Council administers additional support grants for childcare providers

09 March 2021

Aberdeen City Council is administering a second round of grant funding of £173,800 to support childcare providers, it was announced today (Tuesday 9 March).

The second round of the Temporary Restrictions Fund will be administered by the council to help childcare providers in the private, voluntary and not for profit sectors, including out-of-school care providers, to mitigate against the loss of private income incurred to comply with the current public health guidance in response to COVID-19.

The Temporary Restrictions Fund will also have an Additional Support Grant element that all day care of children’s services and out of school care providers will be able to apply for.

The Additional Support Grants are available to childcare providers irrespective of whether childcare providers were open in February or not. Settings that have remained continuously closed throughout the restriction period are eligible for the Additional Support Grant.

Round two of the Temporary Restrictions Fund is open to eligible services who were open for key worker and vulnerable childcare over the period 1 – 26 February 2021. Eligible services can claim for each to the weeks they remained open in February. This includes settings, which could reopen from 22 February to all children under school age.

Funding is available for to each setting based on its registered capacity with the Care Inspectorate. The size of grants available to applicants is between £190 to £3720.

Aberdeen City Council’s Education Operational Delivery Vice Convener, Councillor M.Taqueer Malik, said: “All of our childcare providers are really valued not just by parents and families but by Aberdeen City Council and we will do everything to support them through the restrictions that the Covid-19 pandemic has placed upon their important role.”

The Fund has now opened for applications and can be accessed by visiting:

https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/services/coronavirus-covid-19/temporary-restrictions-fund-childcare-providers

The last date for submitting a grant application will be Monday 1 April 2021.

Further information on the Temporary Restrictions Fund, including the levels of grants, is available at: Coronavirus (COVID-19): support to childcare sector - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Childcare providers with further questions regarding the Fund should contact Aberdeen City Council’s Early Years Team at TRFund@aberdeencity.gov.uk