Free 15hrs at nursery: 2.5yrs or 3yrs?

[baggycat]

Hi - I was in the same confused state about the funding and how it works and in the end I contacted the Family Outreach Officer. Below is my email to her and Veronica's response and I am sure it will clarify things a little more for you:

Hi,

I have a query about the pre-school funding please and the website information doesn't quite give me my answer. I know 15 hrs are free for 38 weeks a year. I am trying to work out which pre-school or nursery to register my child at and wanted to know how it works if I put my child in a private nursery that obviously costs a lot more than 15 hrs at a preschool. Some pre-schools are telling me it's e.g. ?10 a session of 3 hours but a 3 hours session at a private nursery would costs perhaps ?30. Would Southwark pay the full amount for the session regardless of its cost or would I have to subsidise the additional amount?

To work out what I can afford, I really need to know what's the maximum southwark will pay for? Then I can work out how much childcare I can get for that amount and register him at the one that is going to cover my required childcare hours within my budget. Can you help please?

Thanks very much

Family Info

13 Oct

The local authority pays ?3.87 per hour. You will need to find out from individual private nurseries or pre-schools whether they charge a top up fee. Do you need a list sent to you? If so, please provide your post-code area.

Kind Regards

Veronica Kigundu

Family Information Outreach Officer

London Borough of Southwark

Family Information Service

Children's Services

Tel:02075251785

Mob:07904157741

PO BOX 64529

London SE1 5LX

T:0800 013 0639

[email protected]

[Fuschia]

That is very poor advice I am afraid

Conditions relating to free entitlement and chargeable hours

Providers should not impose on parents conditions of access to which they must agree in order to take-up their free hours

Parents must not be obligated to purchase additional hours or pay lunch time charges in order to secure free provision

A provider cannot stipulate that a parent must access their full entitlement at their provision only

Providers must not charge ''top up'' fees (the difference between what a provider would normally charge and the funding they receive from the Council to deliver the free entitlement) in relation to any free hours.

Providers should also ensure no other fees are being charged in relation to the free entitlement, for example for registration or uniform.

If the practice continues local authorities may consider removing the provider from the Directory of Providers eligible to deliver the free entitlement and withdraw free entitlement funding.

Providers must not charge parents in advance for free entitlement hours and refund those fees at a later date

Should a child be in attendance for more than the maximum free entitlement hours per week/term the provider is entitled to charge for all hours attended in excess of those hours

Should the number of weeks in a term be more than the weeks funded by the free entitlement the provider is entitled to charge for all hours attended in those weeks

The rates which providers charge for their privately funded hours are a matter for them to decide and may not be dictated by local authorities

[Fuschia]

The correct advice is that if the provider wishes to be in the grant scheme, they must offer you 15h x 38 weeks (or equivalent) completely free of charge with no strings or top ups

[baggycat]

Oh thanks for clarifying.= - you obviously know the system better than most. Do you know how one would calculate which nursery/preschool is the right financial option then? I am trying to get my son into somewhere now (he's 2.5yrs) but ideally when his funding kicks in, I would like him to stay but want the fees to be covered. My friend had her son in a private nursery for 2 days a week and had to pay top up fees. I suppose one has to ask at each individual nursery whether they are in the scheme or not and what extra costs there would be BEFORE you sign them up? Is that right?

Thanks very much

[GinaG3]

I too am worried about being stuck with top up fees that I can barely afford. I though surely, if its 15 hours free, its 15 hours free, regardless of the nurseries hourly rate, as fuschia says. Putting my daughters name down for both Dulwich Village Preschool, and BUDS but surely they are more expensive than a 'school' nursery such as Goodrich. They dot exactly make it easier for us parents do they, rules seem different across the board! Still, cannot get stuck with top up fees!

[Fuschia]

baggycat Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

My friend

> had her son in a private nursery for 2 days a week

> and had to pay top up fees.

That would only be allowed for the hours above 15 (or actually the 15h has to be spread across at least 3 days, so he probbaly gets a pro rata no of free hours)

many nurseries flout the rules though

[Fuschia]

Decide how you want to use the 15h (2.5 days, or 5 monrings or afternoons)

Ask the nursery to confirm how much it costs for your child to attend those hours pre aged 3, and once the grant kicks in. Get it in writing (second figure should be zero unless the child does more hours, stays for lunch etc)

[baggycat]

Brilliant thank you - that's a great bit of info about it being spread over min 3 days - no one has told me that but it makes everything make more sense. Thanks Fushcia, great help.

[Fuschia]

There are rules about max no

Of hours per day too

I believe you can use the entitlement pro rata if you want -12h across 2 days for eg