‘I’m a childminder who can’t look after my grandson for money due to a loophole’

A grandmother with decades of experience in the childcare sector says childminders are discriminated against by the Government as they cannot be paid to look after their own grandchildren while nursery workers can.

Zowie Bishop, 50, who lives in Norfolk, has worked in childcare for 30 years, from being a nanny to an area manager for nurseries and running her own nursery school.

The mum-of-three worked as a childminder when her daughters were younger and recently decided to retrain, as she thought it would mean she could run her own business and help out her daughter by taking care of her nine-month-old grandson, Arthur.

However, a Government quirk in legislation means Ms Bishop’s daughter Elle is unable to use funded hours to pay for her mother to look after Arthur as part of her childminding business – so the grandmother is losing money by looking after him.

Ms Bishop, who also has a 16-year-old son and a daughter who lives with her who has just had a baby, told The i Paper: “I was persuaded by my daughter to go back into childminding so I could help out and care for my grandson.

“But as I qualified, I realised I couldn’t actually claim the Government funded childcare hours for looking after Arthur because of a loophole which affects childminders.

“My daughter and her husband Jack are two young working parents and have recently bought a house. Elle went back to work full-time earlier after having Arthur as she couldn’t afford to be off on statutory maternity pay.”

The 2006 Childcare Act prevents childminders in England from accessing Government funded childcare for relatives meaning Ms Bishop’s daughter will be prevented from receiving the 15 hours of free childcare.

“It is really unfair that they can’t use funded childcare hours with me and would have to pay me out of their own pocket. But I want to help them and look after my grandson, so I am doing it for free,” she added.

The Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years (PACEY), estimates just over a third of childminders currently have at least one child in their setting related to them and that childminders lose on average £5,000 per year for each 30-hour place that a relative takes.

The policy only affects childminders as nursery workers are permitted to deliver the entitlement to related children.

In 2018, Wales began allowing childminders to access funded hours for “non-residing children” – relatives who live in different households – prompting calls for England to do the same.

Ms Bishop says childminders can have up to three children under the age of five and three before and after school children. She charges £5 an hour, so when she looks after Arthur, she is only receiving £10 an hour for the other two under-fives she is looking after – which she points out isn’t even minimum wage.

“It is very disheartening considering the professional and educational experience I have,” she said. “It is deeply unfair as childcare professionals who work in a nursery are able to have their grandchildren there and claim the funding.

“Even though I’ve got more than 30 years experience in childcare, have a degree in early years and am much more experienced and educated than a nursery assistant, I am being penalised because I have gone into the childminding field rather than the nursery field.”

Ms Bishop says she understands that you can’t have “any grandmother” applying for childcare funding, but she believes it is wrong to penalise childcare professionals like her who have years of experience in early years.

“It is a personal thing, but after working in all the sectors, I believe under-fives thrive with childminders and that the home education and small groups of children is more beneficial to them.

“It is not like I am going to treat my grandchild any differently to the other children. I would rather provide free childcare for my grandson than him having to go somewhere else so I am looking after him and just not getting paid for it.”

Ms Bishop’s daughter Elle works as an assistant producer in London so has to get a train to London three days a week. Ms Bishop looks after her grandson those three days and on the other two days when her daughter works from home, Ms Bishop’s mother looks after Arthur one day and her daughter’s mother-in-law looks after him the other day.

Who can access free childcare

The amount of free childcare you can get depends on:

• your child’s age and circumstances
• whether you’re working (employed, self-employed, or a director)
• your income (and your partner’s income, if you have one)
• your immigration status

You will not be eligible if either:

• your child does not usually live with you
• you or your partner have an expected adjusted net income of over £100,000 in the current tax year

If your child is 9 months to 2 years old

Children aged 9 months to 2 years old currently get 15 hours of free childcare per week for 38 weeks of the year. From September 2025 this will increase to 30 hours per week.

If your child is 3 to 4 years old

You can get 30 hours per week of free childcare for 38 weeks of the year.

If you’re not currently working

You may still be eligible if your partner is working, and you are on carer’s leave or if you get any of the following: 

• Incapacity Benefit 
• Severe Disablement Allowance 
• Carer’s Allowance 
• Limited Capability for Work Benefit 
• Contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance

“This loophole affecting childminders has been closed in Scotland and Wales, so it is just childminder grandparents in England who are losing out,” she said.

“It is hard for parents nowadays with everything in the economy and the cost of living and the UK needs to evolve as the other countries have done and close this loophole.”

Brett Wigdortz, founder of education charity Teach First and CEO of childminder agency tiney which trained Zowie, said: “We wouldn’t pay a teacher less just because they have a relative in the classroom, so why single out childminders?

“It makes little sense that childminders in England – trained, regulated professionals – are the only early years educators blocked from claiming funding for related children.

“This rule particularly holds back grandparents who could play a vital role in the childcare workforce.

“Childminders like Zowie, who have spent decades nurturing young children, are then faced with the heartbreaking reality that they can’t use the professional skills they’ve spent a lifetime building to care for their own grandchildren without taking a significant financial hit.

“It’s dispiriting and shortsighted at a time when we should be showing our early years educators just how much we value them. And, with seven million grandparents in the UK already providing informal childcare, removing this barrier could encourage more to retrain as childminders, which would massively boost the workforce.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Childminders are an essential part of the early years system and have an important role to play in our Plan for Change to get tens of thousands more children school-ready by aged five.

“The expansion of government-funded childcare is already benefiting childminders in a number of ways, including higher hourly rates paid by government than childminders tend to charge parents.

“From September, we will be extending funded hours to 30 hours a week, saving parents up to £7,500 per year as we also create thousands of places in new school-based nurseries.

“We will continue to work closely with the sector to deliver on the promises made to parents and give children the best start in life.”