The Childcare Payments Regulations 2015

Qualifying childcare: registered or approved childcare U.K.

3.—(1) For the purposes of section 2 (qualifying childcare), childcare described in paragraphs (2) to (6) is to be regarded as registered or approved childcare.

(2) Care provided in England for a child—

(a) by a person registered under Part 3 of the Childcare Act 2006 M1 ;

(b) by or under the direction of the proprietor of a school as part of the school activities—

(i) out of school hours, where a child has reached compulsory school age; or

(ii) at any time, where a child has not yet reached compulsory school age; or

(c) by a domiciliary care provider registered with the Care Quality Commission in accordance with the requirements of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 M2 .

(3) Care provided in Wales for a child—

(a) by a person registered under Part 2 of the Children and Families (Wales) Measure 2010 M3 ;

(b) by a person in circumstances where, but for article 11, 12 or 14 of the Child Minding and Day Care Exceptions (Wales) Order 2010 M4 , the care would be day care for the purposes of Part 2 of the Children and Families (Wales) Measure 2010;

(c) out of school hours, by a school as part of the school activities or by a local authority;

[F1 (d) by a person who is employed or engaged under a contract for services to provide care and support by the provider of a domiciliary support service within the meaning of Part 1 of the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016;]

(e) by a foster parent in relation to a child (other than one whom the foster parent is fostering) in circumstances where the care would be child minding or day care for the purposes of Part 2 of the Children and Families (Wales) Measure 2010 but for the fact that the child is over the age of the children to whom that Measure applies; or

(f) by a childcare provider approved in accordance with a scheme made by the National Assembly for Wales or the Welsh Ministers M5 under [F2 either—

(i) section 12(5) of the Tax Credit Act 2002; or

(ii) section 60 of the Government of Wales Act 2006].

(4) Care provided in Scotland for a child—

(a) by a person in circumstances where the care service provided by the person consists of child minding or of day care of children within the meaning of paragraph 12 or 13 of Schedule 12 to the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 M6 and is registered under Part 5 of that Act;

(b) by a local authority in circumstances where the care service provided by the local authority consists of child minding or of day care of children within the meaning of paragraph 12 or 13 of Schedule 12 to the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 and is registered under Part 5 of that Act; or

(c) by a childcare agency where the care service consists of or includes supplying, or introducing to persons who use the service, childcarers within the meaning of paragraph 5 of Schedule 12 to the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010.

(5) Care provided in Northern Ireland for a child—

(a) by a person registered under Part 11 of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 M7 ;

(b) out of school hours by a school as part of the school activities; or

(c) by a childcare provider approved in accordance with a scheme under the Tax Credits (Approval of Home Child Care Providers) Scheme (Northern Ireland) 2006 M8 [F3 ; or]

[F4 (d) by a childcare provider approved by a Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland for the purposes of providing approved home childcare.]

[F5 (6) Care provided for a child outside the United Kingdom—

(a) where the care is provided by a Ministry of Defence approved childcare provider which is inspected by a person whose functions include regulating the provision of childcare in accordance with the statutory requirements of the Department for Education, or

(b) in any other case, where care is provided within [F6 a prescribed] state by a childcare provider which is approved, regulated or accredited under the legislation of the relevant state, by a person whose functions include regulating the provision of education or childcare.]

(7) The following are not registered or approved childcare—

(a) care provided for a child by the child's parent, step-parent or the parent's partner M9 ;

(b) care provided for a child by a relative of the child, wholly or mainly in the child's home;

(c) care provided by a person with parental responsibility for the child; and

(d) care provided by a person who is a foster parent of the child.

(8) Care is not within paragraph (2)(a) if it is provided in breach of a requirement to register under Part 3 of the Childcare Act 2006.

(9) Care is not within paragraph (5)(a) if it is provided in breach of a requirement to register under Part 11 of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995.

