topping up pre school fees

[nowwearefour]

is it possible now for pre schools to ask parents to top up the funding given to them once kids reach 3? i had an idea this was outlawed? my dd1 turns 3 in sept but she isnt yet ready to do 15 hours a week...

[LIZS]

If each session is longer than the funded 2 1/2 (or becoming 3) hours or you use more than 5 then I think they still can. Your dd isn't eligible until Janaury anyway though.

[Hangingbellyofbabylon]

my dd only did 3 sessions a week but still I had to top up the extra 15 mins a day that playgroup ran over the 2.5 hours session.

[mankyscotslass]

You will have to pay til January anyway, I am in the same boat with DS who turns 3 in October. After that he is funded, but his hours are within the quidelines so they can't charge top ups.

[nowwearefour]

Sorry red-herring my dd is already 3, just wanted to see if they could charge extra

[KatyMac]

Well not exactly but if they don't offer 2.5 hrs sessions you cannot access them

[ChippyMinton]

I had to pay a top-up for the extra half hour (3 hour sessions). Not sure how it would work if you didn't want to top-up? Would you have to go elsewhere, or pick them up 30 minutes earlier?

[savoycabbage]

We get 3 hours sessions in Derbyshire. I think we were the trial county though.

[nowwearefour]

i am happy to top up just thouhgt the law stopped them from making the charge. her sessions are 3 hours

[savoycabbage]

My dd's sessions are 3 hours but if you go somewhere where the sessions are 2.5 hours you can 'save' the 5 half an hours that you are entitled to and get a 2.5 hour afternoon session!

[dannyb]

Yes, we were topping up with nearly £500 a term.

[scarletlilybug]

Ring your local CUS to find out (childcare information service).

Different Local Authorities have different rules about how the 12.5 hours is used - some will pay for 5 * 2.5 hours sessions, and allow nurseries/pre-schools to charge a top up fee if the session goes on longer than this. Otherwise, the parent should be able to take their child out after 2.5 hous without any problems.

Other local authorities just fund the first 12.5 hours of childcare per week, regardless of how sessions are organised.

The main point is that the childcare should be free at the point of delivery. It's ok for a pre-school to charge extra for snacks, but you shouldn't have to paty anything else for 12.5 hours of childcare. HTH. (I'm a pre-school treasurer, and had to look into all this earlier this year).

[scarletlilybug]

CIS, not CUS.

[monkeymonkeymonkey]

I think that as a condition of offering the funding the nurseries have to make it possible to access just the funded sessions if people want to, is a 2.5 hour session for no charge. You have to pay extra if you use more than that though.

[Foxy800]

The pre school that my lo goes to is for longer than the 2.5 hours the government pays for so they charge a small top up fee on top.

[dannyb]

Yes they can. The nursery my LO will go to asks for £900!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! top up fee, that's a term, not a year. They do not allow the children to just do the 2.5 hours, they have to stay until 2.15 and they have to have school dinners at £100 a term. It will cost us an extra £1000 a term IN A STATE SCHOOL for this. However, they have us over a barrel because siblings will no longer have a guaranteed place in reception if they do not attend the nursery. I am extremely unhappy about this and it's being taken up with the borough.

[rukmal]

Can anyone help. My son is 4 and in a pre-prep. We have registered him to enter Kings College wimbledon or Colet COurt. St Pauls at age 7 but would be grateful to know tips on the entrance tests and does anyone know of a good tutor who would help him prepare for those entrance tests.