babies Archives - Leaps & Bounds Day Nursery

Tag Archive for: babies

Childcare funding has been all over the news in the UK this month, following the far-reaching childcare funding reforms that were announced in the Chancellor’s Spring Budget for 2023. The announcement is indeed of significant new funding, which is set to allow far more children and families to benefit from free, Government-funded childcare in the near future. Early indications are that it’s going to be a game-changer, with even younger infants gaining free access to an early years education and new parents, particularly mothers, having a much more viable route to returning to the workplace following the birth of a child. But what exactly are the changes and will they benefit your family? Today, we answer all such questions in our guide to the new childcare funding announced in the Spring Budget 2023.

New, Free, Government-Funded Childcare for Families - Coming Soon

The Chancellor has announced 3 key childcare funding improvements that will be phased in during the run-up to September 2025:

Up to 30 hours per week of free childcare will become available for eligible children aged from just 9 months right up to school age.
More generous Universal Credit childcare support will be available for working parents — and it’ll be pre-funded to ease cash flow.
Improvements to Government-funded childcare hours for working parents of school age children will be introduced, via a Wraparound Care ‘Pathfinder’ scheme.

Any one of the three funding reforms above could make a huge difference for eligible families. We’ll explore each in more detail below.

Up to 30 Hours Per Week of Free Childcare for Children Aged from 9 Months

Until now, only 3- and 4-year-olds in England were guaranteed to receive 15 hours (30 in some cases) of free childcare funding each week, and only some 2-year-olds have been eligible for the ‘15 hours’ scheme, for example if their families were in receipt of some kind of benefit. However, in what some might call a childcare funding revolution, the Chancellor has announced that many children aged from only 9 months will soon be eligible for 30 hours per week of free childcare. Their funded childcare hours could then be available to them from that young age right up until they leave early years childcare to start school around the age of five.

The funding will be rolled out in stages and is for children of working parents. First, 2-year-olds will become eligible for 15 hours of free childcare per week, for 38 weeks per year, from April 2024. Then, children aged from just 9 months of age will become eligible for the funding from September the same year. Together, this will benefit just shy of a million children. Lastly, starting in September 2025, children aged from 9 months to 3 years will be eligible to receive the full 30 hours per week of the free childcare, again over 38 weeks per annum, if eligible. The existing funding for 3- and 4-year-olds will continue in its current form.

Eligibility for the new, funded, hours will use the same criteria as used for the existing 30 hours scheme for 3- and 4-year-olds.

This new initiative will make a huge difference to families.

Firstly, of course, children will benefit by being able to begin their early years education far earlier, in many cases, than they might otherwise have been able to do. Prosocial behaviour will be boosted, self-regulation will be improved, peer relationships will benefit and there’s even less likelihood of hyperactivity amongst children who received a good education in their earliest years. A good early years education, particularly if started no later than the age of 2, is proven to be hugely important and beneficial to children. It not only gets them well ahead by the time they start school, but statistics show they are likely to attain significantly higher grades at school and in GCSEs, and are more likely to go on to study in higher education when they’re older. They will be likely to earn more once they’re adults too. Learn more about the benefits of a good early years education here.
Parents and households will also benefit hugely from this new funding. Because it will be available far earlier in their child’s life, parents will be able to return to work sooner after children are born — not long after maternity/paternity leave ends in fact. This will make a difference to mothers in particular, as many struggle being able to afford childcare when trying to get back into the workplace after becoming a parent. And, of course, it’ll allow families to boost household income.

“Almost half of non-working mothers said they would prefer to work if they could arrange suitable childcare.” (Chancellor of the Exchequer)

A Generous Increase to Universal Credit Childcare Support for Working Parents — & it’s Pre-Funded!

The proposed childcare support obtained by eligible families through Universal Credit is also very generous. Families who are eligible for this particular scheme previously had to pre-fund the childcare costs and then claim them back. This meant that families, many of whom were already struggling, had to first come up with a significant chunk of money — in advance. That cash flow challenge was a real issue for many low-income families who were otherwise eligible. It’s no wonder, therefore, that only 13% of them have been claiming this form of childcare support.

With the new changes, however, the Government will pre-fund the childcare support available through Universal Credit, which should make a huge difference to the viability of the scheme for many.

Even better, though, are the rates of funding that’ll be available from July 2023. Eligible families can claim back up to 85% of their childcare costs currently, up to a maximum figure. According to the Spring Budget announcement, that maximum attainable will rise, from July 2023, from £646 per month for one child to £951 per month. For two children it will increase from £1,108 per month to £1,630. That’s almost a 50% increase in both cases and should be welcome news for eligible families. Early indications are also that the amounts may increase each year by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), until 2027-28.

Wraparound Care — Childcare Funding for Working Parents of School-Age Children

For parents of school-age children, a common difficulty arises where the child’s school day is shorter than the parent’s working day. For example, children may turn out from school at, say, 3 O’clock but parents may not leave work until 5:30 pm. In our example, that leaves at least 2½ hours — or more with travel — where childcare provision will be required. Similar mismatches between school and working hours may also arise at the start of the day. Finding and affording childcare during those mismatched hours is a real problem for many.

To counter this, another of the Chancellor’s announcements in the Spring Budget 2023 is to extend what’s known as ‘Wraparound Care’ for school-age children. In the new ‘Pathfinder’ approach to Wraparound Care, Government-backed childcare funding will cover childcare hours at the start and finish of the day. Parents will then be able to work for full days and not have to worry about the costs and practical challenge of childcare provision before the start and after the end of the child’s school day.

The Government will be running a pilot scheme for this new initiative over the course of the next 18 months. If successful, Wraparound Pathfinder Childcare funding will cover the time from 8am until the start of the school day and from 3pm until 6pm at the end of day, beginning in September 2024.

These new measures “will help with the cost of living, support education for the youngest children, and remove one of the biggest barriers to parents working.” (Chancellor of the Exchequer)

Funded Childcare at Leaps & Bounds Nursery, Edgbaston, Birmingham

We support all free childcare funding options for eligible families at our Edgbaston nursery/pre-school

Leaps & Bounds supports all current Government-funded childcare schemes for eligible families at our nursery and preschool in Edgbaston, Birmingham. We are a childcare provider offering high quality weekday childcare for babies, toddlers and under-fives and are also conveniently close for families in Harborne, Ladywood, Bearwood and Smethwick. If you’d like us to show you and your little one around, or if you’d like to register your child for a place, please get in touch using one of the options below.

^{The information above is given in good faith and, to our knowledge, is correct at time of writing (March 2023). However, please do your own research in case things change after publish date.}

31 March 2023/by Mark

There’s no better time to start spotting the signs of the changing seasons with your children than whilst on the journey to nursery. Spring arrives on the 20th of March* each year in the UK and is a wonderful antidote to the cold winter months and short, dark evenings. It’s a time when you know warmer weather will soon be on its way. Evenings are getting slowly longer too. Best of all, a myriad of little miracles are starting to happen around you, as flowers and shrubs reawaken and plants can be seen shooting up from the ground. Many birds will also return to the UK from their foreign travels around springtime, often having travelled thousands of miles to get back to the UK. So, why not make your child’s journey to and from nursery a bit more exciting — and educational — by encouraging them to spot and identify some of these natural delights. Below are a few plants and creatures for children to keep an eye out for around the end of winter, signalling the welcome start of springtime …

Snowdrops

Snowdrops flower early in the year and quite literally look like little drops of snow. Like the crocus, which is shown in the main image at the top, snowdrops are one of the very first flowers to bloom in the first part of the year. When you see them first start to shoot and bloom, you and your children can be sure that spring is just around the corner. Soon there will be flowers, buds and shoots everywhere, as spring finally arrives and everything starts to reappear after the cold winter months. Children will be able to spot snowdrops often in small bunches of about 10 or so stems, in gardens, parks and wooded areas. They’re delightful little flowers, perfectly formed to visually appeal to little ones. Teach your child to admire them, but not pick them, as they are poisonous if consumed. In any case, they’ll be there for all to admire when left alone, so that they can grow and flourish. Learn more about snowdrops here.

Spring Daffodils

Daffodils are a classic sign of spring in the UK with their bright, blooming buds breaking through the gloominess of winter. Daffodils begin to grow and flower during the month of February and should be in full bloom throughout March and all the way into May.
On your walk to nursery with your children, perhaps ask them how many different types of daffodils they can see. Many people will be growing them in their gardens and in flower pots on balconies and windowsills. And, of course, many flourish in open countryside along hedgerows and often in shaded woodlands. See if your child can spot yellow, trumpet-like flowers, yellow petals with an orange inner, daffodils with white petals or the tiny daffodils called tête-à-tête. As with snowdrops, be aware that daffodils are poisonous if consumed, so it’s best to teach children not to pick them, which will also allow others to enjoy them as they pass. Where else to see daffodils.

