Free preschool - but only certain times of the day?

[tigana]

SO, from September ds is entitled to 12.5 hours free preschool.
Currently does 20 hours week at nursery (4 afternoons 1pm to 6pm).
Hurrah! Thinks I.
BUT
Nursery only offers free preschool between certain hours of the day ( 9-11.30 or 1-3.30)
So, unless working hours are re-jigged, we won't be able to use all 12.5 free hours! But will still have to pay for the extra 2.5 hours each day!

Is this something to do with pre-school having to be within school hours or something!
I feel cheated and need to be reassured!

[TheFallenMadonna]

You're only allowed to claim one session per morning or afternoon as far as I'm aware. So you only get 4 afternoon sessions.

[LIZS]

It probably has to offer specific sessions of 2 1/2 hours am and/or pm to qualify for the LEA funding. Each 2 1/2 hour "free" session is an entity in itself rather than you being able to choose your 12 1/2 hours. You are only being cheated if they still expect you to do 1-6 but only have a rebate for part of it and pay extra.

[TigerFeet]

As far as I know this is normal, it's certainly how our nursery organises things. Our situation is a bit different to yours in that dd is there 5 days a week anyway so it didn't makje any difference to us.

Whether you agree with it or not, the free nursery provision isn't supposed to be for childcare purposes.

Perhaps if you talk to your nursery manager they might stretch the rules for you?

[phatcat]

yep that's normal, you get 2.5 hours a day, 5 days a week, school term time only. You can't choose to combine them into the specific hours you want, it's use it or lose it. Still brings your childcare costs way down though, even if you only use 10 hours of it, so why feel cheated? Personally I would use the session on the extra day to give yourself a bit of time off!

[nailpolish]

my dd2 goes to nursery 3 days a week - 9-5 - so 24 hrs in total per week

the nursery just take the 12.5 hours off the 24 and i pay for the remaining 11.5 hrs a week. she only attends during term time.

[TigerFeet]

Good point about holidays... dd's nursery sets up their staff rotas so that they have more staff there during the LEA funded hours (ie they have staff that only work termtime, 9.30 - 3.00).

[titchy]

Rather than think of it in hours per week, think of it as 5 SESSIONS per week. A session being either morning or afternoon. So as your dds currently does 4 sessions 2.5 hours of these will be free. Nailpolish's dd attends for 6 sessions so gets part of 5 of them free.

[tigana]

Thanks everyone, just wanted to find out if this was normal or if it was nursery jiggling hours about for ulterior motives (do they get more money if the parents pay direct than they do from Gov't perhaps?) Or if a different nursery might do things differently.
I am grateful for it, and appreciate the free places are intended as opportunities for children rather than childcare, it's just another 'thing ' to juggle about in my mind for a while.

[TigerFeet]

just think Tigana, you could have your fifth session when you are at home, and have a couple of hours to yourself . Mmmmmmmm, lovely.

[Twinkie1]

DH gest 1.4 days per week free they do not stipulate when this has to be but they do not do morning or afternoon sessions they have to be there all day anyway!

[ChorusLine]

I'm quite lucky in the fact that our nursery does wrap around care - so on the days he is in thier nursery they take them up to the school nursery! It is only a two minute walk.

[Flibbertyjibbet]

Nailpolish is the same as us. 3 full days = 6 half day sessions all year. Therefore we get the full 5 x 2.5 sessions off as they can use one 2.5 hour session per half day that the child is there. But its all apportioned over the year so that we don't pay more in school holiday time than term time.

Ops child is there 4 x half days so can only use 4 of the sessions.

Our nursery only does full days so no option to just 'use up' extra sessions if the child is there less than 3 full days.

How can you feel cheated when its a free reduction off your childcare bill!

[Hogiabach]

I've been told that I can use the whole amount which is £33 per week in monetary terms and take the amount off the two full days that my son goes to daycare.
If that makes sense, so rather than him going either in morning or afternoon session, he goes two full days - work out much better

[1dilemma]

IMHO this is just another way that things are actually stacked up against working parents.
Hogiabach your nursery are applying this incorrectly and are probable committing fraud or something. (I don't want to use the term lightly but another poster was on here bacause her nursery was being shut/shutting down , one reason given was NEG fraud.
I wonder whether my nursery is doing the same since it gived the grant out over 11 months (not the 33 or 38 weeks it should be given out for) Anyone know?