Guidance needed for families reclaiming childcare

Guidance needed for families reclaiming childcareImage caption, Fiona Vacher says the government could provide a bit more information on what needs submittingByCaitlin Klein, Jersey and Georgina Barnes, JerseyPublishedJust nowMore guidance for parents claiming back money from the government's childcare funding scheme is needed, the head of the Jersey Child Care Trust (JCCT) has said.In February, the government said parents of a child eligible from January to August 2026 could apply for up to £4,180, and parents of children eligible for a full school year from the 1 September 2026 would be able to apply for up to £6,270.But some families have had problems claiming money back from the States after being told they had provided 'invalid receipts' for childcare.JCCT CEO Fiona Vacher said as it was a pilot scheme, it was likely problems would be discovered.She said: "We understand that there have been some cases through our contacts with parents and I think that's around parents submitting bills rather than receipts."We knew there would be difficulties and I know the government is just responding to that."Vacher said the government could provide "a bit more information for parents about how they and what they submit".Deputy Catherine Curtis, the Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning, said 537 applications had been approved for 409 families with £1.4m paid out since the scheme began. She added that no formal complaints had been recorded but that feedback was "being reviewed to enable continuous improvement".'Really does help'Vacher said the repayments made a difference for some families "between actually being able to access childcare and not". "For some families that means being able to go to work, for other families it means a bit of breathing space for them, there might be siblings, additional needs in the home, additional difficulties, and it really does help," she explained.&qu...