Each project arrives with its purpose, milestones and first tasks written out. Here is how the first three read.
Childcare needs map for the next three years
Childcare costs change sharply at a few predictable points: the end of parental leave, a birthday that triggers funded hours, the September a child starts school, the first long summer holiday. Laying out each child's age, school start date and the hours of care you need, term by term for three years, shows where the expensive stretches are before they arrive.
First tasks
- List each child's date of birth and the term they are due to start school
- Write the weekly hours of paid care you need in term time and holidays
- Lay the hours out term by term for the next three years
- Mark the terms where costs peak and share the map with your partner or co-parent
Local childcare price survey
Headline day rates hide most of the real cost: meals, nappies, late collection fines, closure days that are still charged and minimum session lengths. Collecting like-for-like prices from five or six local nurseries, childminders and clubs gives you a true monthly figure for the hours on your needs map, and a sense of what is normal in your area.
First tasks
- Search your council's family information service list for registered local providers
- Ask five providers for their full fee list, including meals and closure days
- Convert every quote into a monthly cost for the hours on your needs map
- Write down the local low, middle and high monthly figure
Childcare support eligibility check
Most families qualify for more than one kind of help, and many miss at least one: government top-up accounts, funded hours, the childcare part of a means-tested benefit, an employer scheme or a tax credit. Running your household through the official eligibility checker, with real income figures, turns a vague sense of what might be available into a short list of what you can claim.
First tasks
- Write down each parent's expected yearly income and weekly working hours
- Complete the official government childcare support checker
- List each scheme you qualify for with its yearly limit and how to apply
- Ask your employer's HR team what childcare support they offer
