Does your work or your partner's work offer childcare voucher scheme? My hubby and I both work and Emilia is 9months old and goes to day nursery when I am at work, and we earned too much to qualify for much help (�18k each), but with childcare vouchers they take the "voucher" before you are taxed, so you are taxed on a smaller amount of your wage if that makes sense.
In effect, my wages are "down" by �100 per month but I get �243 in childcare vouchers, my hubby is eligable too, so in thoery it costs us just over �200 each month to get �486 in vouchers.