Birdsong

Winter can be cold, dark and desolate. However, a sure sign that spring is on the way is birdsong. As the mornings get lighter, birdsong starts earlier. This can be made up of robins, blackbirds, wrens and other birds native to the United Kingdom. The beauty of such sounds is often overlooked, so when you first step out of your door on the way to nursery, get your children to stand still for fifteen or twenty seconds to listen to the birds, counting how many they can hear if they are able to. Even better; see if they can gradually work out what type of bird is making each of the sounds. Visiting the RSPB’s interactive birdsong identifier is a fabulous place for children to start learning about this wonder of nature.

Bees

Bees are incredibly important for pollinating plants across the world. They’re also incredibly cute — especially bumblebees! As spring begins and flowers start to blossom again, the UK sees an increase in the number of bees in gardens and the countryside. This increase continues throughout the summer and autumn. On your walk to nursery throughout spring, you and your little ones may see Tree Bumblebees, which can be easily spotted by their distinct colouring. Whilst a regular garden bumblebee has bright yellow areas, a Tree Bumblebee has a tawny head and upper body, a black lower body, and a white tip/tail.

It’s important to teach little ones that bees are friendly when left in peace (many do not even have stings) and must be protected in order to keep ecosystems functioning and growing. And, of course, they should be protected and nurtured because they’re simply adorable little creatures. Learn more about bees here.

Frog Spawn & Tadpoles

If you live near a park with a pond or happen to have one in the back garden, a definite sign of spring arriving is the presence of frog spawn. Initially, this can look like hundreds of little black dots sitting on the surface of the water. If your little one keeps an eye on these over the course of March (under supervision, for safety, of course), they will see these dots gradually turn into tadpoles, which will get bigger and bigger. A fun activity for your children is to get them to look at the frogspawn twice a week, under supervision, and to draw it on a piece of paper. Then, once the tadpoles have turned into frogs, they can look back at their own artwork to see the journey of spawn to fully-fledged frog! Alternatively, if your children aren’t at drawing age, you can take a photo on your phone each week and then compare them together once the tadpoles have grown. It’s a great way for them to learn about nature and life itself.

Budding Trees

A very easy-to-spot sign of spring is buds on trees. Buds are often growing flowers or leaves which will come into bloom across spring and summer. Whilst on your walk to nursery, get your children to look up at any trees that you pass to see if there are any buds on the branches. If there are, a fun challenge could be to check that same tree every week and count how many weeks it takes to bloom. There are some very interesting buds and blooms for children to look out for, for example catkins, which have dangling yellow fronds and pussy willow, which has beautifully soft ‘fur’ on its buds. Indeed, the soft hairs are there to protect and insulate the buds from cold, since they bloom so early in the year. Many people liken the soft pussy willow buds to tiny cats’ paws. Both varieties are sure to delight and fascinate young children!

The above signs of spring are just a few that you can spot whilst on your journey to nursery or pre-school. Learning about and appreciating nature are excellent ways of enriching the lives of your children and may spark an interest in wildlife and plants as they grow up. Nature will teach them so much and benefit them in so many ways — educationally, cognitively and spiritually.

Nature & Forest School at Leaps & Bounds Day Nursery, Edgbaston

Children learn about and enjoy nature at Leaps & Bounds Day Nursery. As well as having our own seed, herb, plant and vegetable area for the children to enjoy and learn from, we have our own Forest School in Edgbaston near Birmingham. There, children are able to spend time in natural open spaces like woodlands, where they will learn and benefit from nature in so many ways. As well as being educational, spending time in a natural environment is very good for children, as many studies have shown.

Nursery & Pre-School Places in Edgbaston, near Birmingham

Are you looking for a good nursery or pre-school place for your baby, toddler or child under five in Edgbaston or near Birmingham? Get in touch with us, if so, and we’ll be happy to show you and your little one around, so you can see how well they will fit in. We support all Government-funded places, including their ‘free hours’ schemes for eligible children aged 2 to 4. We’re also located near Ladywood, Bearwood, Harborne and Smethwick, so may be conveniently located if you live or work in any of those places nearby. Please choose a button below to get started:

* Spring starts on 20th March according to the astronomical calendar. There are other definitions of the start of spring, but the astronomical calendar is the most commonly recognised by the general public. In contrast, the meteorological calendar, for example, has the seasons starting on the first of the month in March, June, September and December, rather than 20 or more days in.

10 March 2023/by Mark

2 year olds, 3 & 4 year olds, Birmingham, Early years, Early Years Development, Edgbaston, Healthy eating, Healthy Snacks, Nurseries, Nursery, Parenting, Startwell, Toddlers, Under-5s

Healthy Snacks for Toddlers

Toddlers and children have much smaller stomachs than adults and will naturally get hungry between meals. A healthy snack, given twice a day, will therefore stave off feelings of hunger at the same time as providing significant nutritional benefits and sustaining energy levels. So, today, we take a look at some easy and healthy snack ideas for toddlers and young children, plus any considerations around them. Our article may help to give parents and caregivers some guidance and inspiration around the subject of snacks that are both enjoyable and beneficial for the little ones.

Safety Considerations

First, though, some safety considerations should be mentioned. When feeding infants, toddlers and young children, it’s especially important to be mindful of their safety around food, for example in relation to allergens, choking hazards (e.g. due to inappropriate size and shape of food pieces) and eating anything that will be bad for their health or wellbeing. Always seek medical advice if you have any concerns.

Age Matters & Portion Sizes

Portion size is important for under-fives in particular. After all, you don’t want to make portion sizes so big that they put children off. Look out for signs like toddlers ignoring their plate, closing mouths when food is offered or, of course, spitting it out. These are all signs that the toddlers are probably full. It’s better to give smaller portions and then offer more if they clear their plate or otherwise indicate that they’re still hungry.

For rice, beans and starchy foods like those, one portion is about the size of the child’s cupped hand.
For fish or meat (proteins), one portion is about the size of the palm of the child’s hand.
For fruit and cereal, one portion is roughly the size of the child’s fist.
An appropriate portion size for one type of vegetables is, in theory, about the size the child’s cupped hand. However, it is not necessary to limit vegetable intake so much as the other food types. Indeed, should the child still be hungry after eating their entire meal or snack, giving them more vegetables rather than anything else is a good, healthy approach.

Only giving age-appropriate foods is also important, so do your research, especially for babies and infants. See our links in the sections following below and always carefully read labels.

A Word About Foods to Avoid Giving Infants

Today’s article is really aimed at the toddler age group. However, for younger children especially, there is a whole list of foods – aside from possible allergens – that it’s best to avoid. Most of them are suggested as foods to avoid because they contain too much salt, added sugar or saturated fats for babies and infants to safely ingest. However, there are also a few others that are best avoided for completely different reasons. We wrote a great guide to all of the foods to avoid in our, “A-Z of Foods to Avoid Giving Your Infant”. That guide is available by clicking the bold green link in this paragraph.

And a Word About Allergens

It’s also important to be vigilant to the possibility of your child being allergic to certain foods, particularly any that they have not tried before. The good news, however, is that we published a whole guide called, “Rough Guide to Food Allergens for Infants”, which can be read by clicking the bold green link in this paragraph. It takes you through symptoms to look out for, the most common food allergens and how to most safely introduce new foods to your little one.

Snacks for Toddlers

The NHS recommends that a toddler has two healthy snacks a day. This is easy to accomplish with a bit of planning and, as we said before, toddlers’ stomachs aren’t very big, so we are not talking about large amounts of food. The portion size of the snacks can later grow as your toddler does (see section on portion sizes earlier in this article).

Making each snack look appealing is the key to encouraging your toddler to try them. So, the addition of healthy but tasty dips, combining snacks that have rich colours or even making the food into face shapes and suchlike will help toddlers to engage more readily.

Some Simple but Healthy Snack Ideas for Toddlers:

Muffins or rice cakes with cream cheese used as a spread or dip.
Mashed avocado with vegetable sticks or Pita slices. You may sweeten the avocado with a bit of honey¹ if your toddler prefers.
Cut fruit, vegetable sticks or Pita slices served with houmous as a dip.
Plain (non-flavoured), unsweetened yoghurt with some added fruit pieces, suitably cut.
Sliced, hard-boiled egg.
Watermelon sticks.
A variety of vegetable sticks such as celery, pepper, carrot and/or broccoli.
Fruit cocktail with grapes², banana, apple and/or strawberry. If using tinned rather than fresh fruit, ensure the fruit is in its own juice rather than in syrup.
Cheese sticks or small cheese cubes can be served with a cracker or Pita breads.
Home-made smoothies using, for example, banana, strawberry, raspberry or mango. Use plain, unsweetened yoghurt or milk.
Home-made mini sandwiches. These can be cut into small fingers or cubes. You could use fillings such as lean ham, houmous, mashed avocado, cheese (either grated or cream cheese).

^{1. Never give honey to children under the age of 1 as it contains bacteria that produces toxins in the intestines of babies/infants.

