Free pre-school places for 2 year olds

boredandundecided

Was wondering if someone could help. My son started pre-school last week after he's now turned 2 for 2 mornings a week, when I picked him up yesterday I was told that I may be able to get funding for his place for up to 15 hours a week. She said that you have to fit into a certain criteria and that it's very very strick, does anyone know what sort of criteria it is as don't want to spend an hour on the phone to say sorry you're not 16 with 3 kids so you don't qualify!!! Also, after reading through some other posts, do I have to tell tax credits he now goes as I have to pay at the moment because of his age! Didn't even think of that until now!

Thanks everyone.
xx

poppyolivia

I thought it was only 3 year olds that got free placements?

I tried googling it but nothing was coming up!

money_saving_diva

You get 12.5 or 15 hours free from the term after they turn 3.

See Direct Gov link below for more info:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Preschooldevelopmentandlearning/NurseriesPlaygroupsReceptionClasses/DG_10016103

Hth

fernliebee

I have heard that in some areas they offer free places to 2 year olds too, and I believe this is a trial, with a view to opening up to other areas too iyswim. If they offer it in your area then you could try speaking to your local sure start as they should be able to give you all the info or point you in the right direction. Do you have a local Family Information service? They may also be able to help too. HTH.

babyhead

When my DS was 2 I was told by his health visitor there are a number of free spaces available in certain cirx. I am not exactly sure of all the ins and out but I would probably start with the health visitor.

The reason I was told was because i'm disabled but we didn't go with the free place in the end because the place had to be taken at a specific preschool miles away from me, which would cost me more in petrol than paying the local preschool's fees! My DS completely loves preschool

Yes tell tax credits - you might be able to get upto 80% cost back.

littleemmie

In some areas there is a 2 year old free entitlement pilot running, whereby some 2 year olds are funded for up to 10-15 hours a week to attend a nursery. This is only a pilot in some areas so you will need to contact your county's Children's Information Service to find out if they are running the pilot. You will need to meet certain criteria in order to be eligible, and it is income based I believe.

HTH

tiamai_d

16 with 3 kids... charming.

There are places available and to meet the criteria in my area, you don't have to be 16 with 3 kids. They are for children who will have an obvious benefit from a place, those with additional support needs for example (my son got a place 2 afternoons a week to help his speech). He had to be referred by his OT to his Educational Psychologist and then he was assessed before being offered the afternoons. It is a maximum of 15 hours per week, but most children will only be given 2 or 3 sessions.

nuttybabe

i was told of these free places by a friend so asked about them but where i live they are only available if you are on benifits. Your local surestart centre should have details of it.

nikki&asha

Hello, I am a Pre-School Leader and we are offering the free 2 year old funding pilot. It is quite strict and off the top of my head these are the criteria for ours...

On a means tested benefit - Income support, Employment support allowance, Child tax credit of more than the family element (£548 ish per year), working tax credit with a disability element, Jobseekers allowance.

PLUS fitting one or more of the following criteria

Lone parent, teenage parent, parent with 3 or more children under the age of 5, family from an ethnic group considerd to be at risk of underachieving, traveller families, parent with mobility issues.

I think thats all of it but paperwork is at work iykwim!

Oh or if you have involvement with social services you can get it also - they refer you for it.

HTH

Nikki

daska

You can find out whether the 2 year old pilot project is running in your area by contacting SureStart, HomeStart or your Health Visitor. It's only available at nominated pre-schools, it's up to 10 hours a week over a minimum of 2 days during term time. It's prioritised for kids who will specifically benefit from attending pre-school - i.e where there are developmental needs, family problems etc. and is means tested.

I applied in February and was told the waiting list was so huge I didn't stand a chance so luckily DS2s developmental needs secured funding via the CAF. Then I got home last week to find I'd been offered a place for the summer term so I was really happy to free that budget up for another parent/child in need. The respite it provides me while also benefiting DS2 is a win-win situation.

AnnaLicious_2

Hey - a question on my area of the work world!
The answer is - it depends.
DCSF told the local councils to administer it as appropriate to their area. However, there are some universal aspects. Specifically, you will have to live in a post code that is in the top 5% of the top 15% of deprivation. From that, you can self-refer or be referred (nursery, health visitor, children's centre, social workers) to the programme. Your council will have set a list of the criteria. One has to be that you are in receipt of means-tested benefits, the other can be any thing from a list they create. For example, Cornwall has a list a mile long including parent attending training, child protection concerns, speech & language delay, developmental delay, parent out of work and so on.
Your council was given money for a Early Years Entitlement 2-year Old Project Worker to oversee this pilot. You can ring up to speak to them, or contact your council's Children's Information Service or Family Information Service.
The whole point of this is down to research on children attending nursery. It showed that 3 year olds attending 15 hours performed better at school and had better social skills. More research has been around children in areas of high deprivation that are deemed 'hard to reach' and trying to help give them their best possible start in life.
I do wonder if you're actually entitled as your little one is already at nursery, which does go against the guidance - it's supposed to be about reaching children that have had no previous contact with health visitors or children's centres or local children's charities. Depends on the nursery though, as your 12 hours has to be at a nursery rated satisfactory or higher and that employes an Early Years Professional (new post-grad degree).
Do keep on mind they CANNOT charge you top-up fees, unless the tories get in. And they cannot charge you for lunch time breaks, which some places will try. And if you're entitled to get free school meals when your child goes to school, push your council for free lunch at the nursery. The DCSF has said it's up to each local authority to decide if they should provide it. Which they should.
Hope that helps and isn't too long-winded!
Oh almost forgot! Your council would have been given a small (SMALL) amount of money to fund this - £4.15 an hour which goes straight to the nursery to pay for your fees plus additional resources (books, pc equipment, etc). DCSF has decided from census data how many children should receive this in each local authority. Some authorities struggle to find children fitting the criteria, others like Birmingham will be swamped.