Dear Colleagues,
Updates from the Team
Working Together to Safeguard Children- Update
DfE has recently updated Working together to Safeguard Children, its statutory guidance on multi-agency working to safeguard children in England. The guidance applies to all organisations and agencies in England who have functions relating to children, setting out how they can work together to support and protect children.
The DfE has also updated its supporting information for local areas on embedding Working Together to Safeguard Children. This should be read in conjunction to the above.
Improving-practice-with-children-young-people-and-families
Updated guidance for childminders on claiming household expenses
HMRC has published guidance for childminders on how they can continue to claim household expenses, including wear and tear costs deductions, whether they use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax or not. The new guidance and the updated Business Income Manual guidance can be found on GOV.UK.
Key points from the guidance:
All childminders can claim a deduction for costs of buying, repairing or replacing household items used for their business, including wear and tear of household items and furniture, household costs and food and drink, whether they use Making Tax Digital or the alternative rules for the sector.
- Only those with qualifying income above £50,000 will begin using Making Tax Digital from 6 April 2026. In 2027 the qualifying income threshold will drop to £30,000 and then in 2028 to £20,000.
- If childminders use Making Tax Digital they will record and claim their actual expenditure on buying, repairing or replacing household items and furniture, which can be higher than 10% in some instances. If they are still using the alternative method, they will continue to claim for ‘wear and tear’ using the flat 10% estimate.
The government will actively engage with childminders and stakeholders to review the impacts of moving from the 10% deduction to actual costs for wear and tear expense claims.
You can also find out more information about Making Tax Digital for Income Tax on HMRC’s campaign page.
Digital Upskilling for Providers
Childcare Works recently recorded digital upskilling resource is designed to strengthen providers’ confidence with Microsoft 365 applications. This chaptered recording makes it easy to jump straight into learning how to do practical tasks in Excel, Microsoft Forms, and Word, perfect for supporting smaller providers with everyday operations and business planning. All external links referenced during the session are included in the Vimeo description, so you can access everything they need in one place.
You can access the recording and slide deck via the HUB,
Making the Most of Digital Tools for Early Years and Childcare Providers on Vimeo
Updates from Partners
DWP – Major employment drive announcement
This week DWP announced a major youth employment drive backed by £1 billion that will help create 200,000 jobs for young people, alongside the biggest transformation of apprenticeships in a decade – it includes:
A new Youth Jobs Grant, through which businesses will receive £3,000 for every young person they hire aged 18-24 who has been on Universal Credit and looking for work for six months. This is expected to support 60,000 young people over three years.
- Expansion of the Jobs Guarantee to a wider age range, from 18-21 to 18-24, to create more than 35,000 extra subsidised jobs. This brings the total to be supported through the scheme to over 90,000 in the next three years.
- An Apprenticeship Incentive of £2,000 for each new employee aged 16-24 taken on by an SME (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises). As part of wider reforms, this will drive progress to the target of creating 50,000 more apprenticeships. Further reforms to the Growth and Skills Levy to prioritise young apprentices, secure value for money and give school and college leavers more opportunities than ever to build careers in cutting edge industries.
For more information read the full press release
To find out more about the support that is available for businesses as part of the Youth Guarantee visit Business.gov.uk.