2. Grapes and other foods or pieces of similar shape should be sliced down into quarters so they’re no longer potential choking hazards.}

Healthy Snacks at Leaps & Bounds Day Nursery

At Leaps & Bounds Nursery, we subscribe to the Startwell guidelines on healthy eating and give children one healthy snack approximately mid-morning and another approximately mid-afternoon. These are healthy snacks too, for example fruit, vegetables or rice cakes. In this way, snacks are nutritious, stave off hunger, and help children to maintain decent levels of energy throughout their day. Children are always supervised around eating, of course, with any allergies catered for and staff being mindful in respect of any potential choking hazards.

Learn more about the Startwell Scheme here and learn more about our approach to healthy eating and encouraging children to be active here.

Nursery Places at Leaps & Bounds, Edgbaston

Leaps & Bounds is a nursery and pre-school in Edgbaston, Birmingham. We are also near Ladywood, Bearwood, Harborne and Smethwick, so may suit families in those locations too. All childcare funding options are supported, including free childcare hours for 2, 3 and 4-year-olds for eligible families (follow that last link for more information and options). Register your child for a nursery or pre-school place today, ask for a guided tour of the nursery or ask us any questions that you may have and we’ll be pleased to help.

28 February 2023/by Mark

Toddlers, and indeed children of all ages, absolutely love having stories read out loud to them. After all, it’s fun, captivating entertainment for them. However, it is also very valuable and beneficial — particularly to young children. The benefits of being read to are actually profound for little ones when you take time to look at them. So, today, that’s exactly what we do in our new guide, ‘12 Benefits of Reading Out Loud to Little Ones.’

12 Benefits of Reading Out Loud to your Little One

1. Expands Vocabulary

Children learn a lot by listening to and copying their parents, caregivers and adults. By listening to them read out loud, it helps to increase children’s vocabulary through hearing new words in new contexts and scenarios. They may then get to hear words that are not often used in everyday conversations. For example, if the story is about a swimming trip and your child has never been on a beach or pool trip, lots of new words will come to their attention. In this example, words like pool, sea, beach, cold, and sandy may be introduced to their vocabulary.

2. Reinforces Word Recognition & Meaning

Reading out loud to children reinforces the links between the written word, the spoken word and their equivalent in the physical world. So, through repeated hearing, the child may begin to recognise the word from the story additionally in written form and within the real world itself. Pictures within story books can also reinforce words when verbally discussed with the little one. Your child may, for example, recognise their favourite character, toy and/or activity from a book and begin to associate names, nouns and verbs with them in their everyday life.

3. Improves Attention Spans

When we read a story out loud, the plot usually unfolds over many pages. This gradual revealing of the storyline promotes an increased attention span in the children. It’s exciting for your child to hear what happens next to their favourite character, or to wonder how the story is going to end. Being read to is a slower process than, say, watching television and this slow reveal encourages the child to keep focussed and patiently wait for the story to unfold.

4. Stimulates Imagination & Creativity

Being read both fictional stories and non-fiction facts will help widen children’s knowledge of the world, life, and all its possibilities. Their exposure to new characters, events, scenarios and locations will stimulate children to use their imaginations and think more creatively about all the possibilities. They can start to imagine what might happen next, for example, particularly if the adult reading asks the child to analyse and feed back about what’s happening in the story. Going forwards, exposure to verbally read stories may indeed even help make them more creative writers and thinkers.

5. Stimulates Emotions

Your child can experience a whole range of emotions by listening to and discussing the story with you. This is an opportunity for your child to recognise and express various emotions in relation to the story, which could be happy, exciting, frightening or sad — and anything in between. Whatever is happening in the story, though, do try and make the talking point a positive one so your child isn’t left unhappy or scared at the end (particularly near bedtime). If there are any concerns, simply remind them that this is just a story — it’s not real.

6. Promotes Empathy

Being in touch with emotions is an important part of children’s development, though, and one that leads to another important new emotion — that of empathy. If a child relates to the situation or character in the story, they are more able to put themselves in the shoes of the person or character and get a taste of what it would feel like to be them. This is a healthy thing and one that may lead them to treat people, animals and even plants with a greater respect, and nurture their more caring side.

7. A Role-Play Opportunity

When reading to the child, the parent or caregiver has the opportunity to really breathe life into the characters, allowing the child to connect more closely to the character and the story. With some added sound effects and expression the characters can truly come to life and children will love this. Indeed, this may encourage many to join in with some role-play of their own. That’s another wonderfully creative opportunity for them.

8. Deepens Bonds

Reading out loud with a child can truly promote closer natural bonds between the parent/caregiver and the child. After all, this is quality time that they can spend together, with full focus, no distractions and 100% of attention shared between adult and child.

9. A Head Start in Writing

Reading to a child also gives the child a likely head start before formally learning to write. Through listening, they have learned the association between the written word and the spoken word. They might therefore be able to start recognising the printed words and learning how to break words down. This also starts them on the path towards learning the alphabet.

10. Teaches Written Structure

Reading stories to children also teaches them about the structure and sequence of reading. For example, many stories can be described as having a beginning, middle and end and later children may be introduced to concepts like introductions, chapters, quotes, scene-setting, plot twists and suchlike. From the most basic perspective, children will also grasp the concept of how books actually work, physically, i.e. reading from the beginning of the first page, then turning from page to page. This will help them when they start looking at books on their own.

11. Reduces Stress

Quality story time allows children to become fully immersed in the story. This diversion of attention potentially represents a great stress reliever for the child. It’s a chance to sit down and relax while the story is being told and is often a great way to distract children from things that have perhaps made them stressed or anxious during their day. And, of course, exactly the same can be said for the parent or caregiver that’s doing the reading.

12. It’s Great Fun!

Last, but my no means least, reading out loud with a child is great fun for all parties! So, both adult and child will have some quality ‘fun’ time together, able to enjoy the alternative world, adventures and scenarios that are opened up to them via the media of books. Indeed, many parents enjoy a good children’s book just as much, it seems, as the children!

Tips for Creating the Perfect Reading Environment

Have a collection of lots of books with different types of storyline, to keep things varied and children’s interest optimised.
Include some books that have interactive facets to interest children, like pop-ups, flaps to turn, texture patches to reveal and even sounds.
Use a comfortable reading area with your child. This could be a designated reading corner, maybe with cushions, or simply on a comfy settee.
If it’s a cold day, perhaps snuggle together under a blanket.
If your child needs a drink or snack, perhaps get that sorted before you start reading.
Choose a book together; they might pick their favourite or ask healthy questions around which one to read next.
Immerse yourself in the story, get into the characters, and recreate their speech and emotions. Pull faces to demonstrate emotions or use hand actions in appropriate places. This is a great way to make the story more enjoyable and lifelike — for both you and your child. Encourage your child to join in!
In appropriate places, see if your child can guess the next word, or what might happen next.
After story time, discuss what happened with your child and, if not yet complete, where the story is potentially heading.
Always ensure that any words they are not familiar with are explained and encourage questions and interactions from them.

All in all, reading stories out loud to children is a wonderful, happy, creative and relaxing way to spend time and enjoy the many benefits, together. Children that are read to in early life are also likely to want to hear more stories and may well go on to become avid readers themselves once they’re older. And, let it be said, reading is a very worthwhile and educational pastime and one that teaches and nurtures so much in each growing child. Recommended!

Reading at Leaps & Bounds Day Nursery, Edgbaston (Birmingham)

Reading to children is a regular activity at Leaps & Bounds Day Nursery in Edgbaston and helps to support the EYFS curriculum at the nursery. Feedback and interaction from children are both encouraged, so they get really involved and learn from the process. We also, of course, recommend that parents actively involve themselves in children’s education when at home, including reading with them regularly. Parental input is proven to pay many dividends to children’s progress, school-readiness and indeed life outcomes.

Childcare Places Available at Leaps & Bounds Nursery/Pre-school, Edgbaston

Are you interested in a possible place for your baby or under-five child at Leaps & Bounds nursery and pre-school in Edgbaston, Birmingham? We are located near Ladywood, Bearwood, Harborne and Smethwick and support all childcare funding options available to eligible families. If you’d like to register your child for a place, get answers to questions that you may have, or request a guided tour of the nursery with your child, please get in touch using a button below:

18 February 2023/by Mark

2 year olds, 3 & 4 year olds, Activities, Activities for Kids, Early years, Early Years Education, Edgbaston, Education, Learning & Development, Learning through play, Nurseries, Nursery, Parenting, Pre-schools, Preschoolers, Toddlers, Under-5s

Home Learning Activities to Help Under-5s

When it comes to the learning and development of children, a good parent-nursery partnership is absolutely vital to maximising their short- and long-term success. In the mid-term, it also ensures they’re ‘school-ready’ by the time they leave our care. We therefore work together with parents¹, in close partnership. By doing so, children will receive a consistent, ‘joined-up’ approach to the tailored curriculum and the shared goals that we create for each of them. Sharing goals for children both at home and in the nursery will ensure the strengthening of strong areas as well as bolstering any weaker areas that children may find challenging.

With this in mind, today we outline a variety of activity ideas that all parents can undertake with children when at home. Such ‘home learning’ activities will support the progress of children’s learning and development while at home, whilst also supporting the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum that children are working to at the nursery/pre-school.

