30 hours free childcare for working parents query

PeachyPika

My child is due to start nursery next term (they will be a year old when they start). I have provided the nursery with the funding code in preparation. The nursery have told me that we cannot use the funded hours until the term after they start nursery. They have stated this is because the county council specify that any child starting later than the first month in the term will have to wait until the next term to allocate funding. I have not seen this information anywhere, I can’t even find it on the council website. This means we will need to pay for all of the nursery hours until the next new term, how could we plan for this if they don’t even make you aware?!

mark_cycling00

My local council has a helpline for the funded childcare which was easy to get through to and very useful. Maybe yours will too.

It's a total mess of a scheme and awful for parents and the nurseries too. 

I end up paying hundreds of pounds every week at the start of the term until a random date when the council decide to send the funds to the nursery. Then I pay nothing until the next term.

Don't forget to renew your special government code every full moon and if you're self employed they'll interrogate you about your expected income 

mark_cycling00

Joking about full moon, I think it's every 3 months but don't forget to do it

sheramber

PeachyPika said:

My child is due to start nursery next term (they will be a year old when they start). I have provided the nursery with the funding code in preparation. The nursery have told me that we cannot use the funded hours until the term after they start nursery. They have stated this is because the county council specify that any child starting later than the first month in the term will have to wait until the next term to allocate funding. I have not seen this information anywhere, I can’t even find it on the council website. This means we will need to pay for all of the nursery hours until the next new term, how could we plan for this if they don’t even make you aware?!

You could ask the council to confirm the information and where it is  stated?

mark_cycling00

FYI. Gloucestershire have a helpline every afternoon, no waiting and they provide very clear and useful information. But info only applies to local residents. They will start funding part way through a term. I hope your council will too. Maybe it's a misunderstanding and they will 

Exodi

Who is the local council?

PeachyPika said:

how could we plan for this if they don’t even make you aware?!

Out of interest, who are you suggesting should have made you aware? The government? The local council? The nursery? All three?

I have total sympathy with you having just gone through the same thing (my daughter starts in about 3 weeks) and I know it's all but simple, I've lost count of the endless levels of communication we had to do, but unfortunately it's not the nurseries responsibility to ensure parents compliance if the parents intend to apply for funding provision.

Personally I'd call the local council to confirm. KCC (my local council) is about as clear as mud on the point, as online guidance simultaneously states that claims can not be made for children who miss headcount week (typically happens a few weeks after the start of term) but also that it is possible for providers to claim funding for late joiners under certain conditions.

As every council applies their own rules and we don't know who the local council is, no-one will be able to answer your question categorically.

PeachyPika

Thanks for your advice people, I spoke to the council and they said there shouldn’t a problem with the nursery claiming funding for my child starting at any point during the term. So I’m not really sure where the mix up is now…