Every parent needs to consider which type of childcare is most suited to their personal situation. When a child stammers or, because of a family history you have a concern that stammering could develop, you need to factor in the need for your chosen provider to be interested in stammering, to have, or be prepared to acquire, information about it, to be willing to liaise with you and any speech and language therapist involved regularly.

What types of childcare are available to parents?

Choose from:

Registered Childminders

Nurseries and other daycare facilities

Nannies and home-based carers

Read the details of these different types of care before you decide what type you want for your child.

The first step

Find out what is available in your area

Call ChildcareLink on 0800 096 02 96 for the telephone number of your local Children's Information Service (CIS).

The CIS holds up-to-date lists of the majority of local childcare and education services with useful information such as opening hours, age restrictions, parking facilities and costs You can be sure of safety and standards as registered childcarers or places on the lists are regularly checked by the Office of Standards in Education (OFSTED). More services are providing more than just childcare, many offer a range of health, parental and family services too, in support of the whole local community. You may want to check whether a service provides regular contact with speech and language therapy services.

Help with costs

Tax Credits

Child Tax Credit

Child Tax Credit is an income-related allowance for parents and carers of children or young people who are still in full-time education. Nine out of ten families with children qualify for Child Tax Credit.

Working Tax Credit

If you're working more than 16 hours a week and you're on a low income, you may be able to get Working Tax Credit too. The Working Tax Credit includes a specific element to support the cost of registered or approved childcare for working parents. The childcare element can help with up to 80 per cent of your eligible childcare costs. There are limits on the weekly costs you can claim. At the time of writing, if you pay childcare for one child, the maximum you can claim is £175 a week, two or more children, the maximum is £300 a week.

Free Early Years Education

All three and four year olds are entitled to twelve-and-a-half hours of free Early Years education a week, for 38 weeks a year, with a 'registered provider' such as a school, nursery or playgroup, regardless of income or circumstances. Some large employers provide registered Early Years education at the workplace. You can also use a registered childminder if they're part of an approved childminding network, such as the NCMA Children Come First (CCF) network scheme or the Early Years Partnership of your local authority. This free education offer will rise to 15 hours a week from 2010, delivered flexibly over a minimum of three days.

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