Home Learning Activities — for 2-Year-Olds

‘Creative Table’ Activities

These creative activities can span a variety of art and crafts undertaken using a surface that is easily cleanable, for example a small table.

Why not get the paints out. Your child can enjoy using and mixing a variety of colours and, as well as being a creative opportunity, this can be a colour learning exercise too. Perhaps draw shapes for your child to paint and then your child can learn the different shape words as well.
Play dough will be a popular choice for little ones, especially if shape cutters and a rolling pin are brought into the activity. Play dough is entertaining to use, it’s creative and children will learn about colours, shapes and three-dimensional form as they go along.
Another variation of this type of activity might instead use cookie dough that can later be eaten once cooked (under supervision). Animal-shaped cutters and suchlike will also make this activity more fun.
Potato stamping is another good table-top creative activity although, for safety, Mum or Dad will need to do the cutting part. Children will enjoy stamping different shapes and colours onto paper or card, perhaps forming repeat patterns or little scenes.

Beneficial outcomes: These activities help children to use their imaginations, they boost creativity skills and may even expand children’s knowledge of language and vocabulary. They will also help children to hone finer motor skills and coordination.

‘Simon Says’ Activity

By the age of two, most toddlers will have heard the song Heads, shoulders, knees and toes and, like that song, the ‘Simon Says’ game will help them to remember the correct identification of parts of the body. For example, tell them Simon says “touch your toes”. Then, ensure they do so or, of course, correct them if they get it wrong. The command could also be some other alternative like “jump up and down” or “clap your hands” or even “sit on your bottom”.

Beneficial outcomes: This type of activity helps not only with memory skills, but also with motor skills, coordination and balance. They may even learn some new words and boost their vocabulary.

‘Stop and Go’ Activity

This can be played inside or outside where the child has a bit of space, for example a long hallway would be perfect. Let your child pretend they are walking of perhaps even driving. Give the commands “Stop!” and “Go!” and perhaps even “Freeze!”. They’ll probably find this highly amusing, particularly if you give them feedback and encouragement. Another twist on this activity would be for them to do the activity whilst dancing. You could then abruptly stop the music and shout “Stop!” and so on.

Beneficial outcomes: This activity encourages children to use their listening skill and also their balance skills. At the same time, it’s also huge fun for toddlers! And, if they go for the dancing version of the activity, it’ll help with coordination and general fitness too.

Dressing Up Activity

Playing at dressing up can conjure up all sorts of scenarios and characters — from spacemen, fire fighters and nurses to princesses or your child’s favourite characters from television or books. Perhaps your child has just read about a fireman and it’s fresh in their memory. Dressing up and re-enacting a part of the book will boost your child’s memory while also letting them develop a few moments of creative acting.

Perhaps say to your child, “What would you like to be today?”. Help suggest ideas if they struggle at first and work with what materials you have to play with. It does not have to be a full-blown costume, just a hat will often do — your child’s imagination can do the rest. Children will love dressing up and will find this activity huge fun.

Beneficial outcomes: This activity can boost their imaginations as well as their planning and creativity skills.

Finding Hidden Objects

This hidden objects activity could involve hiding almost anything for the child to find. You could start off in one room only to make it easier initially. Show your child the object before hiding it. Once they start looking for it, you could use words like near, far, yes, no, warmer, colder and so on. Once they have mastered finding one object, perhaps add more for them to find. Then perhaps reverse roles and try to find objects the child has hidden for you. Ensure they also use the clue words like warm and cold etc. You could even set up some kind of reward to make it more exciting. For example, if they ‘win’ they could get a treat of some kind, like a funky sticker or trip to the swings.

Beneficial outcomes: This activity helps to improve children’s listening and (if roles are reversed) speaking skills, vocabulary, problem-solving skills and also gets them to use their imaginations.

Home Learning Activities — for 3-Year-Olds

Now your child is a bit older, you can move onto more challenging home learning activities.

Paper Plate Painting

Paper plates can be used in a variety of creative ways, e.g. to stick together to make three-dimensional shapes and also for painting. Circular plates give children a brilliant opportunity to paint a sun or face. A face can perhaps be happy or sad and why not add some cut up wool, glued on for hair, and buttons as eyes. Children can be as creative as they like.

Safety Note: Ensure your use non toxic glue and paint and that your 3 year old is supervised at all times due to the small parts they are playing with.

Beneficial outcomes: Arts and crafts are said to use multiple areas of children’s brains and encourage the use of fine motor skills. They also stimulate the imagination and boost creativity.

Nature Treasure Hunts

If your are able to have a walk with your child in the country or maybe even the park, why not suggest a list of ‘treasure’ that your child needs to find. These can be as simple as a mossy stick, a pretty leaf, an interesting pebble, a fragrant flower, a pine cone, acorn, conker, and so on.

Beneficial outcomes: This activity will bring out the adventurer in children. It’s also a lovely way of getting fresh air and getting back to nature. It’s also a simple learning activity of what we can find in nature if we look.

Sandpit Treasure Hunts

Similarly, children will love looking for — and finding — ‘treasure’ hidden in a sandpit or sand box. Bury some pretend treasure in the sand and then let your child rummage through the sand to discover the hidden objects. You could make it more challenging by saying, for instance, that there are 5 treasures in the sand. Encourage your 3-year-old to count them as they come out as well saying what they are. You could also do this activity with the child blindfolded, so they have to feel the objects and guess what they are once found.

Beneficial outcomes: This is primarily a sensory activity and, as we all know, sensory activities are really good for children in their early years. These kinds of activities will stimulate children’s senses of touch and sight as well as encouraging movement and coordination. More sensory-based activities for preschoolers can be found here.

Making Bird Feeders

Not only is this a fun activity for your child, but it also helps the local wildlife. There are lots of different ways to easily make bird feeders at home. Just one easy example is to find a pine cone, coat it in smooth peanut butter then roll it in bird seed. Once coated, hang it outside using a piece of string. If possible, hang your bird feeder within easy view of a window where your child can watch, but also follow the advice given in the bold link above in regard to the safety of the visiting birds.

Beneficial outcomes: With this activity, children will practise their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination as well as learning about nature and a healthy dose of empathy. If successful, children will love this activity and the positive outcome for visiting birds.

Home Learning Activities — for 4-Year-Olds

Now our little ones are bigger and more able, they can get involved in some more advanced home learning activities. Here are a few ideas to get them started.

Reading

This is such a beneficial activity for children — reading is one of the most important and impactful activities that parents can help children with. Read with your child so that they can learn from you. When your child listens to you reading, point at the words and explain some of the rules around words, spelling and how to read. If there are pictures, show the appropriate word with the picture and sound out the letters. You could also talk about the book afterwards, asking questions like, What happened? or Was that funny, sad, happy? etc. Practise acting to the characters in the book, perhaps making the sounds or faces that the characters would make.

Beneficial outcomes: This task will be both fun and highly educational for the child. Reading with under-fives has a whole host of benefits (follow the bold link in the paragraph above), including boosting language skills, boosting literacy, stimulating the imagination and creativity, preparing children better for school and more. Also, mastering reading helps in all other areas of the EYFS curriculum and is one of the best ways to help children maximise their potential in life.

Gardening

Get your child to help with pulling up weeds, or planting new seeds and plants. Give them set instructions or a demonstration to follow and ensure you stress the importance of caring for the plants and seedlings.

Beneficial outcomes: As well as being a healthy outdoor activity, your child learns about nature, seasons, the flora and fauna in the garden, and the process of growing living things. It also teaches them about the importance of nurturing the seedlings and plants and caring for their wellbeing. It teaches them about the growing process, responsibility and empathy and will also encourage a healthy love of nature — and brand new skills, of course.

Baking

Baking cakes, biscuits, cookies and breads under your supervision* will be a fun and educational activity for 4-year-olds. What’s more, they’ll end up with something they can actually eat! During the process, try to explain the importance of measuring, doing things in the right order, waiting the right amount of time and so on. Ask them at the end about it, to ensure they have grasped the concepts.

* Under supervision for safety and teaching purposes.

Beneficial outcomes: With this activity, children will catch on to the concepts of measuring out, following instructions and the benefits of completing tasks in a carefully-planned and well-executed way. As well as practising their motor skills and coordination during the preparation processes, it will stimulate their brains in terms of logic, planning, attention to detail, following instructions, creativity and more.

Our Partnership With Parents

We are keen to provide guidance and support to parents in regard to their child’s education while at home, so that we’re all pulling in the same direction. So, if you are a parent of a child at Leaps & Bounds Day Nursery in Edgbaston, don’t hesitate to reach out to us for more ideas, insights, resources and ideas for activities that will help in your child’s progress.

Likewise, we also value the unique perspective that parents bring, fully appreciating that they will have special insights about their own child. For this reason, we more than welcome feedback from parents. We can then use this to inform our planning and support for each child’s individual growth even more optimally. That’s real teamwork and, together, we’ll all be striving for the same goals for children under our care.

