questions that may be useful when you visit:

• What are the settling in procedures?
• How will I know that my child will be safe and happy?
• Who will look after my child and help him learn?
• What will my child do during the session?
• What activities will my child be involved in?
• What will my child learn about?
• How will I know what my child has been learning?
• What do I need to bring for my child?
• What will my child do during the session?
• Can I stay with my child?
• In what ways can I be involved?
• Can my child come to nursery if he/she is not toilet trained?
• How will the setting support my child when he/she is toilet training?
• How much will it cost me?

You should feel comfortable to ask any questions that are on your mind.

The visit: virtual or in person

During your visit to the setting you should see and experience the following:

• a learning environment where children are happy, motivated and engaged in play experiences, including outdoors
• a leader who wants the best for all the children and is very proud of their achievements 
• lots of discussion and engagement between children and adults
• children who are curious, and inquisitive and adults support their interests
• good quality materials and resources, including some unusual items that would not be found at home
• confident, knowledgeable, approachable staff who are supportive to children and parents 
• staff listening and talking with children, families and staff
• the setting feels and looks safe and secure including a secure entry system
• clear information displayed for parents including a handbook, transition procedures, links with the community and learning opportunities
• children’s art, writing and photographs of activities are on display and everyone is proud of the these achievements.

During and after your visit you may wish to look at some more information about the setting. This will further help you choose the correct setting for your child. Some of the information you may find useful is:

• the current improvement plan for the setting
• most recent inspection reports available for the setting - you can download and read the latest Ofsted inspection reports here
• parent handbook
• enrolment policy
• transition procedures
• setting website/blog.

Primary teachers work closely with nurseries and childminder staff to ensure that information about your child's learning and achievements are passed on. Staff will also share other information that will help the teacher support your child's learning, for example friendship groups, preferred ways of working.

To help prepare your child for a good start you can:

• listen and talk to your child about this change in their lives
• involve your child in getting ready for school by helping choose the things they will need, for example their uniform, lunchbox, schoolbag
• talk to your school if you have questions or concerns
• support staff in getting to know your child, let them know about interests and health issues
• keep in touch with the school about anything that may affect your child's learning
• find out how the school will communicate with you.

You may wish to read or download Parenting across Scotland's top ten tips - starting primary school.

Starting Primary School

Download (2.45MB - PDF)

Attend induction events or introductory sessions - they are designed to let you and your child meet teachers and become familiar with the school. If you cannot attend an event, contact the school and ask if you can go along at another time. Some of these may be online, over the telephone or information sent in the post.

Be prepared with a set of questions covering all the things you and your child want to know about.

Schools will have information to share with you or available on their website, including:

• Contact details – including information on how the school communicates with its parents and how parents can communicate with the school
• Information about opportunities for parents to become involved in the school and in their child's education
• A statement of the school's culture, ethos and values
• Information on curriculum, assessment and reporting
• Arrangements for support for pupils
• School's performance and achievements
• Range of school policies and practical information