Many excellent schools exist in both the state and private sectors.

Lists of state schools are available from:

• Newcastle City Council
• North Tyneside Council
• Northumberland County Council
• Durham County Council
• Sunderland County Council
• South Tyneside Council

A list of independent schools is available from the Independent Schools Council.

Colleagues may be able to apply for and receive Tax-Free childcare from the government. Please take time to look into this due to the eligibility criteria. 

Eligibility

Your eligibility depends on the following:

• if you are working
• your income (and your partner’s income, if you have one)
• your child’s age and circumstances
• your immigration status

If your child is three or four years old, they can get between 15 hours and 30 hours of free childcare and early learning for 38 weeks of the year in England. Some two-year-olds can also get free childcare and early learning, depending on their circumstances.  Three year olds can take up a place the school term following their third birthday.

Child’s birthday	When you can claim
1 January to 31 March	the beginning of term on or after 1 April
1 April to 31 August	the beginning of term on or after 1 September
1 September to 31 December	the beginning of term on or after 1 January

Childcare Types

Registered Childminders
A childminder offers flexible, part-time or full-time care and early education in their home, usually for children from birth upwards.  Childminders are self employed, set their own working hours often between 8am to 6pm, but most are flexible to start earlier and work later including weekends, and some offer overnight care.  Childminders often care for a number of children at once and as well as activities in the home will attend groups and other activities with children.

Day Nurseries
Day nurseries provide care and early education for children from birth to school age.  They usually operate from purpose built or customised premises.  They tend to be open from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday and open between 48 and 52 weeks of the year.  Nursery places are often booked in morning or afternoon sessions (8am–1pm, 1pm–6pm).

Pre-school playgroups
Pre-school playgroups provide care and early education for children from two to five years old.  They are often run in community centres, schools, or church halls and are open weekdays during term time for up to 39 weeks per year.  Some operate mornings or afternoons only, others offer mornings and afternoons.  Places are often booked in 3 hours sessions (9am–12, 12–3pm).

Out of school clubs and holiday schemes
Out of school clubs provide care for school age children and offer a combination of before and after school as well as school holidays.  Some 'out of school clubs' take children from three years if they are attending a school nursery class or pre-school playgroup on a school site.  Sessions are usually one hour before school and up to three hours after school, holiday clubs operate full days.

Nursery schools and nursery classes attached to schools
Nursery schools/classes provide early learning and childcare for children between three and five years old (some will take children from two).  Nurseries are usually open from 9am to 3.30pm in term time for full or half-day sessions.  Some also offer care out of school hours and in the holidays.

Nannies and home childcarers
Nannies and other home childcarers are employed by you to provide care for children in your own home.  They may fit in with unusual working hours, and work part-time, full-time or even live-in.  Nannies can often work flexible hours to fit your working hours.  Many nannies are happy to work part-time.  A nanny's pay depends upon the type of job (live-in or live-out), the hours, the number of children to be cared for, the nanny's qualifications and experience and also upon the area in which you live.  Nannies can choose to be registered by Ofsted.

Crèches
Crèches care for children from birth up to eight years or above. Care is part-time and usually covers the time when a parent is doing an activity, for example training.  The parent will usually stay on the same premises as the child, but must be within a contactable distance.  In Newcastle, some venues are registered to provide crèches and use staff from mobile crèche services.  Crèches can choose to be registered by Ofsted although if they are caring for under 5s on a regular basis they are required to register.

Childcare Services

We would advise to visit the Official Newcastle Directory of Childcare for information and advice.

Free Childcare Places
All parents of pre-school children in Newcastle are entitled to some free early education and childcare before they take up a reception place.  The Official Newcastle Directory of Childcare work with Ofsted to provide information about registered childcare providers like day nurseries, childminders, playgroups, before and after school clubs.

