Childcare Offer for Wales: terms and conditions for providers

(a)   Where your claim has been correctly completed and submitted, funding will be awarded to you for the Purposes (as defined in Condition a) (the ‘Funding’) .

(b)   The Funding relates to the period relevant to the claim submitted.

(c)   The Conditions shall become effective and legally binding on the date you register on the Childcare Offer for Wales digital service and read and accept the Conditions.

(d) Capitalised terms used have the meaning given to them in Condition 3.

(e)   If you have any questions in relation to this award of Funding or the Conditions set out in this letter, please contact your local authority Childcare team who will be happy to assist.

(a)   This award of Funding is made subject to the Conditions and under the authority of the Minister for Children and Social Care acting under authority of the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, one of the Welsh Ministers and in pursuance of functions transferred under section 58A of the Government of Wales Act 2006 and section 28 of the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2009.

(b)   You must ensure that the use of the Funding is compatible with the Subsidy Control Act 2022 and the applicable agreements contained in the World Trade Organisation rules, UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement and any free trade agreement involving the UK and the Northern Ireland Protocol. 

(a)   In these Conditions the following terms have the following meaning:

Account

The bank account opened and maintained by you with a UK clearing bank, in your own name and in respect of which you have sole signing rights, or such other account as we may approve in writing for the purpose of the Conditions and at our absolute discretion from time to time.

Assurance Statement

The Assurance Statement: counter fraud and governance contained in Schedule 3.

Availability Period

The period specified in Condition 1(b).

Business Day

A day other than a Saturday, Sunday or a statutory public holiday in England and/or Wales.

Conditions

The terms and conditions set out, including its Schedules.

Costs Incurred

The cost to you of goods and/or services you have committed to obtain regardless of whether you have paid for them by the date of your claim.

Costs Incurred and Paid

The invoiced cost of goods and/or services you have received and which have been paid for by you in cleared funds by the date of your claim.

Disposal

The disposal, sale, lease or transfer of a Funded Asset, any part thereof or any interest in any Funded Asset including any contract for disposal.

Funding

Has the meaning given to such term in Condition 1(a).

Funded Asset

Any building, new construction, land, extensions of and alterations to existing buildings or the purchase of any other fixed asset (i.e. machinery, plant, equipment and vehicles) with an expected working life of more than one year, but only where the acquisition or creation is funded (whether in whole or in part) by the Funding or where the stated purpose of the Funding is to fund all or part of the cost of repairing, refurbishing or otherwise  enhancing the asset.

Funded Asset Owning Period

A period of five years from the end of the Funding Period.

Funding Period

Has the meaning given to such term in Condition 1(b).

Notification Event

Any of the events listed in Schedule 2.

Personnel

Your directors, officers, employees, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers or any other person appointed or engaged by you in connection with the Purposes.

Purposes

The purposes set out in Schedule 1.

Sanctions List

Any of the lists issued or maintained by the UK and the United Nations, and in each case their respective governmental, judicial or regulatory institutions, agencies, departments and authorities, designating or identifying persons that are subject to sanctions, in each case as amended, supplemented or substituted from time to time, including the UK Sanctions List, Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets in the UK and the Consolidated United Nations Security Council Sanctions List.

Schedule

The relevant schedule attached to these Conditions.

We, Us, Our

The Welsh Ministers.

Welsh Government Official

The members of the Welsh Government Childcare Offer for Wales team. Address: Early Years, Childcare and Play Division, Cathays Park 2, Cardiff, CF10 3NQ. Email: childcareoffer@gov.wales. Or such other Welsh Government Official as we may notify to you from time to time.

You, Your

The name of your registered setting.

Childcare Offer for Wales, Childcare Offer

The Welsh Government funding scheme to provide eligible parents of 3 and 4 year old children with up to 48 weeks of government-funded childcare.

Childcare Providers

A childcare provider or childcare setting registered with Care Inspectorate Wales (or Ofsted in England) that is also registered to deliver the Childcare Offer.

Claim Manager

The member of your Personnel who is responsible for the day-to-day management of this award of Funding.

National Digital Service

The online platform where parents can apply for the Childcare Offer for Wales, and childcare providers can manage hours and claim funding.

Nursery Education

Nursery education is funded early education for 3 and 4-year old children before they enter statutory school education. It is funded by the local authority and delivered in a school or registered childcare setting, such as a nursery, playgroup, or childminder.

(b)   Any reference to legislation of any jurisdiction includes all amendments to, substitutions and re-enactments of that legislation as may be in force from time to time.

(c)   The words ‘including’ and ‘includes’ are deemed to have the words ‘without limitation’ immediately following them. 

(a)   You must use the Funding solely for the Purposes set out in Schedule 1.

(b)   Any change to the Purposes will require our written consent which must be obtained from us in advance of implementing any change. Please note that we are not obliged to give our consent but we will consider all written requests at our absolute discretion.

(c)   You must not use any part of the Funding directly or indirectly for any kind of activity which in our sole opinion could bring us into disrepute, including: (1) party political purposes, (2) the promotion of secular, religious or political views, (3) gambling, (4) pornography or offering sexual services, or (5) any illegal or unlawful activity.

(d)   You must not use any part of the Funding: (1) to fund, in full or in part, the acquisition, creation or material enhancement of any assets including any building, new construction, land, extensions of and alterations to existing buildings or the purchase of any other fixed asset (i.e. machinery, plant, equipment and vehicles) with an expected working life of more than one year (other than Funded Assets explicitly specified in the Purposes), (2) for legal fees payable by you in relation to your Application, or (3) for Costs Incurred or Costs Incurred and Paid by you prior to the Availability Period.