(10) In this regulation—

• “compulsory school age” is determined in accordance with section 8 of the Education Act 1996 M10 ;

• “foster parent” includes, in Scotland, a foster carer or kinship carer as defined by regulation 2 of the Looked After Children (Scotland) Regulations 2009 M11 ;

• “local authority” means—

  (a)

  in relation to Wales, a county council, a county borough council or a community council;

  (b)

  in relation to Scotland, a council constituted under section 2 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 M12 ;

• [F7 “Ministry of Defence approved childcare provider” means a childcare provider, outside the United Kingdom, approved by the Ministry of Defence for use by Her Majesty’s forces, which has the same meaning as in the Armed Forces Act 2006, and their families, and civil servants employed by the Ministry of Defence and their families;]

• “proprietor”, in relation to a school, means—

  (a)

  the governing body incorporated under section 19 of the Education Act 2002 M13 ; or

  (b)

  if there is no such body, the person or body of persons responsible for the management of the school;

• “relative” means grandparent, aunt, uncle, brother or sister, whether of the full blood or half blood or by marriage or civil partnership;

• “school”—

  (a)

  in England and Wales, has the same meaning as in the Education Act 1996 M14 ;

  (b)

  in Northern Ireland, means a school as defined by article 2(2) of the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 M15 .

Textual Amendments

F1 Reg. 3(3)(d) substituted (6.4.2018) by The Tax Credits and Childcare (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/365), regs. 1, 5(2)

F2 Words in reg. 3(3)(f) substituted (6.4.2020) by The Tax Credits, Child Benefit, Guardians Allowance and Childcare Payments (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/297), regs. 1, 8(2)(a)

F3 Word in reg. 3(5)(c) inserted (6.4.2020) by The Tax Credits, Child Benefit, Guardians Allowance and Childcare Payments (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/297), regs. 1, 8(2)(b)(i)

F4 Reg. 3(5)(d) inserted (6.4.2020) by The Tax Credits, Child Benefit, Guardians Allowance and Childcare Payments (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/297), regs. 1, 8(2)(b)(ii)

F5 Reg. 3(6) substituted (21.3.2019) by The Tax Credits, Child Benefit and Childcare Payments (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/364), regs. 1, 12(2)(a)

F6 Words in reg. 3(6)(b) substituted (22.7.2021) by The Childcare Payments (Miscellaneous Amendment) Regulations 2021 (S.I. 2021/781), regs. 1, 3(3)

F7 Words in reg. 3(10) inserted (21.3.2019) by The Tax Credits, Child Benefit and Childcare Payments (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/364), regs. 1, 12(2)(b)

Marginal Citations

M1 2006 c. 21.

M2 2008 c. 14.

M3 2010 nawm 1.

M4 S.I. 2010/2839 (W 233).

M5 Section 45(2) of the Government of Wales Act 2006 (c. 32) defines the Welsh Ministers as the First Minister and the Welsh Ministers appointed under section 48 of that Act.

M6 2010 asp 8.

M7 S.I. 1995/755 (N.I. 2).

M8 S.R. 2006 No. 64.

M9 Section 71 of the Act provides that partner is to be read in accordance with regulations made under section 3(5). Regulation 3 of S.I. 2015/448, made under section 3(5), explains when two people are regarded as partners for the purposes of the Act.

M10 1996 c. 56; section 8 was amended by section 52 of the Education Act 1997 (c. 44).

M11 S.S.I. 2009/210.

M12 1994 c. 39.

M13 2002 c. 32. Section 19 was amended, in relation to schools in England, by section 38 of the Education Act 2011 (c. 21) and S.I. 2010/1158.

M14 Section 4, which gives the general meaning of school, was amended by section 51 of, and paragraph 10 of Schedule 7 and paragraph 1 of Schedule 8 to, the Education Act 1997, Part 3 of Schedule 22 to the Education Act 2002, section 95 of the Childcare Act 2006 (c. 21), paragraph 9 of Schedule 13 to the Education Act 2011 (c. 21) and S.I. 2010/1080.

M15 S.I. 1986/594 (N.I. 3), to which there are amendments not relevant to this regulation.