Guidance

Getting paid as a childcare provider

Student Finance England (SFE) have made it easier for childcare providers to get Childcare Grant payments.

• From: Student Loans Company
• Published: 26 June 2019
• Last updated: 1 October 2021 — See all updates

How we’ll pay the Childcare Grant

Student Finance England (SFE) will pay the Childcare Grant directly to you, the childcare provider, through the Childcare Grant Payment Service (CCGPS).

What is the CCGPS?

The CCGPS is an online platform enabling students to manage their Childcare Grant by authorising and sending payments to childcare providers electronically. CCGPS is administered by Wider Plan, a recognised government partner.

Register to get paid

Go to www.ccgpay.co.uk/childcare-provider/login to register with the CCGPS. You’ll need to provide your Ofsted registration certificate and bank details.

Once you’ve registered, an online account will be created which you can use to request and receive childcare payments.

We can only start making payments to you once you’ve registered with the CCGPS. If you don’t register then we can’t make any Childcare Grant payments.

How and when you’ll be paid

There are a few simple steps that need to be taken before we can pay you:

1. The student needs to register with the CCGPS and link your details.

2. You’ll need to be registered with the CCGPS before we can pay you. If you haven’t already registered when the student links your details, we’ll send you an email inviting you to do so.

3. Use your online account to invoice childcare costs throughout the academic year. SFE pay up to 85% of the student’s childcare costs. You should enter your full invoice amount(s) for the previous weeks/months childcare costs and the CCGPS will calculate how much Childcare Grant should be paid.

4. The student needs to sign in to their online account to confirm that the invoice(s) are correct. The CCGPS will tell the student how much they need to pay you directly.

You’ll be paid directly through the CCGPS. We’ll pay you anytime the student accepts your invoice, as long as they haven’t used all of their Childcare Grant.

Students won’t be able to use their Childcare Grant to pay for advance payments such as deposit payments. This is because the Childcare Grant isn’t paid until after they’ve started their course and we’ve got confirmation of registration from their university or college.

If you’ve been paid through the Childcare Grant process previously

You still need to register with the CCGPS.

To make it easier than before, we’ll pay the grant directly to you, the childcare provider, rather than the student. You no longer need to complete any forms.

Published 26 June 2019
Last updated 1 October 2021 + show all updates

1. 1 October 2021

   Removed all references to the 2019/20 academic year and updated content around how and when CCG will be paid.

2. 26 June 2019

   First published.