(a)   We will not pay any Funding to you until you have provided us with all the following information and documentation:

(i)   your acceptance of the terms and conditions on the Childcare Offer National Digital Service;

(ii)   and

(iii)   any other information, document, opinion or assurance we have requested from you which we consider necessary or desirable in connection with this award of Funding or the Purposes or in connection with the entry into and performance of this award of Funding or its validity and enforceability.

(b)   Where you are required to provide any information and/or documentation to us as evidence that you have satisfied a particular pre-condition, Condition or otherwise in support of a claim, the information and/or documentation must be in form and substance acceptable to us. We reserve the right to reject any information/documentation which is for any reason not acceptable to us, and/or request any further or additional information and/or documentation in support of the request for Funding.

You may claim the Funding weekly in arrears using this link: how to claim a payment from the Childcare Offer. You must claim all the funding within two calendar months based on Costs Incurred by you in the delivery of the Purposes.

(a)   We reserve the right to withdraw any part of the Funding that you do not claim within the Availability Period.

(i)   evidence in form and substance satisfactory to us that you have appropriate systems in place to ensure that ongoing due diligence is undertaken in respect of any part of the Funding being utilised by you to provide a grant and/or to procure any goods or services from a third party.

(b)   You must promptly provide us with any other information, document, opinion or assurance which we consider to be necessary or desirable (if we have notified you accordingly) in connection with your claim for the Funding. Any failure by you to provide such information, document, opinion or assurance may lead to a claim being rejected and/or all or any part of the Funding being withdrawn.

(c)   We will aim to pay all valid claims as soon as possible and typically within 3-5 Business Days of receipt of a valid claim being made in accordance with the provisions of the conditions, and provided always that the Funding pre-conditions set out in Condition 5 above have been satisfied and that on both the date of the claim and the date the Funding is to be paid to you:

(i)   the declarations made in Condition 8 below are true and correct and will be true and correct immediately after the relevant Funding has been paid to you; and

(ii)   no Notification Event is continuing or might result from the proposed Funding.

(d)   Any payments of the Funding will be made only to the Account and will not be paid to any other bank account.

You must:

(a)   safeguard the Funding against fraud generally and, in particular, fraud on the part of your Personnel and notify us immediately if you have reason to suspect that any fraud within your organisation has occurred or is occurring or is likely to occur whether or not it relates to the Funding. You must also participate in such fraud prevention initiatives as we may require from time to time;

(b)   maintain appropriate procedures for dealing with any conflicts of interest in relation to the Funding whether actual, potential or perceived;

(c)   comply with all applicable domestic or international laws or regulations or official directives;

(d)   maintain adequate insurances to cover against the risks which may arise in connection with any property or any activity undertaken in delivery of the Purposes. We reserve the right to require you to provide proof of your insurance;

(e)   maintain appropriate financial, risk and control systems when utilising any part of the Funding for the Purposes;

(f)   maintain appropriate financial, risk and due diligence systems when utilising any part of the Funding to provide a grant and/or to procure any goods or services from a third party.

(g)   co-operate fully with the Welsh Government Official and with any other employee of the Welsh Government or consultant appointed by us to monitor your use of the Funding and your compliance with the Conditions;

(h)   inform us immediately if any declaration made in Condition 8 is incorrect in any respect or, if repeated at any time with reference to the facts and circumstances then existing, would be incorrect; and

(i)   notify us of any funding received by you from any source which is procured or utilised in conjunction with the Funding to directly support the Purposes including your insurance provider (cancellation/business disruption insurance), any fund/scheme offered by the Welsh Ministers or UK Government and/or any other funders. The intention of this Condition is to avoid any duplication of funding in respect of the Purposes.

(a)   You declare that:

(i)   you have the power to enter into and to perform the obligations set out in the Conditions and you have taken all necessary action to authorise your entry into and performance of the obligations under the Conditions;

(ii)   no limit on your powers (including borrowing powers) will be exceeded as a result of claiming the Funding, or the grant of any security contemplated by the Conditions;

(iii)   the entry into and performance by you of any of the transactions contemplated by the conditions do not, and will not, contravene or conflict with:

(I)   your constitutional documents;

(II)   any agreement or instrument binding on you or your assets or constitute a default or termination event (however described) under any such agreement or instrument; or

(III)   any law or regulation or judicial or official order, applicable to you or the activities carried out by you;

(iv)   no Notification Event is continuing or might reasonably be expected to result from the provision of the Funding and no other event or circumstance is outstanding which constitutes (or, with the expiry of a grace period, the giving of notice, the making of any determination or any combination thereof, would constitute) a default or termination event (howsoever described) under any other agreement or instrument which is binding on you or to which any of your assets is subject;

(v)   no litigation or arbitration or administrative proceeding is current, threatened or pending which has or could have an adverse effect on your ability to continue to operate, or perform or comply with any of the Conditions;

(vi)   you have disclosed to us all material facts or circumstances which need to be disclosed to enable us to obtain a true and correct view of your business and affairs (both current and prospective) or which ought to be provided to any person who is considering providing funding to you;

(vii)   you are not, and have never been, listed on any Sanctions List, and that any of your Personnel or persons associated with you are not listed on any Sanctions List or have engaged in conduct that would result in your designation on any Sanctions List;

(viii)   any information, in written or electronic format, supplied by you to us in connection with the Funding was, at the time it was supplied or at the date it was stated to be given (as the case may be):

(I)   if it was factual information, complete, true and accurate in all material respects;

(II)   if it was a financial projection or forecast, prepared on the basis of recent historical information and on the basis of reasonable assumptions and was arrived at after careful consideration;

(III)   if it was an opinion or intention, made after careful consideration and was fair and made on reasonable grounds; and

(IV)   not misleading in any material respect, nor rendered misleading by a failure to disclose other information, except to the extent that it has been amended, superseded or updated by more recent information supplied by you to us;

(ix)   there are no conflicts of interest in relation to the Funding whether actual, potential or perceived and whether in relation to you or any of your Personnel;

(x)   acceptance of this award of Funding will not result in duplicate funding in respect of the activities required to deliver the Purposes from any other source. This includes but is not limited to any payments from your insurance provider, or any other Welsh Government or UK Government fund or scheme; and

(xi)   the information contained in the Assurance Statement is complete, true and accurate.