Nursery & Pre-School Places for Children Under 5 in Edgbaston, Birmingham

Are you looking for a nursery or pre-school place for your child in Edgbaston or near Birmingham?

We offer not only weekday childcare but also a complete early years education for children under five. We even support free, funded places for those eligible for free childcare through Government schemes. Leaps & Bounds Nursery and Pre-school is located in Edgbaston (B16), near Birmingham, but may also suit those living or working nearby in Harborne, Ladywood, Bearwood or Smethwick. To request a guided tour of the nursery or to register your child for a place at the setting, please get started using an appropriate button below. We’re also on hand to answer any questions that you may have.

^{1. Parents is used on this site as a short-hand placeholder for parents, guardians, caregivers etc.}

19 January 2023/by Mark

Today, we shine the spotlight on what we believe are the top 10 childcare funding schemes, available in England, for eligible children. Many also apply across the whole UK or at least have similar schemes in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Some of the options are widely available, meaning easy, free funding with no need for families to jump through difficult eligibility barriers. The first two childcare funding options, for example, seem to be by far the easiest to obtain for most families. Others may suit in certain circumstances, for example if you are on benefits, studying as a student, and so on. Take a look …

The Top 10 Childcare Funding Schemes – At a Glance

Tax-free Childcare Scheme

What’s Available:
Up to £2,000 in free childcare funding is available per year, per UK child (£4,000 if the child has a disability). For children up to 11 (16 if disabled).

Eligibility:
Widely available as a parent, and partner if they have one, can each earn up to £100k per annum and still be eligible.

How Funding is Accessed:
Accessed via an online Childcare account. The parent, relative or even friend deposits 80% to fund childcare and the Government tops up the remaining 20%, free.

Click here for more information.

“15 Hours” of Free Childcare for 3 & 4-Year-Olds

What’s Available:
15 hours per week of free childcare is available for 38 weeks of the year (570 hours total) for all 3 & 4-year-olds living in England. Can be spread out in a different way if the childcare setting is flexible.

Eligibility:
Available for all children aged 3 or 4 living in England.

How Funding is Accessed:
Contact your childcare provider or apply via your local council.

Click here for more information.

“30 Hours” of Free Childcare for 3 & 4-Year-Olds

What’s Available:
30 hours per week of free childcare is available for 38 weeks of the year (1140 hours total) for eligible 3 & 4-year-olds living in England. Can be spread out in a different way if the childcare setting is flexible.

Eligibility:
Eligibility depends upon household income; generally speaking, you cannot claim if you or your partner earn £100k or over, or less than £152 per week (that figure is lower if under 23). You can usually claim through this scheme at the same time as claiming Tax-Free Childcare (or Childcare vouchers), or free childcare via Universal Credit. Other rules and exceptions apply.

How Funding is Accessed:
Apply online here.

Click here for more information.

“15 Hours” of Free Childcare for 2-Year-Olds

What’s Available:
15 hours per week of free childcare is available for 38 weeks of the year (570 hours total) for eligible 2-year-olds in England. Can be spread out in a different way if the childcare setting is flexible.

Eligibility:
Only parents receiving certain Government benefits are usually eligible to claim. Exceptions include 2-year-olds if: looked after by local authorities; subject to an ECH plan; in receipt of Disability Living Allowance; they’ve left care under certain types of order. Some non-UK citizens are also eligible in certain circumstances.

How Funding is Accessed:
Contact your childcare provider or apply via your local council.

Click here for more information.

Childcare Vouchers (Employer-Supported Childcare)

What’s Available:
Funding for childcare is available through participating employers, for children up to 15 or 16 if disabled. You can use up to £55 per week of your earnings, which will not be subject to National Insurance or income tax. How much you are eligible for depends on earnings and the date you joined the scheme.

Eligibility:
Closed to new applicants but still available to those enrolled before 4 October 2018 if eligible. Cannot be claimed at the same time as Tax-Free Childcare.

How Funding is Accessed:
Accessed via participating employers. Can be funded through a salary sacrifice approach.

Click here for more information.

Tax Credits for Childcare

What’s Available:
If eligible, those already claiming under the Tax Credits system can claim back up to 70% of eligible childcare costs, up to £122.50 each week for 1 child, or up to £210 per week for more than one.

Eligibility:
Closed to new applicants but existing claimants of Tax Credits may still apply. New claimants must claim instead under Universal Credit (see below).

How Funding is Accessed:
For those who are still eligible to claim, the funding is paid direct to their bank or building society account. Follow the link below for more details.

Click here for more information.

Childcare Funding through Universal Credit

What’s Available:
If eligible, you can claim back up to 85% of childcare costs, up to £646.35 per month for one child or £1108.04 each month if you are claiming for more than one.

Eligibility:
You and your partner, if you have one, must have a child under 17, be working and claiming Universal Credit. There are exceptions to the above and other eligibility terms also apply. Not available if you’re already claiming Tax-Free Childcare or Tax Credits. Earnings and savings/investments also affect how much you may receive.

How Funding is Accessed:
You need to claim back your childcare costs (so pay for them first). You can only go back 3 months, so must keep on top of your claims.

Click here for more information.

Student Childcare Grant

What’s Available:
Up to 85% of your childcare costs are available as a non-repayable grant (max. is £183.75 per week for 1 child or £315.03 per week for two+. Correct for academic year 2022/23). Payable in addition to standard undergraduate student finance.

Eligibility:
Students must be permanent residents in England, studying full-time in higher education and be eligible for undergraduate student finance based on income. They must not in receipt of a postgraduate loan. The childcare grant is for dependent children under 15 (under 17 if they have special needs). Not available if also claiming certain other childcare funding.

How Funding is Accessed:
Apply at the same time as applying for student finance via your Student Finance Account.

Click here for more information.

Learner Support Scheme

What’s Available:
What’s available depends on your specific circumstances. It’s not designed specifically to fund childcare, but can be used for it.

Eligibility:
You must be a a parent over 20, studying in further education up to and including Level 3, and facing financial hardship to be eligible.

How Funding is Accessed:
Apply via your learning provider (e.g. college).

Click here for more information.

Care to Learn Scheme

What’s Available:
Up to £160 (or £175 if living in London) is available per child, per week, for those living in England. The funding can even help to fund a taster period of up to 5 days at the childcare provider and travel to/from the provider.

Eligibility:
You must be the child’s main carer and be under 20 when you begin your course. You must be studying on a publicly-funded course (N.B. not including higher education courses at university) at specific types of education provider e.g. schools, sixth forms and some colleges. Strict rules apply around attendance of both the course and the childcare sessions.

How Funding is Accessed:
For application instructions, click here.

Click here for more information.

Funded Childcare at Leaps & Bounds Nursery & Preschool, Edgbaston, Birmingham

Our Edgbaston nursery & preschool supports all valid childcare funding options

We support all relevant childcare funding schemes for eligible families at Leaps & Bounds nursery and preschool in Edgbaston (B16). We offer the very best weekday childcare in Edgbaston, near Birmingham, Harborne, Ladywood, Bearwood and Smethwick. Please get in touch using one of the options below, for example to get started with your childcare enquiry or application. We’ll be happy to show you around, answer questions and help with your funding and nursery/preschool application.

^{E&OE. Please note that information is given in good faith and, to our knowledge, is correct at time of writing (November 2022). This is only a quick guide, though, so families will need to do their own. more detailed research to check for eligibility etc.}

30 November 2022/by Mark

Baby Banks, Birmingham, Childcare, Childcare Funding, Edgbaston, Free Childcare, Free Childcare through Universal Credit, Funding for 2 year olds, Funding for 3 & 4 year olds, Nurseries, Nursery, Parenting, Pre-school, Pre-schools, Preschool, Saving Money, Tax-Free Childcare

Amazing Money-Saving Deals for Families

There’s no doubt that things are getting tough for families right now. However today, in our antidote to inflation, tax increases and the recent cost-of-living crisis, we bring families news of some absolutely brilliant deals, offers and ways that families can save money. What we’re talking about today may improve quality of life a little — even with something as simple as being able to afford a meal out with the kids. We were astounded by some of these discoveries, so we hope they are good news for you too.

Families: this is for you!

A few examples will help to introduce the type of money-saving offers and deals that we’ve unearthed for you in today’s post:

Did You Know?

You can eat out for just £1 per meal if you know where to go!
You can eat at home all week for just £1 per meal if you know the right recipe and supplier!
One famous food retailer offers interest-free shopping loans for struggling families!
There are lots of different Government schemes that give eligible families free childcare!

It’s amazing what’s available if you know where to look, and that’s exactly what we tell you today. We hope you find it useful.

Feeling the Pinch? Check Out The Great Deals & Offers We’ve Discovered!

Kids Under 16? Treat them to a Café Meal for just £1 Each — or Even Less!

Many of the large supermarkets are doing their bit to help struggling families, and Asda is one such example that caught our eye. They launched a £1 café offer called Kids Eat for £1 during the summer holidays and this has now been extended to the end of 2022. This seemed like a bargain to us. A list of participating ASDA cafés can be found here.

