Childcare Offer for Wales: terms and conditions for staff users in childcare settings

1.1 The Childcare Offer for Wales (the "Service") is a funding scheme established by the Welsh Government to provide eligible parents of three and four year old children with 30 hours a week of government-funded early education and childcare for up to 48 weeks a year. During term time (39 weeks of the year) the Offer builds on the existing universal commitment to early education which provides all 3 and 4 year olds with a minimum of 10 hours per week of provision. For the remaining 9 weeks the Offer funds 30 hours of childcare per week.

1.2 Staff working in a childcare setting that is registered with the Welsh Government's online digital platform (the "National Digital Service") are able to register to join their setting on the digital service in order to manage and administer the work of their setting. In order to join the setting you must first read and agree to the Terms and Conditions set out below.

1.3 Please note that childcare staff using the Service are bound by the Terms and Conditions set out in the “Award of Funding to Childcare Providers in relation to the Childcare Offer for Wales – Childcare Costs”, and if it is found that any information supplied in support of an application and/ or during the term of this agreement is false or incorrect then funding may be withdrawn, and further action may be taken to recover any costs.

In these Conditions:

"Childcare Setting" refers to a childcare setting registered with Care Inspectorate Wales (or Ofsted in England) that is also registered on the Digital Service to deliver the Childcare Offer in Wales;

"Childcare Offer for Wales" or "Childcare Offer" refers to the Welsh Government funding scheme to provide eligible parents of three and four year old children with government-funded childcare for up to 48 weeks a year;

"Conditions" refers to the terms and conditions set out here;

"National Digital Service" refers to the Welsh Government’s online digital platform where parents can apply for the Childcare Offer for Wales and Childcare Providers can manage the hours of childcare provided under the Offer and claim funding;

"we", "us" or "our" refers to the Welsh Ministers; and

"you" or "your" refers to the staff using the digital service on behalf of their childcare setting to administer the service. 

3.1 By registering as a user on the National Digital Service, you are acting on behalf of an organisation or business and your actions will bind that organisation or business.  You must act:

3.1.1 solely within the remit of your role within or relating to your organisation or business;

3.1.2 within the authority of the relevant organisation or business at all times; and

3.1.3 in accordance with any instructions given to you by that organisation or business when completing and/or submitting any claims or information on behalf of that organisation or business (provided that where any such instructions conflict with guidance issued by the Welsh Government or any law, such guidance or law shall take precedence over any instructions).

3.2   you will inform us promptly of any change to information you have provided to us.

4.1 You acknowledge that we are subject to the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the “FOIA”), the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (the “EIR”), the Data Protection Act 2018 (the “DPA”) and the retained EU law version of the General Data Protection Regulation ((EU) 2016/679) (the “UK GDPR”).

4.2 You acknowledge that we are responsible for determining, in our absolute discretion, whether:

4.2.1 to disclose any information which we have obtained under or in connection with the Funding to the extent that we are required to disclose such information to a person making a disclosure request under the FOIA or the EIR; and/or

4.2.2 any information is exempt from disclosure under the FOIA or the EIR.

4.3 You acknowledge that we may share any data you provide to us with fraud prevention agencies and third parties for the purposes of preventing and detecting fraud.

4.4 You acknowledge that we may share data you provide with local authorities and any contractor providing digital support service on behalf of Welsh Government for the purpose of resolving I.T. issues in relation to accessing the Childcare Offer for Wales digital service.

4.5 Any personal data we collect will be managed in accordance with our Privacy Notice.

4.6 We will process information about you in accordance with our cookies policy. By using the Childcare Offer for Wales digital service you consent to such processing and you warrant that all data provided by you is accurate.