(b)   You will be deemed to repeat the declarations in this Condition 8 on each date on which you:

(i)   submit a claim for payment of Funding pursuant to the Conditions; and

(ii)   may have any liability to us under or in relation to the Conditions or the award of Funding,

in each case by reference to the facts and circumstances existing on each such date.

(a)   Without prejudice to the provisions of Condition 9, if you become aware of any events or circumstances which arise during the Funding Period and/or the delivery of the Purposes and which you are unsure constitute or have the potential to become a Notification Event, we would encourage you to contact the Welsh Government Official promptly to discuss these events or circumstances.

(b)   You must notify us immediately if a Notification Event has occurred or is likely to occur, but we also reserve the right to notify you where we believe a Notification Event has occurred or may occur.

(c)   On and at any time after the occurrence of a Notification Event, we may, by notice to you:

(i)   confirm that a Notification Event has occurred and reserve all our rights in relation to the Funding and the Conditions from time to time; and/or

(ii)   state whether we consider, at our absolute discretion, the Notification Event is capable of remedy; and/or

(iii)   state whether we consider, at our absolute discretion, the Notification Event is capable of remedy and seek to discuss the Notification Event with you with a view to agreeing a course of action to be taken to address, remedy or mitigate the Notification Event and/or the events or circumstances giving rise to it; and/or

(iv)   take any such action which we consider necessary or desirable from time to time in relation to that Notification Event or the events or circumstances giving rise to it.

(d)   Notwithstanding the provisions of Condition 9(c), on and after the occurrence of a Notification Event, we may take any of the actions listed in Condition 9(e) if:

(i)   despite our efforts we have been unable to discuss the Notification Event with you; or

(ii)   we notify you that the Notification Event is not, in our opinion, capable of remedy; or

(iii)   a course of action to address and/or remedy the Notification Event is not agreed with you; or

(iv)   a course of action to address and/or remedy the Notification Event is agreed with you but you fail to follow it, or any conditions attached to it are not met (including the timescale for such course of action) to our satisfaction; or

(v)   the course of action fails to remedy the Notification Event to our satisfaction.

(e)   If any of the circumstances set out in Condition 9(d) occurs we may, at our absolute discretion, by notice to you:

(i)   withdraw the award of Funding; and/or

(ii)   declare that the aggregate amount of Funding paid to you is immediately due and payable, whereupon it shall become immediately due and payable; and/or

(iii)   require you to immediately repay all or part of the Funding; and/or

(iv)   suspend or cease all further payment of Funding; and/or 

(v)   make all further payments of Funding subject to such additional Conditions as we may specify; and/or 

(vi)   deduct all amounts owed to us under the Conditions from any other funding that we have awarded or may award to you; and/or

(vii)   exercise any other rights against you which we may have in respect of the Funding or arising under the conditions.

(f)   Repayment of any Funding must be made within twenty Business Days of the date of our demand.

(a)   You must:

(i)   maintain complete, accurate and valid accounting records identifying all income and expenditure in relation to the Purposes;

(ii)   without charge, permit any officer or officers of the Welsh Government, Audit Wales or any UK subsidy enforcement body at any reasonable time and on reasonable notice (in exceptional circumstances, such as the prevention or detection of fraud, it may not be practicable to provide you with reasonable notice) being given to you to visit your premises and/or to inspect any of your activities and/or to examine and take copies of your books of account and such other documents or records howsoever stored as in such officer’s reasonable view may relate in any way to your use of the Funding. This undertaking is without prejudice and subject to any other statutory rights and powers exercisable by the Welsh Ministers, Audit Wales or any UK subsidy enforcement body or any officer, servant or agent of any of the above;

(iii)   retain all original documents relating to the Funding for seven years from the date of the last payment of the Funding;

(b)   Under paragraph 17 of Schedule 8 to the Government of Wales Act 2006 the Auditor General for Wales has extensive rights of access to documents and information relating to monies provided by the Welsh Ministers. They and their officials have the power to require relevant persons who control or hold documents to give any assistance, information and explanation that they may require, and to require those persons to attend before them for such a purpose.  The Auditor General and their staff may exercise this right at all reasonable times.

(a)   Nothing in the Conditions imposes any liability on us in respect of:

(i)   any liability incurred by you to any third party (including your employees and contractors)

(b)   By accepting the conditions, you agree to indemnify us on demand against all liabilities, claims, proceedings, demands, awards, judgments, settlements, actions, damages, losses, costs and expenses suffered or incurred by us directly or indirectly arising as a result of or in connection with any failure by you to perform fully or in part any obligation you may have to a third party from time to time.

(a)   Nothing in the Conditions transfers to us any rights in any intellectual property created by you as a result of the Purposes.

(b)   You must acknowledge our support in relation to the Purposes. Such acknowledgement(s) must be in a form approved by us and must comply with the Welsh Government’s branding guidelines.

(c)   You must provide the Welsh Government Official with details of all the acknowledgement(s) referred to in Condition 13(b) for our approval before any such acknowledgements are used and you may not use such acknowledgments without our prior written approval. We will endeavour to respond to all written requests for approval within 10 Business Days.

(d)   You agree that from the date of your acceptance of the conditions until 5 years from the date of the final payment of Funding we may include details about your organisation and business, the Funding and the Purposes in Welsh Government promotional materials and you further agree to cooperate with our reasonable requests to achieve the production of such materials.

