Extra help to find childcare

1 Overview

The Family Information Service can help you find childcare by searching for providers that match your family’s needs.

We support families with children aged from 0 to 14 years old. If your child or young person has Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND), we can support you until they are 18 years old.

We can give you information about the different childcare options available, which may help you return to work, education, or training.

While the service is open to everyone, it may be especially helpful for those who:

need urgent childcare (within 10 working days) due to a change in circumstances
have a child or young person with SEND
have not found suitable childcare from the FIS lists
are struggling to find funded childcare places
are unsure about leaving their child in childcare for long periods, especially for the first time
live in rural areas with fewer childcare options
are on a low income
are managing a serious physical or mental illness
are parenting alone
are young parents
speak English as an additional language

The Childcare Act 2006 requires this statutory service.

The FIS provides impartial, up-to-date information to all families on childcare, as well as activities and services for 0 to 25 year olds.

2 How we help you find childcare

Step 1

Once you submit an extra help to find childcare request, the Family Information Service (FIS) will email you a tailored list of providers in your area that match your needs, if you have not already received one.

It is then your responsibility to contact the provider(s) on the list as soon as possible to make initial enquiries and secure a place. However, if you find it difficult to contact providers, let us know, as we can support you with this.

We may also contact you to learn more about your specific requirements, so we can offer the most suitable support.

We will set up an extra help to find childcare case for you.

Step 2

An FIS assistant will be allocated to support your case. They will support you to find suitable childcare. The support we provide depends on your individual circumstances, but could include:

helping you understand your childcare options by explaining what’s available and how it works
supporting you to think about different possibilities, especially if your first choice is not available
checking if cost is a concern and making sure you are using all the help you are entitled to, like funded childcare or help paying for childcare
making sure you know about funded childcare places and helping you find one that suits your child and your schedule
working with different childcare providers to help you put together a mix of care that fits your family’s needs
helping you understand how children and young people with SEND can access childcare
speaking to local childcare providers for you, to explain your family’s situation and see how they can help, especially if you or your child have additional needs
helping you meet childcare providers and, if needed, supporting you to arrange meetings with them

The assistant allocated to your case will contact you by phone or email to check if you have found any suitable childcare. They will also ask what kind of extra help you might need and explain what will happen next.

After that, the assistant will agree a time to check in with you again to see how your childcare search is going.

Step 3

The assistant allocated to your case will contact you regularly, as agreed with you.

At this stage, the assistant will continue to explore your family's needs and offer tailored support based on your situation.

They can also signpost you to further information and provide you with suggested questions to ask potential childcare providers.

Step 4

Once you have made a decision, you can confirm this with the assistant supporting your case.

We will keep your case open until your child starts with the provider.

Around 4 weeks after your child has started, we will contact you to check if you are happy with the childcare. If everything is going well, and you do not need any further help to find childcare, we will then close your case.

If you choose a childcare provider and are placed on their waitlist, but you do not plan to begin attending the provision within the next 3 months, we will close your case.

However, if you need to change your childcare during that time, you are welcome to contact us again, and we can reopen your case.

If you have not yet found childcare that meets your needs, we will continue to support you and keep your case open. We will stay in contact until you either find suitable childcare or let us know you no longer need our help.

We are here to guide you through every part of the process and answer any questions you may have.

3 Request extra help

You can request help finding childcare using the form below.

Extra help to find childcare request form (external link)

Once you have submitted your form, we will contact you within 10 working days.

If you need urgent childcare within the next 10 working days, complete the request form and note your West Sussex County Council reference number. Then call the Family Information Service on 01243 777807, tell us you need urgent childcare, and quote your reference number.