Early years funding in a private nursery

onlyroz

Does anybody know the current level of the Early Years funding for 3-4 year-olds attending a private nursery? I've tried looking on direct.gov but they seem to suggest that the "free 15 hours" no longer has a monetary value.

When my son was 3 we used to get around £140 a month knocked off the standard nursery bill, but I'm not sure how the system works now.

gratefulforhelp_2

Is this any use? http://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/news/1074261/Private-voluntary-nurseries-lose-nursery-funding-new-survey-finds/

go_cat

I had 15 hrs per week until July ( as its term time only ) as my DS started school this week

How it is worked out depends on your individual nursery some will take it off the whole bill some make you have individual sessions to make up the 15 hrs

mrsmcd_2

If you are in Scotland, call your local council they set the funding amount,I'm not sure if its the same in England or not. The nursery should explain all the funding to you when you become entitled.

Dont know about England but in Scotland children are entitled to pre school funding the term following their third birthday.

go_cat

Just re read your question ... think your asking the price of the 15hrs???

My nursery gave me a set amount which was deducted off my monthly bill depending if it was a 4 week / 5 week month and term time

onlyroz

gratefulforhelp wrote: »

Is this any use? http://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/news/1074261/Private-voluntary-nurseries-lose-nursery-funding-new-survey-finds/

That's interesting - guess I'll just have to ask the nursery how this magic "Early years forumula" works these days...

RLH33

I'm treasurer for a Pre-school and we get £106.48 per week for 15 hours for a funded child. This is for 38 weeks a year.

This is a standard amount that is paid direct by the Local Authority and I assume is the same amount countrywide. I know that private nurseries work it out in many different ways but essentially it should mean that your weekly bill is £106.48 cheaper than it would be if the child was unfunded!

Edit: just read that nurseryworld article and it seems it is different all over the place - interesting!

dangers

I think the amount paid by the council also varies on how many children attend the pre-school.

bigmomma051204

Every early years setting will charge a different rate - per hour, per day, per half day etc. So there is no "set rate". Every child gets 15 hours a week free funding. So basically you need to know how much your chosen setting charges per hour. They may not be able to tell you that as some charge per day etc as i mentioned... but if you ask them, they will be able to deduct the 15 hours from your current bill and therefore show you how much the remainder will be.

AnnaLicious_2

How weird when something on here pops up related to my job!

It shouldn't matter to you as a parent what the nursery is funded. You get 15 hours free. It doesn't matter if the nursery usually charges £3 or £10 an hour.

The only thing they can charge you for is food over lunch, if you stay over a lunch hour. And that's just the cost of the meal, not the lunch break. The nursery should allow you to bring a packed lunch as it's considered a barrier for deprived families to have to try and pay for meals.

Some Local Authorities turn a blind eye to nurseries charging top-up fees on their free 15 hours. But according to the National Code of Practice, childcare providers are not allowed to do this.

They are allowed to charge a registration fee.

It is up to the discretion of the Local Authority how they manage free school meals. Most LAs have taken the stance that if you attend a maintained nursery (LA run) and would be in receipt of free school meals in school, you will get them at a nursery.

Hope this helps. If your chosen childcare provider is asking you to pay a top-up fee, contact your local council. PM me if you'd like to ask any questions. It will be funny if you're in my LA area!

AnnaLicious_2

Oh - and you'll struggle to get a straight answer on what your setting is funded. Each LA set their own SFF - Single Funding Formula according to local need. They all have a base rate, and supplements for deprivation. But some will fund on top for quality, childminders, ruality, employing qualified teachers, flexability of offer, etc. In the area of our 4 LAs, a childminder will make between £3.25 and £6 an hour. It's all down to local need and decisions.
There is talk of setting a national formula by DfE, so we'll see how that goes...