(a)   You acknowledge that we are subject to the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the “FOIA”), the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (the “EIR”), the Data Protection Act 2018 and the retained EU law version of the General Data Protection Regulation ((EU) 2016/679).

(b)   You acknowledge that we are responsible for determining in our absolute discretion whether:

(i)   to disclose any information which we have obtained under or in connection with the Funding to the extent that we are required to disclose such information to a person making a disclosure request under the FOIA or the EIR; and/or

(ii)   any such information is exempt from disclosure under the FOIA or the EIR.

(c)   You acknowledge that we may share any information or data which we have obtained from you or in connection with the Funding with fraud prevention agencies and third parties for the purposes of preventing and detecting fraud and ensuring compliance with the Conditions. Any personal data we collect will be managed in accordance with our Privacy Notice which is available to view here Childcare Offer for Wales: privacy notice for childcare providers. 

Please refer to Schedule 4 which provides details of your obligations in respect of data protection.

(a)   If you decide to buy any goods and/or services to deliver the Purposes, they must be purchased in a competitive and sustainable way so as to demonstrate you have: (i) achieved best value in the use of public funds, and (ii) complied with your conflicts of interest policy at the relevant time.

(b)   We may from time to time request evidence from you to demonstrate your compliance with this Condition 15. Such evidence may take the form of evidence of your:

(i)   compliance with any procurement regulations, legislation or guidance in place from time to time to which you, or any person carrying out a business or function of the same or similar nature to you, is subject; or

(ii)   compliance with your procurement policy in place at the relevant time; or

(iii)   obtaining a minimum of three written quotations for the relevant goods and/or services.

(c)   You must supply such evidence to us promptly following our written request for such evidence.

(a)   You must:

(i)   ensure that all Funded Assets are maintained in good condition during the Funded Asset Owning Period;

(ii)   not create any charge, legal mortgage, debenture or lien over any Funded Asset without our prior written consent; and

(iii)   not move or relocate any Funded Asset from your usual place of business in Wales without our prior written consent.

(b)   You must not dispose of any Funded Assets without our prior written consent. If we grant consent to a Disposal, such consent may be subject to satisfaction of certain conditions, to be determined by us.

(c)   If you dispose of any Funded Asset without our prior written consent, you shall hold all proceeds of that disposal in trust for, and pay or transfer them to, us for application towards the discharge of any monies which are or may become due and payable under the Conditions or as we may otherwise decide at our absolute discretion. 

(a)   Where notice is required to be given under the Conditions it must be in writing (this does not include email but may include a PDF copy of a letter attached to an email) and must prominently display the following on the notice (in the case of a letter) or as the subject line (in the case of an email): "Notice in relation to the Childcare Offer for Wales costs paid to Childcare Providers".

(b)   The address and contact details for the purposes of serving notice under the Conditions are as follows:

You: the Claim Manager at the address registered on the National Digital Service.

Us: the Welsh Government Childcare Offer for Wales team at the address stated in Condition 3.

A notice will be deemed to have been properly given as follows:

Prepaid first class post: on the second Business Day after the date of posting.

By hand: upon delivery to the address or the next Business Day if after 4pm or on a day which is not a Business Day.

By email attachment: upon transmission or if transmitted after 4pm on a Business Day, or on a day which is not a Business Day, the next Business Day.

You must have in place and apply equality policies covering employment, use of volunteers and provision of services, in accordance with the Equality Act 2010.

(a)   The Welsh Ministers are committed to supporting the Welsh language and culture and ‘Cymraeg 2050: A million Welsh speakers’ Welsh language strategy (Cymraeg 2050) provides a vision for the growth and further development of the Welsh language.

(b)   Where the Purposes include or relate to the provision of services in Wales, they must be provided in Welsh and English unless it would be unreasonable or disproportionate to do so. They must be provided in such a way as to not treat the Welsh language less favourably than English, in accordance with the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011.

(c)   Where the provision of services forms part of the Purposes, you must act in accordance with the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011and the aims of Cymraeg 2050. In practice, this will require the following:

(i)   ensure that any written material produced, including digital material, is bilingual;

(ii)   ensure that any signage is bilingual;

(iii)   ensure that any training or public events are held bilingually; and

(iv)   actively promote and facilitate the Welsh language (including providing services and increasing opportunities to use the Welsh language) within the Purposes.

For general advice on providing services bilingually and for information on which organisations are able to support you, please contact the Welsh language advice service “Helo Blod” on 03000 258888 or email heloblod@gov.wales with your query. Cwlwm partners provide support and guidance on developing Welsh language in childcare, early years and play settings. Please see the Cwlwm website for contact details.

Your use of the Funding must contribute to the achievement of the well-being objectives contained in the Welsh Government Programme for Government. You must work in a sustainable way (act in accordance with the sustainable development principle) in delivering the Purposes so as to ensure you are working in a preventative, integrated, long-term and collaborative way that involves people that reflect the diversity of Wales.

You acknowledge that the Welsh Ministers have a range of functions which will continue to accrue and be amended and that decisions in relation to each such function are obliged to be taken in the light of all relevant considerations and to the exclusion of all irrelevant considerations.

You agree that nothing contained or implied in, or arising under or in connection with, the Conditions will in any way prejudice, fetter or affect the functions of the Welsh Ministers or any of them nor oblige the Welsh Ministers or any of them to exercise, or refrain from exercising, any of their functions in any particular way.

(a)   If at any time any of the Conditions are deemed to be or become invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect under any applicable law, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions will not in any way be affected or impaired.