Morrison’s have a comparable deal where children under 16 can eat totally free of charge at a Morrison’s in-store café when the accompanying adult is having an adult meal costing £4.99 or more. Learn more about kids eating free at Morrison’s Cafés here. By the way, the same page also describes how Morrison’s have reduced the pricing of over half their hot food menu in their in-store cafés. It all helps!

Grandparents - Over 60s Can Eat & Drink Out for Just £1

Asda have also launched a Winter Warmers campaign aimed to help their older customers who visit their in-store cafés. Those 60 and above can enjoy soup and a roll plus unlimited cuppas for just £1 during November and December 2022. That’s a great opportunity for grandparents who are looking after little ones, although applies with or without children accompanying! Learn more about the Winter Warmers campaign for over-60s here.

Cheap But Tasty Meals at Home

Some of the supermarkets are making it easier for families to eat inexpensively at home. Sainsbury’s, for example, are currently publicising a range of recipes that will feed a family of four for no more than a fiver — that’s just £1.25 per meal. They list step-by-step instructions, list ingredients and even make it dead simple to add them to your online shopping cart. Check out some of their affordable meal suggestions here.

The BBC Food website also has a large selection of budget recipes for you to try. It’s a fantastic resource and they have gone to considerable effort to suit all tastes, including meat, vegetarian and vegan dishes. There are lots of recipes to make for just £1 per portion and ways to plan a week’s worth of meals for just £1 each. The page also gives advice on thrifty store cupboard ingredients, using air fryers and slow cookers, and how to make food products last longer. Check out their website for some genuinely good ideas and inspiration for inexpensive eating at home.

Hot Deals on Frozen Food — Including an Interest-Free Loan!

It’s common knowledge that frozen food can work out cheaper and the retail chain Iceland are at the forefront of that niche in the UK. They are also very attuned to struggling families at the moment and so are offering several great ways to save money and make family food more affordable. For example, they have launched a major initiative called ‘Doing it Right’ and this includes a whole raft of beneficial offerings for struggling families. Many products can purchased for £1 in a ‘price freeze’, for example. It also includes discounts of over 60s on Tuesdays, money-saving 7-Day Deals, an exclusive Bonus Card scheme to save money on your favourite products and much more. A synopsis of all the main offers is available here.

A notable and innovative service was also introduced by Iceland in August 2022 to help families struggling to afford food (often those who relied on food banks and even loan shark loans). ‘The Iceland Food Club’ allows families to spread the cost of food through micro-loans between £25 and £100, using a pre-loaded card that allows them to spend the interest-free loan at Iceland food stores. Repayment is made at £10 per week and, as we say, the loan is interest-free. Well done Iceland! Learn more about the scheme here.

^{N.B. this information is given in good faith and does not constitute financial advice. Readers will need to do their own research.}

Accumulate £££s to Redeem Against Your Shopping Bill

By the way, Asda also offers a “Rewards” scheme where you accumulate pounds (not points!) when you shop there. When accumulated, these can be redeemed against your shopping, thereby reducing your bill in a really tangible way. We know people who use this scheme and it seems to be a decent one so far as we can tell. Check out the Asda Rewards scheme here.

Save Money on Energy Costs

Octopus Energy has doubled its OctoAssist Fund, for customers struggling with their bills. They are offering help via direct financial support, standing charge waivers and energy saving support. Check out if you are eligible for any help and read their saver suggestions here.

Meanwhile, Utilita have teamed up with Iceland to help you Shop Smart and Cook Savvy, explaining ways to save you money. This includes advice on ways to reduce your energy bill through use, for example, of air fryers and energy-saving measures. (Click the bold links for more information). Via their app “My Utilita” you can also take control of your energy use, use pay-as-you-go and apply for emergency credit. Learn more here.

Baby Banks — Free Stuff for Families

Don’t forget to check out our Baby Banks post from May 2022 too (see the link below). There, we explained how struggling parents can get a huge variety of free things for their babies and children. Everything from baby food and nappies to high chairs and buggies is available, totally free of charge. Indeed, Baby Banks are a complete godsend for many struggling families. They’re also somewhere you can donate your pre-loved items that you’ve finished with, to help another family. Learn more about Baby Banks, including some near Edgbaston and Birmingham, here.

Childcare Funding Help

Childcare funding is an option we can help with directly at Leaps & Bounds Day Nursery. Subject to eligibility, we support all the key Government schemes for free childcare funding including free childcare for 2-year-olds, free childcare funding for 3 & 4-year-olds, student childcare grants, tax-free childcare, childcare vouchers & more. Feel free to ask our staff for advice on any of these and we’ll be happy to help. If you are outside our area (Edgbaston, Birmingham), the bold links to free childcare funding articles may still be useful to give you an overview of the schemes, so please feel free to click through, bookmark and share.

A Funded Childcare Place for Your Child at Leaps & Bounds Nursery, Edgbaston, Birmingham

Please get in touch with us if you are eligible for any of the free childcare funding options and require a nursery or pre-school place for your child at Leaps & Bounds Day Nursery. We are a high quality nursery and pre-school in Edgbaston, Birmingham, near Harborne, Ladywood, Bearwood and Smethwick. Please choose one of the options below to register for a nursery place, book a guided tour or ask a question. We look forward to hearing from you.

^{IMPORTANT: The above seemed amazing to us, but please ensure you check the websites and suppliers direct, as some things are time-limited and/or may be subject to change. Also, we have no affiliation with, or control over, the 3rd party offerings mentioned. As such, we cannot guarantee the details but, to the best of our knowledge, we believe they were correct at time of writing (Nov 2022).}

20 November 2022/by Mark

Perhaps you have heard of Tax-Free Childcare or you may have recently read news headlines about families missing out on £2,000 in free childcare each year. The two are linked and, indeed, over a million families do miss out each year, despite being eligible for this free childcare funding. So, what exactly is Tax-Free Childcare, are you eligible to receive it and, if so, how do you go about claiming it? Today, we answer all such questions in our “Quick Guide to Tax-Free Childcare”. Take a look and you may find that your family is eligible to claim as much as £2,000 towards childcare costs each year — even more if your child is disabled.

What Exactly is Tax-Free Childcare?

Put simply, Tax-Free Childcare is a scheme that results in the Government paying as much as 20% towards your childcare costs (or as much as 40% if the child is disabled).

Example

Let’s say that your childcare fees this quarter are £2,500. Under the Tax-Free Childcare scheme, you would only pay £2,000 and the Government would chip in £500 to make up the difference. (For those with a disabled child, the family would pay just £1,500 and the Government £1,000). It’s virtually as simple as that for those who are eligible and who have correctly set up what’s known as a Childcare Account with the Government (more about that later).

Are You Eligible for Tax-Free Childcare?

In order to be eligible to claim under the Tax-Free Childcare scheme, a few rules apply …

You must be a working UK family (whether employed or self-employed).
You (as the parent) and your partner, if you have one, must be at least 16 years of age.
The child for whom you are claiming must be no older than 11, or no older than 16 if they’re disabled.
You must not be in receipt of Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, Universal Credit, a childcare bursary or grant, nor be using Childcare Vouchers.
You and your partner, if you have one, each expect to earn at least £152 per week on average over the next 3 months (the equivalent of working 16 hours a week on the National Minimum Wage (NMW) or National Living Wage (NLW), which are both £9.50 per hour for the year starting 1st April 2022).
Neither you nor your partner, if you have one, are expected to individually earn £100k or more.
The child for whom you are making the claim must usually be living with you.
Adopted children are eligible too (however, fostered children are not).

There are a few potential exceptions to the above rules. You may still be eligible to claim Tax-Free Childcare if, for example, you or your partner:

are on maternity, paternity or adoption leave (but are not claiming Tax-Free Childcare funding for the child you are on leave for);
are disabled and not therefore able to work;
are officially responsible for caring for another individual.

Without getting into too much detail in this quick guide, there are a few additional exceptions and rules around eligibility for a small number of specific scenarios. For example, perhaps you are not working, so might not otherwise have been eligible, but expect to begin working within the next 31 days. In that case, you may still be eligible to apply. Your immigration/citizenship status may also affect eligibility.

How Much Does the Government Pay?

The Government contributes up to £2k in Tax-Free Childcare per eligible child per year, or up to £4k per year per child if they are disabled. That equates to a Government contribution of £500 or £1000 maximum per quarter respectively.

You don’t directly receive the Government’s contribution yourself; it is paid direct to the childcare provider, who must be registered with the scheme. Providers must also be registered with the Early Years Register, Ofsted or with the Childcare Register in order to be eligible. So long as they are registered as above, they can be nurseries, pre-schools, childminders, nannies, breakfast clubs, after school clubs or even play schemes and summer camps. Leaps and Bounds Day Nursery is registered with Ofsted and with the Tax-Free Childcare scheme, so is an eligible childcare provider under the scheme.

How Do You Claim Tax-Free Childcare?

