Nursery Funded Places

[peachhes]

Right I’m absolutely at my wits end with this

My son is due to start nursery next year, I was hoping to claim the 30 hours funding but I’ve just found out you can only get 30 hours if they go to nursery full time 5 days a week. Is that right?

How flexible do places tend to be with hours? Do they HAVE to do a full day (8:30-5:30) or could they do 8:30-2 for example? Or does it just depend on the nursery?

My son would probably do 2/3 days a week, probably two full days.

I hate parenting sometimes

 

[Savannah_xx]

Yeah that 30 hours might be if they're full timers, although if I'm wrong someone correct me? Part time is 15 hours free. You could do two full days which adds up to the 15hours or less hours but it would be spread over more days, that way.

But of course they're all different, go check it out? Or ring them and enquire. I found my sons nursery were pretty flexible and he's there 1 full day and one half using the 15hrs. Some might have set times for full days like you said say 08:30-5.30.or some could be pretty flexible and do that timeframe you want.

 

[Littleelf]

My daughter has her 30 hours free and she goes to nursery 3 days a week not full time. Maybe it depends on the nursery?

I've never heard that you can only claim it of they are full time so I'm not sure that is true. Its not for us anyway my daughter had never been full time

 

[shadow123]

15 hours is term time, 30 hours is all year…. Well it was 6 years ago!

 

[Savannah_xx]

15 hours is term time, 30 hours is all year…. Well it was 6 years ago!

Yeah, still same here

My daughter has her 30 hours free and she goes to nursery 3 days a week not full time. Maybe it depends on the nursery?

I've never heard that you can only claim it of they are full time so I'm not sure that is true. Its not for us anyway my daughter had never been full time

Must be. Never heard of getting the 30 hours but still being part time, maybe different for different cities ?? 30hours here would be pretty much full time.

 

[Jellybean093]

You do not have to use the full 30 hours. My guess would be the nursery places you are looking at. And they are only term time places, so 38 weeks a year
Every child from the term after they turn 3 is entitled to 15 hours. Children of working parents, over a certain threshold are entitled to 30 hours free childcare (although you may have to pay for food)
My middle child got the hours, and went to a preschool 9-3 everyday while I was working

Hope the attached helps. This is the website I found it x

The 'free childcare' offers: what parents and carers need to know

There are a range of funded early education and childcare schemes available for parents and carers in England Below we answer some of the most common questions on the various offers, including how to sign up for them. What is my family eligible for? Eligibility for the different funded early...

www.eyalliance.org.uk

 

[Peaches_xox]

It depends on the nursery. For example we looked at two. One place could take him for just the funded hours (which was about 22 for us because we wanted to use them over 51 weeks not term time only) another nursery was full time only so we had to pay the difference. We of course sent him to the full time only one because we preferred it but I’d suggest to speak to a few nurseries.

 

[Savannah_xx]

Yeah they're all different OP. Best too check out a few and what they offer that works best for you!

 

[MrsJones83]

It depends on the nursery! Mine go to a term time nursery school, so the hours are set 9-3 five days a week. When my youngest just had the 15hrs, he went 9-12 five days a week.

( I work part time, 3 evenings a week, so I don’t need childcare as such, I’m at home in the day to manage school hours and school hols)

 

[FannyAdams29]

Definitely look into it. There’s loads of information online and I’ve found the government guidance really clear…
Can’t say the same for the nurseries following that guidance. From my experience they do what the hell they like with very little repercussions due to lack of understanding of parents and assuming what they’re being told is accurate.
my opinion is purely based on private nurseries though rather than a typical term time pre school which are broadly not for profit.

 

[peachhes]

Been to see the nursery that I got the ‘only 30hrs for full time’ thing from and they don’t offer fully funded places at all! We’d still have to stump up nearly £100 a week extra for 2.5 days, that’s with using the funding. Can’t afford that so that ones a definite no! It’s a shame nurseries aren’t a bit more regimented with how they can use the funding as we really liked it, just unaffordable

 

[Lanie]

Been to see the nursery that I got the ‘only 30hrs for full time’ thing from and they don’t offer fully funded places at all! We’d still have to stump up nearly £100 a week extra for 2.5 days, that’s with using the funding. Can’t afford that so that ones a definite no! It’s a shame nurseries aren’t a bit more regimented with how they can use the funding as we really liked it, just unaffordable

Alot of nursery that get the funding complain that it doesnt actually cover their costs and that they have to charge for food and extras

 

[MrsJones83]

Alot of nursery that get the funding complain that it doesnt actually cover their costs and that they have to charge for food and extras

it’s absolutely true unfortunately. It’s usually £4.25-£5 funding per hour - once you’ve factored in staffing, supplies, food, and all the rent/gas/elec/water/tax etc it actually costs the nursery a lot more to provide that.