(b)   No failure or delay on our part to exercise any power, right or remedy under the Conditions will operate as a waiver of any such power, right or remedy or preclude its further exercise or the exercise of any other power, right or remedy. The powers, rights or remedies hereby provided are cumulative and not exclusive of any powers, rights or remedies provided by law.

(c)   Any amendment or variation to the Conditions must be in writing and signed by us and you in form and substance satisfactory to us from time to time.

(d)   You may not assign, sub-contract or otherwise dispose of in any way your rights, benefits, obligations or duties under the Conditions.

(e)   Conditions 7, 9, 11, 13, 14, and 22(e) and such other Conditions which by implication need to continue in force beyond the final payment of Funding will so continue in full force and effect.

(f)   The award of the Funding is to you alone and no one else is entitled to make any claim in respect of the Funding or seek to rely on or enforce any of the Conditions.

(g)   In circumstances where you comprise two or more persons or bodies, the liabilities of such persons or bodies shall be joint and several and the default of one of such persons or bodies shall be deemed to be the default of all.

(h)   Any disputes or claims (including any non-contractual disputes or claims) arising out of or in connection with the Conditions, their formation or their subject matter or the Funding shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Wales and England as applied in Wales, and the parties agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of Wales and England to hear any such disputes or claims in respect of the same.

By registering on the Childcare Offer for Wales National Digital Service you accept the Terms and Conditions.

The Childcare Offer is a funding scheme established by the Welsh Government to provide parents of 3 and 4-year old children with government-funded childcare for up to 48 weeks a year. This includes the delivery of up to 20 hours of childcare per child per week over 39 weeks of term time and up to 30 hours of childcare per child per week over 9 weeks of school holiday periods.

The primary policy aims of the Childcare Offer are:

• to enable more parents, particularly mothers, to return to work;
• to increase the disposal income of those in work and help counteract poverty for those in low-paid jobs; and
• to encourage child development and school readiness.

The Purpose of the Funding is to enable Childcare Providers to deliver the provision of childcare to eligible parents under the Childcare Offer for Wales.

The Childcare Offer for Wales guidance for providers provides further information.

Provider Eligibility

You must be registered as a childcare provider with a regulator. Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) is the regulator and inspectorate for childcare in Wales. In England it's Ofsted.

You are required to meet the National Minimum Standards for childcare, be familiar with CIW’s Quality Framework and inspected accordingly.

If your setting is in England, you will be subject to Ofsted inspections and are required to meet their standards.

You do not need to be a provider of Nursery Education to deliver funded childcare under the Childcare Offer.

Childcare Providers that are not registered with either CIW or Ofsted are not able to deliver the Offer.

If your registration is suspended, even if it’s voluntary, you will not be able to deliver the Offer until the suspension has been removed.

How much you will be paid

Childcare

From 6 April 2026, You will get £6.67 per hour for each child that is entitled to the Childcare Offer in your care. You can claim for half hour sessions and will be paid at a rate of £3.34.

You are not required to charge the Childcare Offer's hourly rate for provision which is not delivered under this scheme.

Top-up rates when your normal rate is higher

You cannot charge for hourly top-up rates if you normally charge more than £6.67 per hour.

Providers who are found to breach the terms and conditions of the Childcare Offer and charge hourly top-up fees will no longer be funded to deliver the Childcare Offer.

Food

You can charge for meals that you provide but only if you normally charge for food separately.

If you do make additional charges for food as part of your delivery of the Offer, you should make it clear to the parents before accessing the Childcare Offer what that charge is for.

If you normally allow parents to provide packed lunches for their children, parents accessing the Childcare Offer must also be allowed to do so.

In a full day session (approximately 10 hours), parents should not be charged more than £11.25 for meals. A charge of £11.25 for a full day care session would include:

• 3 meals at approximately £3.13 per meal
• 2 snacks at a charge of 94p per snack

For meals provided during a half-day session (approximately 5.5 hours) parents should not be charged more than £7.20. This allows for

• 2 meals at £3.13 per meal,
• a snack at a charge of 94p per snack

If you provide sessional day care, you should not charge more than 94p per day.

Transport Charges (pick-up and drop-off)

You are permitted to charge parents fees for transport. These fees are not determined by the Welsh Government. As transport costs will vary depending on the location and nature of a childcare setting, the type of transport provided, and the costs associated with staffing and maintaining transport vehicles to a safe standard. 

Any transport charges should be reasonable and Offer parents should not be charged more for transport than those not accessing the Offer.

You should inform the parent of any expected transport costs relevant to your arrangement with them prior to commencement of childcare

Charges for off-site activities

You are permitted to charge parents for off-site activities which incur a cost. The rates for these activities will not be set by the Welsh Government as costs will vary according to the nature of the activities.

Parents accessing the Childcare Offer should be able to opt their child out of paid for off-site activities and participation in such activities should not be a condition of using the childcare setting.

Off-site activities should be occasional and exceptional, rather than a routine part of the setting’s week

Charges for on-site activities

You should not apply additional charges to Childcare Offer parents for routine on-site activities.

Other charges

The Childcare Offer cannot be used to cover non-direct childcare costs, such as holiday retainer fees, upfront administration, holding fees.  Notice fees or periods that fall out of Welsh Government funding cannot be paid by the Welsh Government.  These costs must be paid for by the parent.

You should not impose any additional charges on parents accessing the Childcare Offer for any elements over and above the costs of actual childcare, if you do not also impose charges for those elements on parents who are not accessing the Offer.

For example, any additional services that are included as standard within regular fees for parents who are not accessing the Childcare Offer, should also be included as standard for parents who are accessing the Offer.

Agreements with parents

To safeguard public funds, Providers are only able to claim the number of hours that has been discussed and agreed with the parent and set out in their Agreement made on the National Digital Service. This may be less than the number of hours a parent is eligible for as it is possible to split hours between childcare providers to meet the parent’s requirements. For example, where parents share custody and use different providers or where parents only require part-time childcare.