In order to claim the Tax-Free Childcare contributions, you will first need to open a Childcare Account on the Government website. You can begin your Tax-Free Childcare application here and your application need take no longer than about 20 minutes or so to complete, particularly if you have the right information to hand (follow the link for details). You’ll usually find out right away if you’re eligible.

Added Bonus: An added bonus when opening an account is that you can claim for 30 hours of free childcare for 3-4-year-olds, if eligible, at the same time as claiming for your Tax-Free Childcare. That’s a lovely bonus if you happen to have a child of that age and they are eligible for that childcare funding scheme too.

What Happens Once You Have a Childcare Account?

Once you have successfully set up a Childcare Account, you will need to make your own contributions into the account before the Government will make theirs. How much you pay in – and how often – is up to you. However, you will probably want to plan this carefully so that what you pay is affordable whilst also attracting the maximum possible Government contributions.

TIP 1: Others can make payments into the account, not just you. So, for example, the child’s grandparents may want to chip in so that the burden on your finances is reduced.
TIP 2: Making your payments by Bank Transfer may speed up payment of the Government’s contributions, according to some.
TIP 3: If your circumstances change after you’ve paid unused amounts into your Childcare Account, you can withdraw it if its not going to be used/needed for childcare services. It goes without saying, though, that the Government’s corresponding contributions cannot be withdrawn and will be returned to them if you withdraw your element.

How is the Childcare Provider Paid?

Once cleared, the childcare provider will be able to call off their fees, as appropriate, from the account. The funds, however, cannot be used for anything other than childcare costs with the approved provider(s).

You will need to re-affirm your details each quarter in order to confirm that you are still eligible. You will usually receive emailed reminders about the need for this.

Funded Childcare Options at our Edgbaston Nursery near Birmingham

Our Edgbaston nursery & pre-school supports free childcare funding schemes & childcare vouchers.

Our exceptional nursery and pre-school in Edgbaston, Birmingham. supports free childcare places and childcare funding for those who are eligible under the Government schemes. That includes valid/recognised childcare vouchers, free childcare for eligible 2-year-olds, free childcare for 3 & 4-year-olds, student childcare grants and, of course, Tax-Free Childcare. As well as being close to Birmingham, we’re also very near to Harborne, Ladywood, Bearwood and Smethwick, so would be conveniently located if you live or work in those locations.

Register for a nursery place for your child at Leaps & Bounds Nursery, book a guided visit with your little one or ask us any questions and we’ll be happy to help:

^{Information correct at time of writing (October 2022).}

31 October 2022/by Mark

1 year olds, Babies, Birmingham, Early years, Early Years Development, Edgbaston, Healthy eating, Kids' Health, Nurseries, Nursery, Parenting, Pre-school, Pre-schools, Preschool, Weaning

An Introduction to Baby-Led Weaning

Today we look at the topic of baby-led weaning in a follow-up to our last post all about traditional weaning. But what is baby-led weaning? How is it different to traditional weaning and what are its potential benefits? Let’s take a look.

What is Baby-Led Weaning?

Baby-led weaning is the process of letting your baby feed themselves pieces of appropriate ‘finger food’ i.e. by picking them up with their fingers. This is in contrast to a parent/carer feeding a baby puréed or mashed food via a spoon. But which method is best? Well, although some parents have a preferred method, there is currently no compelling evidence proving that one or other is the ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ method. Indeed, some parents may wish to combine both approaches. More often than not, whether a baby gets on better with traditional spoon-feeding, baby-led finger food meals or a combination of the two comes down to what suits your baby or yourself best. There are some considerations, though.

What are the Benefits of Baby-Led Weaning?

While traditional weaning has its own benefits, baby-led weaning has it’s own set too:

- Baby-led weaning encourages the baby to learn to chew, even if that means they first learn to ‘gum’ food before swallowing (especially if they, like most babies, don’t yet have teeth). This chewing element is all good practice of a new skill that they don’t yet need with the traditional purée approach.
- This means they’re strengthening their face muscles and jaws and learning to better control mouth and tongue movements.
- Baby-led weaning encourages development of fine motor skills. Picking up the food themselves means infants are using a mix of finger and hand movements, honing hand-eye coordination and also practising hand-to-mouth actions.
- Baby-led weaning lets the baby go at their own pace. They are in control of their feeding and not being governed by the parents pushing spoons at them. That’s potentially much more relaxed as a feeding mechanism.
- It may also encourage them to eat a healthier diet later on. As they grow, they are sampling foods and textures in their true state, not processed into an unrecognisable purée or mash.
- Baby-led weaning may even help to reduce child obesity as the child is totally in control of their food intake. They can stop feeding when full, which is somewhat in contrast to being led by parents feeding via a spoon.

As we said above, though, it’s up to parents to decide which of the two weaning approaches they prefer. Indeed many will use a combination of both traditional and baby-led weaning. The important thing is to ensure that your baby gets all the vitamins and nutrients that are essential to good health and development. A varied diet will help with that.

When to Begin Baby-Led Weaning

Except in special cases, it is normal to start any kind of weaning around the age of six months and the same is true for baby-led weaning. This is usually done by introducing a just small amount of solids per day initially. This can be done at any time of the day and does not have to follow usual feeding times. The idea of the small initial introduction is to get your infant used to taking solids in addition to their breast or formula milk. Indeed, their milk remains the most important part of their diet right up until the age of one.

It is common for babies to be reluctant at first, so don’t worry if they reject the food at first. Try again another day, again with just a small amount. Remember your little one is getting used to new tastes, textures and a completely different feeding process that’s in complete contrast to what they’ve been used to with only milk. So, some initial resistance is likely.

Which Foods to Try First

Firstly, remember that weaning is the process of gradually changing over from milk to solids. So, for at least the first year, the baby should continue to drink milk (breast milk or first infant formula) alongside any solids that you are introducing from the age of 6 months. What’s more, it’s sensible to give the solids first, then feed milk afterwards, otherwise the baby’s tiny stomach may fill up on milk and leave no room for the new solids. Cows’ milk should not be used before the age of 12 months, unless used as an ingredient in cooked (i.e. heated) meals.

Also important never give any hard foods like uncooked vegetables or hard fruit to babies/infants as they will not be able to ‘gum’ it. Moreover, hard pieces like those represent a possible choking hazard. The food pieces therefore need to be soft enough for you to be able to mash with your fingers — and therefore for your toddler to bite or ‘gum’. After all, most at this age will have no teeth. So, keep it soft and cut into small, finger-sized (narrow baton shaped) pieces for your baby to hold and, hopefully, self-feed from the top end downwards. Avoid round shapes and firm foods and always stay with your child when they’re feeding.

Fruit and vegetables are probably the easiest finger foods to start with.

Vegetables like carrots, broccoli, potato, yam and/or parsnips can all be boiled until soft, suitably cooled for safety and cut up into the small, finger-sized pieces.
Banana can also easily be given as finger food because it’s a suitably soft fruit.
Very soft pears may also suit, although harder pears and apples should be part-boiled until soft enough. Again, ensure they are suitably cooled before serving.

It’s wise, though, not to give your child too many sweet-tasting foods (e.g. sweet potato, carrots, fruit) and ensure they’re also getting plenty of the less sweet food types included in the listings above. Otherwise they may miss some of the more subtle flavours and naturally gravitate towards sweeter tastes. In so doing, they run the risk of getting a ‘sweet tooth’ that’s not particularly good for them.

Later On

Between 6 to 7 months, additional soft foods can be given as finger foods. So, you could add small fingers of ripe avocado, ripe (i.e. soft) mango and soft melon. You can also try your infant on soft cheese fingers using mozzarella or ricotta (never before 6 months though), so long as they’re made from pasteurised milk and are not mould-ripened (like Brie), veined (like Stilton) nor made from ripened goats’ cheese. Cheeses high in salt and saturated fats should also be avoided for the young. Omelette fingers are also a good choice, so long as the eggs are fully cooked and anything added to a Spanish omelette (e.g. vegetables) is also sufficiently soft.

From 8 to 9 months, try adding thinly sliced strawberries, raspberries and/or blueberries. You can also try your little one with steamed or boiled (then suitably cooled) green beans and peas. Cooked and cooled whole wheat pasta, hummus and minced chicken, turkey or beef may also be appealing to your little one. From 9 months your infant’s fine motor skills will be more refined and their improved grip will now allow them to pick up tiny pieces of bite-sized food, hence adding some of those smaller items from this age. Soon, they may also be able to copy your use of a spoon, so encourage this by giving them a soft weaning spoon. It may take a while, but they’ll eventually get the hang of it.

By the age of 10 to 12 months, your little one’s food offerings start to look much more similar to standard family meals. For example they may have progressed to cooked pasta and cut-up meatballs (or the vegetarian/vegan equivalent). They may now enjoy pitta bread pieces with hummus, perhaps cut-up cheese sandwiches (see aforementioned note about cheeses and also avoid bread that’s got added salt). Steamed/boiled potatoes or vegetables with shredded chicken, turkey or beef are another option – all, of course, suitably cooled and cut into small pieces for the child.

