About wraparound childcare

Wraparound childcare is before and after school childcare that wraps around the school day. It typically runs from 8 am until 6 pm (hours can change depending on local demand) during term time, either on a school site, or another local setting such as a community centre, a nursery, or a childminder.

This childcare is aimed at working parents, or for parents who are studying or training for employment but is accessible to all parents who need it.

Not necessarily as some schools will be working together with neighbouring schools to provide wraparound as a cluster (group of schools working together). This supports schools that do not have sufficient demand to run provision alone, reduces costs, and enables children to interact more widely with their peers.

If your school’s provision is off-site, a walking bus will be provided to get your child from their school to their nearest afterschool club. You will not be required to pick up and drop off your child at another provision but will be required to collect them from the afterschool venue specified by your child’s school. 

You have the right to request childcare in your child's school. More information about the right to request can be found on the Best Start in Life website. 

Yes, you will be required to pay for before and after-school childcare. Costs will vary and are set by the school or the provider. In the Local Authority (LA), our ambition is that schools and providers keep costs affordable for families. Your child’s school will be able to provide you with a breakdown of their costs.

Check what support is available to you by using the childcare eligibility checker. You may be able to access Tax-free Childcare , or Universal Credit Childcare to help with payments.

1. Set up an online childcare account for your child on GOV.UK.
2. Search for childcare providers through the online account using their name, town, or post code. If your childcare provider is signed up to Tax-Free Childcare, you can add them to your account and start paying them straight away. If they aren’t registered, you will be able to send them a nudge notification asking them to sign-up to the scheme.
3. Deposit money into the account. For every £8 you pay into this account, the government will pay in £2 to use to pay your childcare provider. You can get up to £500 every 3 months (up to £2,000 a year) for each of your children to help with the costs of childcare. This goes up to £1,000 every 3 months if a child is disabled (up to £4,000 a year).
4. Use the money to pay your childcare provider through your online account.
5. Reconfirm your eligibility for Tax-Free Childcare every three months. You’ll get a reminder and it’s easy to do through your online account.

Taken from the Best Start in Life website.

Many schools offer afterschool clubs that are run by teaching staff, or providers (or a combination of both) finishing well before 6 pm. Schools’ existing enrichment and extracurricular offers can interact with, complement, and support delivery of wraparound childcare provision.

Wraparound is intended to be an inclusive provision. Speak to your child’s school about their offer for children with additional needs and what support may be available. If your child gets transport to and from school, this cannot be used to support attendance at a wraparound provision. If your child has higher needs, they may be able to access support from Short Breaks. Support can be many things, it can be working with the provider around training and guidance, providing visuals and tools to allow better communication, or support from staff to work alongside your child at a setting working towards independent access.

The Short Breaks Service is accessible if your child meets the criteria and after an assessment of need. If you feel your child meets the threshold for this service, please contact the Service Navigator:

Samantha McBride
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: 07790 362267 

The RBKC SEND Local Offer has information on accessible and inclusive activities for children across the borough. 

Please speak to your child’s school in the first instance.

You may also wish to check back for regular updates and information or contact the designated Bi-borough Wraparound Lead on:

Marianna Lill
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: 07967 760095