When children do not attend booked sessions

If a child cannot or does not attend a booked session, you will still get paid for the hours booked. If a child continues not to attend for a period of 4 weeks, you should contact your local authority.

Local authority checks

When providers submit their claims, parents are informed of the hours claimed via the National Digital Services. If parents raise concerns that the Welsh Government considers require further action, the Welsh Government reserves the right to instruct local authorities to carry out checks of premises, including opening and closing checks. This may include reviewing documentation such as registers.

Provider Overpayments

Where providers have claimed funding incorrectly, they will be offered the opportunity to make a repayment. This can be done by repaying the full amount or by offsetting it against any future claims. At this stage, local authority childcare teams are responsible for engaging with the provider. Cases should only be referred to Welsh Government where agreement on repayment cannot be reached.

Non-Compliance with the Conditions

If childcare providers do not comply with the Conditions, we reserve the right to take action in accordance with Schedule 2 (Notification Events).

The Notification Events referred to in Condition 9 are listed below:

(1)   repayment of any part of the Funding is required in accordance with any relevant legislation;

(2)   you fail to comply with any of the Conditions;

(3)   the Funding, in full or in part, is not being used for the Purposes;

(4)   you fail to provide information about the Purposes requested by us or any UK subsidy enforcement body or any of its auditors, agents or representatives;

(5)   we have reason to believe that you and/or any of your Personnel are or have been involved in fraudulent activity or acquisitive crime whether or not it relates to or is in any way connected to the Funding;

(6)   we have made an overpayment of Funding to you;

(7)   you receive duplicate funding in relation to any element of the Purposes from any other source, including any UK Government or Welsh Ministers fund or scheme;

(8)   any declaration made in Condition 8 is, or proves to be, incomplete untrue or misleading, incorrect in any respect or, if repeated at any time with reference to the facts and circumstances then existing, would be incorrect;

(9)   there has been a modification (qualification, adverse or disclaimer) to the auditor’s opinion on your financial statements;

(10)   an event or circumstance has occurred and is outstanding which constitutes (or, with the expiry of a grace period, the giving of notice, the making of any determination or any combination thereof, would constitute) a default or termination event (howsoever described) under any other agreement or instrument which is binding on you or to which any of your assets is subject;

(11)   a moratorium in respect of all or any of your debts or assets or a composition or an agreement with your creditors is agreed, applied for, ordered or declared;

(12)   you stop or suspend payment of any debts or are unable, or admit in writing your inability, to pay your debts as they fall due;

(13)   the value of your assets is less than your liabilities (taking into account contingent and prospective liabilities);

(14)   you commence negotiations, or enter into any composition, compromise, assignment or arrangement, with one or more of your creditors with a view to rescheduling any of your indebtedness (because of actual or anticipated financial difficulties).

(15)   any action, proceedings, procedure or step is taken in relation to you in relation to:

(a)   the suspension of payments, a moratorium in respect of any indebtedness, winding up, dissolution, administration or reorganisation (using a voluntary arrangement, scheme of arrangement or otherwise); or

(b)   a composition, compromise, assignment or arrangement with any of your creditors; or

(c)   the appointment of a liquidator, receiver, administrative receiver, administrator, compulsory manager or other similar officer in respect of you or any of your assets.

(16)   a statutory demand is issued against you;

(17)   you cease, or threaten to suspend or cease, to carry on all or a material part of your business;

(18)   there is a change in your constitution, status, control or ownership and/or your external auditors resign;

(19)   you fail to comply with any statutory or regulatory reporting obligations which are applicable to you (including filing requirements at Companies House, the Charity Commission, the Financial Conduct Authority);

(20)   an investigation by a statutory, regulatory or governing body commences in relation to you, your business or any member of your senior management (including investigations by Companies House, the Charity Commission, the Financial Conduct Authority or the police);

(21)   there is any change, including disqualification, termination without notice or payment in lieu of notice or as a result of that person’s poor performance or conduct, or resignation with immediate effect in your senior management or those who control you (including your  directors, trustees or partners, as applicable) which may affect your ability to deliver the Purposes;

(22)   there is any change, whether permanent or temporary in your Personnel which may affect your ability to deliver the Purposes;

(23)   the Disposal of a Funded Asset or Funded Assets without our prior written consent;

(24)   any event occurs or circumstances arise which in our opinion gives reasonable grounds for believing that providing the Funding and/or the continuation of the arrangements contemplated by the Conditions could bring us into disrepute; or

(25)   any event occurs or circumstances arise which in our opinion gives reasonable grounds for believing that you may not, or may be unable, to perform or comply with any of your obligations under the Conditions.

The Welsh Government has a duty to protect public funds, ensuring they are handled with probity and in the public interest.  It is important that people in Wales are able to have confidence in the Welsh Government and the organisations it funds. Welsh Government officials require assurance that reasonable and adequate governance and counter fraud procedures exist in the organisations funded by the Welsh Government.

In submitting a claim for payment, you declare that you, your employees, officials, directors, trustees and board members (as relevant):

• where applicable, fully understand their duties and responsibilities under the relevant legislation relating to companies and charities
• have sufficient knowledge about governance issues to carry out their roles in a manner which is fully compliant with the relevant legislation
• properly scrutinise and oversee the work of those with primary responsibility for your financial management, to mitigate the risk of fraud and double funding from public sources; and
• will disclose, if required, details of any other funding from any other organisation (including applications that are pending) to support the Purposes including amounts of other funding, posts funded and source of funding.