While they are progressing from 6 months to a year, ensure you gradually introduce more of the important food types (fruit and veg, starchy foods, proteins and dairy). Ensure they try a variety of tastes and textures too.

More Information about Weaning

The NHS has lots of useful information about weaning. Watch a useful NHS video and learn more about weaning infants, including a few safety tips, here.

Safety Around Weaning

Ensure you are fully familiar with all the potential safety issues and precautions around weaning before you start the process. In particular, make sure you are up to speed about what to do if your baby chokes and never allow your infant to feed without constant vigilance and supervision. We outlined several safety suggestions in our last post (available here) to get you started. A more detailed NHS guide about Safe Weaning is also available here (don’t miss each of the pale blue ‘tabs’ as each has hidden information that’s incredibly useful and important).

Outstanding Childcare Services in Edgbaston, Birmingham

Leaps & Bounds Nursery & Pre-school is in Edgbaston, Birmingham

Leaps & Bounds is a high quality nursery and pre-school in Edgbaston, Birmingham, also being near Harborne, Ladywood, Bearwood and Smethwick. We support free childcare schemes from the Government, including free childcare for eligible 2-year-olds, free childcare for 3 & 4-year-olds, student childcare grants and tax-free childcare for eligible families. We are also officially a good nursery according to Ofsted.

If you are looking for high quality childcare for your baby or child under five, we’d love to hear from you. Please click a button to get started:

30 September 2022/by Mark

1 year olds, 2 year olds, 3 & 4 year olds, Babies, Birmingham, Early Years Development, Edgbaston, Healthy eating, Learning & Development, Nurseries, Nursery, Parenting, Pre-school, Pre-schools, Preschool, Toddlers, Under-5s, Weaning

An Introduction to Traditional Weaning

In a follow-up to our Guide to Formula Milks last month, we now introduce the topic of weaning — also known as complementary feeding. Weaning relates to the introduction of foods other than milk to your baby once they reach an appropriate age. In today’s article, we explore the traditional approach to weaning although will follow up separately with an alternative weaning method, in the near future.

The Meaning of Weaning

A typical dictionary definition tells us that weaning is, “to gradually stop feeding a baby or young animal with its mother’s milk and start feeding it with solid food.” Specifically, we mean the process of changing over i.e. phasing out the milk/formula and gradually transitioning the infant to ‘solids’. The new foods will initially be given alongside the breast or formula milk that the child has consumed up until then.

“Solids” — a Clarification for the Traditional Weaning Approach

It should be noted that, using the traditional approach to weaning, food is not initially introduced as actual solid pieces. Although we call foods other than milk or formula solids, they are fed to babies and infants initially in puréed form in the traditional approach to weaning. Examples of foods that can be pulped in this way are soft fruits like ripe apples and pears, bananas, cooked (but suitably cooled) vegetables like cauliflower, potato, broccoli, spinach, sweet potato, carrots and suchlike. Puréed food like this can slip down easily – almost like a liquid. It’s intuitive for a baby to swallow as it’s not too dissimilar to drinking, which is what they’ve been used to.

The thinking with this traditional approach is that puréed food is safer for very young babies too. It may also be easier for them to consume (most have no teeth at weaning age). Pulped vegetables or fruit, for example, will have been blitzed in a blender to a point where there are no lumps and the food is simply in a lovely purée form. The traditional wisdom is also that its pulped form will significantly reduce the potential choking risk that would otherwise apply if the food hadn’t been puréed. However, see our note below about baby-led weaning as that approach is quite different to the traditional one.

Anyway, as your infant grows older and more used to eating puréed food, you can gradually progress to less ‘blitzed’ textures. For example, mashed foods rather than completely puréed ones. They’ll have a bit more texture about them. A slightly lumpier mixture can follow later, then eventually graduate them to finger foods, so long as they’re soft (for example cooked carrot sticks rather than raw). Do see the safety notes in the box at the end of this guide, though, including in regard to avoiding possible choking hazards.

Baby-Led Weaning

In contrast to traditional weaning using puréed food, a more recent approach that’s become quite popular is baby-led weaning. However, because it’s quite a big topic in its own right, we have published a stand-alone article outlining the alternative baby-led approach separately, here.

When to Wean?

Unless you’ve been advised otherwise by a healthcare professional (e.g. Health Visitor), it’s usually best to wait until your baby is 6 months old before beginning the weaning process. Ensure your child is physically ready for the process. This will include good hand-eye coordination skills, being able to sit up and hold their own head steady and being able to swallow puréed food.

Be mindful, though, that the introduction of solids should accompany their breast or formula milk, not immediately replace it. Continuing to consume milk is essential to their growth and health at this early stage in their lives.

The 3 Stages of Traditional Weaning

The initial introduction of some solid foods (mashed or puréed) usually takes place from the age of 6 months.
At 7 months, more textured food and some different tastes can be mixed in.
Between 9 and 12 months of age, a wider variety of food can be given.

What if Babies Don’t Like Solids?

Weaning is an exciting milestone. However, it can be both fun and challenging in equal measure. Each baby is individual. While some babies take to eating solids like ducks to water, others take longer to adapt. Their expressions are the real giveaway, so watch out for those. It’s a whole new experience for them and remember; they are going from knowing only warm milk to a whole new world of unfamiliar textures and tastes.

Start Weaning Slowly

It’s important not to rush the weaning process and for both parent and baby to enjoy the new journey. Starting with just small amounts is fine if the baby isn’t taking to solids initially. They’ll soon catch on and you can then introduce more as time goes by.

Spoon-Fed vs. Baby-Led Feeding

Whether spoon-feeding as a parent or allowing the baby to lead their own feeding may require some experimentation. Some babies like to be spoon-fed while others get on better with ‘baby-led’ feeding. So it’s worth trying each and even a combination of the two when you first start weaning your child onto solids. Their preference will soon become apparent and, before you know it, they’ll be transitioning to solids beautifully.

Top Tips for Worry-Free Weaning

Avoid feeding when the baby is tired or preoccupied.
Remove toys from the baby’s vicinity and turn off distractions like TVs.
Pick your moment to start weaning carefully.
Demonstrate how you eat, use a spoon, etc. and let them watch. They will learn from your example.
Give them a ‘weaning spoon’ (these are softer than standard ones) and try not to overload their spoon with food. A weaning bowl, with suction cup underneath for stability, is also a useful tool.
Don’t be surprised if they initially push solids out of their mouths — babies need to learn how to eat, use their tongues and swallow these new puréed foods.
A little gagging may be natural, but be vigilant about possible choking, which is dangerous. Learn some First Aid just in case.
Don’t stress if things get messy — this is totally natural and can easily be mitigated through use of a bib (e.g. a pelican bib).
Don’t forget that babies may not accept foods until they’ve tried them multiple times. Sometimes it can take as many as 10 tries before a baby will accept a new food. Perseverance is key but, of course, never force an infant to feed.
Following a session of eating ‘solids’ with a drink of milk is a good way to put your infant at ease and make the process of weaning more natural. It can also help to wash the puréed solids down and reduce the possibility of indigestion, hiccups etc.
Don’t worry if the amount of solids consumed by your baby in each sitting is inconsistent. Your baby may sometimes eat more, other times less.
Ensure that, overall, your little one is consuming a balanced and varied diet.
Discuss whether additional vitamin/mineral supplements are appropriate for your child with your GP or Health visitor. This is particularly important if your little one has a special diet. (Aside from special diet scenarios, the NHS website makes recommendations about vitamin supplements for little ones and that information is included in the bold NHS link directly below this section).
Be patient and persevere.

The NHS outlines additional guidelines about weaning here.

Safety Considerations

Avoid choking hazards. That means things like grapes, cherry tomatoes, nuts, raw vegetables etc. should not be given whole nor in chunks that could be a choking hazard. Chop them up small or mash them, as appropriate. Remove stones and pips etc.
Always supervise feeding, particularly when weaning.
Was your baby born prematurely? If so, consult your doctor or health visitor before starting the weaning process.
Maintain high levels of hygiene around food preparation.
Ensure that you know which foods to avoid giving your little one.
Do not add salt or sugar to infants’ food.
Always check that food is at the correct temperature for your child before serving.
Be mindful of possible food allergens when first introducing new foods to your child. Click the green link to learn more.

Looking for the Best Nurseries in Edgbaston or Birmingham?

Leaps & Bounds Nursery in Edgbaston, Birmingham is Officially a Good Nursery & Pre-school

Leaps & Bounds Nursery is highly rated by Ofsted. It is a high quality nursery and pre-school in Edgbaston, Birmingham and is also conveniently close to Harborne, Ladywood, Bearwood and Smethwick. We support the Government’s schemes for free childcare for eligible 2-year-olds, free childcare for 3 & 4-year-olds, student childcare grants and tax-free childcare for those who are eligible).

We’d welcome your enquiry for childcare for your under-five child. To get started, please click a button below:

18 September 2022/by Mark