 

[peachhes]

Totally understand that I was just shocked at how little you could really utilise the funding! I didn’t realise nurseries could make their own rules to that extent. It’s £52 a day without funding at that nursery and we’d have to pay £41 a day with the funding so it just didn’t work out for us cost wise.

The first one we looked at yesterday is our favourite so far. We can use the funding as we want to as well and everything is included (sun cream, sun hats if you forget, wellies, trips out) it’s just £8 per day for lunch and any snacks etc. Pretty decent outdoor space too. Literally 2 minute walk from our house which is a mega bonus!

be glad when he’s just in somewhere and settled TBH!

 

[a.pain]

The nurseries all seem to be madly different and apply the funding in different ways. Although i live in Scotland so it will be different. My daughter turns three in august and is entitled to 30 hours after that- she has just moved nursery, at her old one she would have been going three full days a week and it would cost us £180 a month after the funding had been applied. At her new nursery it costs £133 a month for her to go 5 days and she can start this a week before her birthday! This is all year round not just term time. I think this is an amazing price. I’m honestly shocked by the prices in England or even in some Scottish council areas.

we are due another baby later in the year and when I go back to work their childcare obviously with no funding will be £630 a month

 

[Chunkeylaydee]

I work in a school nursery in Scotland. We have Children Monday to Thursday 8.30-3pm and Friday 8.30-12.30pm. Most of ours took the full time. Some chose to do just mornings or maybe 2 full days and 3 short days.

 

[peachhes]

The nurseries all seem to be madly different and apply the funding in different ways. Although i live in Scotland so it will be different. My daughter turns three in august and is entitled to 30 hours after that- she has just moved nursery, at her old one she would have been going three full days a week and it would cost us £180 a month after the funding had been applied. At her new nursery it costs £133 a month for her to go 5 days and she can start this a week before her birthday! This is all year round not just term time. I think this is an amazing price. I’m honestly shocked by the prices in England or even in some Scottish council areas.

we are due another baby later in the year and when I go back to work their childcare obviously with no funding will be £630 a month

£133 for 5 days is great!!! So cheap.

We’d have to pay £106.50 for 2.5 days a week safe to say my little one isn’t going to that nursery!

 

[Eyeofthetiger]

childcare fees and rules and funding honestly made me want to cry, why is it so confusing. My child was doing one day at nursery, was so looking forward to the 30 hour funding and it turned out they did ratio funded hours; so for every full day you could use 4 hours of funding and paid the rest and paid for food and whatever else. The website made no sense to me either!

we changed to a private preschool, turns out as it’s private and fully owned by a lovely lady she decides how to use the funding. So now he does 2 days, all free, I pay nothing. There is enough hours to do another morning but I can’t be arsed to drive him there for a morning!

the only rule is that 2 sessions a week must be used. That’s either a morning or afternoon session or any combination as long as its 2 a week

 

[peachhes]

childcare fees and rules and funding honestly made me want to cry, why is it so confusing. My child was doing one day at nursery, was so looking forward to the 30 hour funding and it turned out they did ratio funded hours; so for every full day you could use 4 hours of funding and paid the rest and paid for food and whatever else. The website made no sense to me either!

we changed to a private preschool, turns out as it’s private and fully owned by a lovely lady she decides how to use the funding. So now he does 2 days, all free, I pay nothing. There is enough hours to do another morning but I can’t be arsed to drive him there for a morning!

the only rule is that 2 sessions a week must be used. That’s either a morning or afternoon session or any combination as long as its 2 a week

I said to my partner it seems like it’s so simple but I just don’t understand it and I don’t know why

Every nursery we’ve looked at you have to pay at least half towards the days fees, I thought you could just use your 30 hours as you wanted, I wasn’t expecting to have to pay so much still.

 

[Tublet83]

After 2 children I’ve found the best nurseries are the ones that offer more flexibility with the funding, stops it all being so money orientated.

One I went to look at wanted to charge £25 a day for lunch ended up with one that charged £2.50