Part 1

Carrying out the Purposes will require the processing of Personal Data on our behalf. We will be the Data Controller and this section provides details of the permitted processing to be undertaken in carrying out the Purposes.

You must comply with any further written instructions from us in respect of processing on our behalf. Any such further instructions shall be incorporated into this section.
 

Legal basis for processing

The collection and processing of this data is necessary to perform a task in the public interest and the exercise of our official authority (i.e. exercising our official authority to undertake the core role and functions of the Welsh Government). This enables the operation of, and to provide information which will help the Welsh Ministers to make decisions relating to the development of the policy in relation to, the Childcare Offer which is being delivered to improve economic and social well-being in Wales in accordance with section 60 of the Government of Wales Act 2006.

Subject Matter of the Processing

You will process the personal data of parents and children who have been approved to receive funded childcare through the Childcare Offer.

Duration of the Processing

You will process the personal data of parents and children for the period during which they remain eligible to receive funded childcare through the Childcare Offer, or until their agreement under the Childcare Offer has ended and all associated payments have been claimed.

Location of the Processing

The data must be processed within the United Kingdom and must not be transferred outside the UK unless it is in accordance with Condition 2.6.6.

Nature of the Processing

You will use the data on the National Digital Service to form agreements with parents to provide funded childcare for their child under the Childcare Offer and to claim the funding for each eligible child.

Purposes of the Processing

The purpose of you undertaking these activities as a data processor is to ensure that agreements with parents are accurately recorded on the National Digital Service to enable the correct Funding payments to be made to you for the provision of childcare under the Childcare Offer.

Type of Personal Data to be Processed

• Name of lead parent
• Name of child

Categories of Data Subjects

You will process personal data relating to parents who have been approved to receive funded childcare through the Childcare Offer and their eligible children.

Plan for the return and/or destruction of the data once the processing is complete unless requirement under Law to preserve that type of data

Not applicable for records held on the National Digital Service as data on the Childcare Offer National Digital Service will be kept in line with the Childcare Offer for Wales section of the Welsh Government retention and disposal schedule.

Childcare settings must keep records, such as registers relating to childcare funded via the Childcare Offer for a period of 7 years from the date the Childcare Offer for Wales funding ends.

Part 2

(1)   The definitions set out below for the following terms shall be used in this UK GDPR Schedule:

Data Security Event

Any event that results or may result in unauthorised access to Personal Data held by you  under the Award of Funding , and/or actual or potential loss and/or destruction of Personal Data in breach of this Award of Funding including any Personal Data Breach (as defined in the UK GDPR).

Data Protection Impact Assessment

An assessment by the Controller of the impact of the envisaged Processing on the protection of Personal Data.

Data Protection Legislation

All applicable data protection and privacy legislation in force from time to time in the UK including the UK GDPR; the DPA  2018 (and regulations made thereunder); the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/2426) as amended; and the guidance and codes of practice issued by the Commissioner and which are applicable to a party.

Data Subject Access Request

A request made by or on behalf of a Data Subject in accordance with rights granted pursuant to the Data Protection Legislation to access their Personal Data.

DPA 2018

The Data Protection Act 2018.

UK GDPR

The Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data as it forms part of the law of England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland by virtue of section 3 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act of 2018.

Law

(a)   any applicable statute or proclamation or any delegated or subordinate legislation;

(b)   any applicable guidance, code of practice, direction or determination with which we and/or you are bound to comply to the extent that the same are published and publicly available or the existence or contents of them have been notified to you by us ; and

(c)   any applicable judgment or order of a relevant court of law which is a binding precedent in England and Wales,

in each case in force or applicable in both England and Wales, or in Wales only.

Party

Us or You, together ‘the Parties’.

Protective Measures

Appropriate technical and organisational measures which may include pseudonymising and encrypting Personal Data, ensuring confidentiality, integrity, availability and resilience of systems and services, ensuring that availability of and access to Personal Data can be restored in a timely manner after an incident and regularly assessing and evaluating the effectiveness of the measures adopted by it.

Sub-Processor

Any third party appointed to Process Personal Data on your behalf in relation to the Award of Funding.

(2) Protection of Personal Data

2.1 In this UK GDPR Schedule the following terms shall have the meaning given to them in the UK GDPR: Controller, Processor, Data Subject, Personal Data, Process, Personal Data Breach, Data Protection Officer.

2.2 The Parties acknowledge that for the purposes of the Data Protection Legislation we are the Controller and you are the Processor. 

2.3 Unless otherwise required to do so by Law (in which case you shall inform us of that legal requirement before Processing, unless law prohibits such information on important grounds of public interest), the only Processing of Personal Data you are authorised to do is described in this UK GDPR Schedule or is the subject of prior written approval by us and may not be determined by you. You will not process the Personal Data for any other purpose or in a way that does not comply with this Award of Funding or the Data Protection Legislation. You must comply promptly with our written instructions requiring you to amend, transfer, delete or otherwise process the Personal Data, or to stop, mitigate or remedy any unauthorised processing.

2.4 You must notify us immediately if you consider that any of our instructions infringe the Data Protection Legislation.

2.5 You must provide all reasonable assistance to us in any on-going Data Protection Impact Assessment prior to and after commencing any Processing. Such assistance may, at our discretion, include:

2.5.1 a systematic description of the envisaged Processing operations and the purpose of the Processing;

2.5.2 an assessment of the necessity and proportionality of the Processing operations in relation to the Purposes;

2.5.3 an assessment of the risks to the rights and freedoms of Data Subjects; and

2.5.4 a systematic description of the measures envisaged to address the risks, including safeguards, security measures and mechanisms to ensure the protection of Personal Data.

