Information for early years childcare professionals

Invoice and fee information

Becoming a childminder in Gateshead

Concerns about a childcare provider

Flexible working

Gateshead's Local Offer (special educational needs)

Information for Early Years Providers with SLA

Help paying for childcare

Setting up childcare provision

Apply to be a funded childcare provider

To apply to become a funded childcare provider, please fill in the application form (Word doc, 88 KB) and return to [email protected] using your secure email. If you are unsure how to set this up, or require any additional information, please contact us at [email protected]

Funded childcare providers

Providers of funded childcare places can access the Provider Portal (opens new window).

Provider Agreements

(please note these documents are awaiting 2026/27 updates)

A Provider Agreement September 2025 (Word doc, 106 KB)

Appendix A Parent Declaration Form (Word doc, 53 KB)

Appendix B Stretch (Word doc, 62 KB)

Appendix C Eligibility Criteria For Two Year Olds (Word doc, 58 KB)

Appendix D Eligibility Criteria For Working Parents Entitlements (Word doc, 58 KB)

Appendix E Funding Formula (Word doc, 58 KB)

Appendix F SEND IF (Word doc, 65 KB)

Appendix G Safeguarding Audit 25-26 (Word doc, 285 KB)

Appendix H Compulsory School Age (Word doc, 57 KB)

Appendix I Eligibility To Free School Meals (Word doc, 57 KB)

Appendix J DfE Invoice Template (Word doc, 39 KB)

Funding Calendars

Monthly Paid Providers 2026/2027 (PDF, 754 KB)

PVI & Academy Funding Calendar 2026/2027 (PDF, 747 KB)

Schools Funding Calendar 2026/2027 (PDF, 741 KB)

Tax-Free Childcare

Childcare providers across the country are signing up for the government's offer: Tax-Free Childcare.

Tax-Free Childcare will help working parents with the cost of childcare, offering up to £2,000 per child per year, or £4,000 for a disabled child. Parents will be able to open an online account, which they can use to pay for childcare from a registered provider. For every £8 parents pay into these accounts, the government will add £2.

As a childcare provider you must sign up to be able to receive payments from parents through the scheme.

To sign up visit Gov.UK childcare tax service (opens new window) you will need:

the unique code included in your invitation letter.
bank account details for the account you wish to receive payments into.
your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) number - or your National Insurance number, if you don't have a UTR.

Tax-Free Childcare was rolled out in early 2017. It is important that you as a provider sign up as soon as possible. You can find more information on the scheme by visiting Gov.uk Top things providers need to know. (opens new window)

Training

We provide training to registered private, voluntary and independent early years and childcare service providers in Gateshead.

To access training please sign in or sign up via the Gateshead 0-5 Service Hub.

Safeguarding and Compliance | Gateshead 0-5 Hub

Early Years SEND | Gateshead 0-5 Hub

Learning and development working with children 0-3 years

A Good Place to be Two (PDF, 1 MB)(opens new window)

Integrated assessment and the two year check

National Children's Bureau has produced A Know How Guide: the EYFS progress check at two (opens new window),this provides guidance for practitioners on how to approach the review and examples of providing information to parents.

Draft flow chart for Early Years/Health Visitors (PDF, 85 KB)(opens new window)

Draft flow chart for childminders (PDF, 56 KB)(opens new window)

Integrated two year review agreement with HV roles (PDF, 30 KB)(opens new window)