The above link under childcare services will allow you to view categories for the following:

• childminders
• crèches
• day nurseriesh
• holiday clubs
• nannies, home childcarers and babysitters
• nursery schools and classes
• out of school clubs
• playgroups and pre-school

Types of Childcare Providers	Age Criteria
Childminders	Newborn to teenagers
Day Nurseries	3 months (sometimes earlier) to 5 year old
Pre-school playgroups	2 to 5 year old
Nursery Schools	3 (sometimes 2.5) to 5 year olds
Creches	0 to 8 years old (sometimes above)
Parent and Toddler Group	0 to 5 years old

Nurseries

When it comes to sorting out Nursery provisions you really do need to ‘Think ahead’.  Many parents are lucky enough to find suitable childcare as soon as they need it, but it may take several months of searching to find somewhere that accommodates both your own and your child's needs.  Think about what you want and need from childcare and what kind of childcare would best suit your needs.  For example:

• do you need childcare close to where you live or work?
• do you need childcare early in the mornings or in the evening?
• will you need additional childcare for school-age children around the school day and during school holidays?

Talk to other parents
Other parents' experiences of a childcare provider can be very useful.  Remember, however, what works for one family may not be quite right for you!  And, although personal recommendations are helpful, you should also, always, take up references. 

Community noticeboards
You may find details of local childcare providers on noticeboards at local schools, community centres, libraries, cafes and online.  Always remember to check references!

Online forums
The Good Care Guide helps parents get impartial advice.  It allows people in the UK to find, rate and review childcare and eldercare providers in their area – from the quality of staff to facilities, surroundings and value for money. 

Located adjacent to the Newcastle University campus is the Childsplay Nursery.  This is an independent nursery, popular with staff, run by a parents‘ co-operative.  It is bright and spacious, separated into five nursery units; related to age and stage of development.  This is only one of many which are listed on the Official Newcastle Directory of Childcare.

Childcare and Carer Coordinator

The 'For Families' team within Newcastle University have led in the development of a service where our colleagues (both in-coming & current) can tap into the services of a qualified Childcare & Carer Coordinator.  Susan Matheson from South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust.  Support can take the form of a face-to-face meeting, a telephone call or an email.

Contact - Susan Matheson;
Telephone - 07713 508 259​;
Email - s.matheson@nhs.net 

Susan can provide flexible and individualised support in relation to childcare. This includes:

• sourcing emergency childcare for a well child (e.g. in the case of an ill childminder or an urgent meeting on a day/time when you are usually not at work)
• advice in relation to sourcing routine childcare provision (e.g. when a colleague is moving to Newcastle from another city / country or returning from extended parental leave)
• advice in relation to play schemes and help with childcare costs
• advice in relation to the school application process

Newcastle University aspires to be a family-friendly employer and we are committed to supporting colleagues who maintain parenting and/or caring responsibilities alongside their job.  Whether these responsibilities include caring for a child or caring for another dependent, we aim to support our colleagues and work with them to facilitate a good work/life balance.

Newcastle University are proud to be one of the first Universities to become members of ‘Employer for Carers’ (EfC), a Business Forum for employers committed to working carers and backed by the specialist knowledge of Carers UK.  Access will be available once you have commenced employment with us, as your login details will be specific to Newcastle University.  We also have a dedicated 'Parents & Carers' internal Intranet support site.  This includes information, advice and support for colleagues with parenting and/or caring responsibilities.  We also have our 'NU Parent Network'.  However, there are local, regional and national advice and support centres you can review now as follows:

• Carers UK:
• Carers Trust:
• Carers Direct:
• Carers Federation:

Carers Emergency Card

Carers must carry a card which shows their name, a unique identification number and an emergency phone number.  If a carer has an accident/emergency or is taken seriously ill, then the card can be used to alert a 24-hour emergency call centre that the person they care for needs help.  Steps are then taken to ensure the safety of the person cared for.  Contact your Council's Social Services Department for this card.

Young Adult Carers

Newcastle Families Information Service is a great resource of information.  If you are aged 18-25 and you are helping to look after someone who has a long-term illness, disability, mental health illness or addiction who could not manage without your support, you are a young adult carer.  Young Adult Carers are able to access all of the support that Newcastle Carers has to offer, and you will find lots of useful information on their website.  

However, young adult carers have told us that they often face additional challenges because of their age and circumstances, so we have a specialist 'Young Adult Carer Worker' who provides a tailor made service to meet the needs of carers in this age group.  The Carers Information Line is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm.  Please call 0191 275 5060 for information, advice or support, or e-mail info@newcastlecarers.org.uk.

They can:

• give information and advice to help you in your caring role
• help you to get information and services for you and the person you care for
• give you the chance to talk about your caring role with someone who understands
• help and support you to communicate and liaise with professionals and other organisations
• help you to connect with other young adults who are in similar caring situations