2.6 You must in relation to any Personal Data Processed in connection with your obligations under the Award of Funding:

2.6.1 process that Personal Data only in accordance with Condition 2.3 of this UK GDPR Schedule, unless you are required to do otherwise by Law. If you are so required you must promptly notify us before Processing the Personal Data unless prohibited by Law;
    
2.6.2 ensure that you have in place Protective Measures, which have been reviewed and approved by us as appropriate, to protect against a Data Security Event having taken account of the:

(i)    nature of the data to be protected;
(ii)    harm that might result from a Data Security Event;
(iii)    state of technological development; and     
(iv)    cost of implementing any measures;

2.6.3 you must, where you are required under the Award of Funding to notify Data Subjects of the purpose and detail of the Processing to be undertaken, cooperate with us to agree an appropriate notice which complies with the Data Protection Legislation. The notice must have our prior written approval. You must not modify or alter the notice in any way without our prior written consent;

2.6.4 ensure that your Personnel do not Process Personal Data except in accordance with the Award of Funding;

2.6.5 ensure that you take all reasonable steps to ensure the reliability and integrity of any of your Personnel who have access to the Personal Data and ensure that they:

(i)      are aware of and comply with your obligations under the Conditions; 
(ii)     are subject to appropriate confidentiality undertakings with you or any Sub-Processor;
(iii)     are informed of the confidential nature of the Personal Data and do not publish, disclose or divulge any of the Personal Data to any third party unless directed in writing to do so by us or as otherwise permitted by the Award of Funding; and 
(iv)     have undergone adequate training in the use, care, protection and handling of Personal Data;

2.6.6 not transfer Personal Data outside the UK unless our prior written consent has been obtained or Article 28(3)(a) of the UK GDPR applies;

2.6.7 At our written direction, delete or return Personal Data (and any copies of it) to us on expiry of the Award of Funding unless you are required by Law to retain the Personal Data.

2.7 Subject to Condition 2.8, you must notify us immediately if in connection with the Award of Funding you:

2.7.1 receive a Data Subject Access Request (or purported Data Subject Access Request);

2.7.2 receive a request to rectify, block processing or erase any Personal Data;

2.7.3 receive any other request, complaint or communication relating to either Party’s obligations under the Data Protection Legislation;

2.7.4 receive any communication from the Information Commissioner or any other regulatory authority in connection with Personal Data Processed under the Award of Funding;

2.7.5 receive a request from any third party for disclosure of Personal Data where compliance with such request is required or purported to be required by Law; or

2.7.6 become aware of a Data Security Event.

2.8 Your obligation to notify under Condition 2.7 of this UK GDPR Schedule includes the provision of further information to us in phases without undue delay as details become available.

2.9 Taking into account the nature of the Processing, you must provide us with full assistance in relation to either Party’s obligations under Data Protection Legislation and any complaint, communication or request made under Condition 2.7 of this UK GDPR Schedule (and insofar as possible within the timescales reasonably required by us) including by promptly providing us with:

2.9.1 full details and copies of the complaint, communication or request;

2.9.2 such assistance as we may reasonably request to enable us to comply with a Data Subject Access Request within the relevant timescales set out in the Data Protection Legislation;

2.9.3 at our request, any Personal Data you hold in relation to a Data Subject;

2.9.4 assistance as we may reasonably request following any Data Security Event;

2.9.5 assistance as we may reasonably request with respect to any request from the Information Commissioner’s Office or any consultation by us with the Information Commissioner’s Office.

2.10 You must maintain complete and accurate records and information to demonstrate your compliance with this Condition 2 of this UK GDPR Schedule. This requirement does not apply where you employ fewer than 250 staff unless:

2.10.1 we determine that the Processing is not occasional; or

2.10.2 we  determine the Processing includes special categories of data as referred to in Article 9(1) of the UK GDPR or Personal Data relating to criminal convictions and offences referred to in Articles 10 of the UK GDPR; or

2.10.3 we determine that the Processing is likely to result in a risk to the rights and freedoms of Data Subjects.

2.11 You must allow for audits of your Data Processing activity by us or our designated auditor.

2.12 You must designate a data protection officer if required by the Data Protection Legislation.

2.13 Before allowing any Sub-Processor to Process any Personal Data related to the Award of Funding you must:

2.13.1 notify us in writing of the intended Sub-Processor and Processing;

2.13.2 obtain our prior written consent;

2.13.2 enter into a written agreement with the Sub-Processor which gives effect to the terms set out in this Condition 2 of this UK GDPR Schedule such that they apply to the Sub-Processor; and

2.13.3 provide us with such information regarding the Sub-Processor as we may reasonably require.

2.14 You shall remain fully liable for all acts or omissions of any Sub-Processor.

2.15 We may at any time on not less than 30 Business Days’ notice revise this Condition 2 of this UK GDPR Schedule 6 by replacing it with any applicable controller to processor standard clauses or similar terms forming part of an applicable certification scheme (which shall apply when incorporated by attachment to the Award of Funding).

2.16 The Parties agree to take account of any guidance issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office and other guidance where relevant.  We may on not less than 30 Business Days’ notice to you amend the Award of Funding to ensure that it complies with any guidance issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office.

2.17 For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in the Award of Funding shall relieve you of your own direct responsibilities and liabilities under the Data Protection Legislation.

2.18 You agree to indemnify and keep us indemnified against all claims and proceedings and all liability, loss, costs and expenses incurred in connection therewith by us  as a result of any claim made or brought by any individual or other legal person in respect of any loss, damage or distress caused to that individual or other legal person as a result of your  unauthorised processing, unlawful processing, destruction of and/or damage to any Personal Data process by you, your  employees or agents in your  performance of the Award of Funding or as otherwise agreed between the Parties.

2.19 The provisions of this Condition 2 of this UK GDPR Schedule shall apply during the continuance of the Award of Funding and indefinitely after its expiry.