Nursery funded hours - is this right?

[hardyloveit]

Please don't flame me as I am generally curious to this.

My dd2 nursery was shut during the whole lockdown (private nursery)
I'm a key worker by the way.

I've just been invoiced for July and queried a few things on it. I'm friends with a member of staff there and during lockdown was worried about the nursery staff etc but they were all furloughed luckily.

Anyway I asked what happens to the funding (we are entitled to 30 hours) and they said they have used it all for bills.
This is where I'm confused as we aren't entitled to any of those 3 months funded hours that we have essentially lost out on.
They did get the maximum grant thing that came out which was around £10k. I've read the following and because they were closed during lockdown and not even open for key worker children, I'm reading that they couldn't just spend the funding for 3years + in this way.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures#funding

Please can someone help with this and confirm to me what it means as I've really had to struggle with keeping my job and juggling new childcare during lockdown etc.
The nursery reopened mid June

Thank you and hope that makes sense as I've rushed writing this post

Are you asking if it is correct for settings to have kept their funding even if they were shut?

You don't get the hours carried over. They didn't get furlough paid by the government for any funded hours as the government said they were already funding through the scheme. So the funding would have said for furlouged staff wages

Presumably now that the nursery is open you can use it and get your 30 hrs?

The funding is for the setting, and the government choose to keep paying it as a means to keeping the settings from closing. The funding is not yours and can't be carried over.

Setting were allowed to keep the funding in order to stay afloat - many settings biggest bills will be staff costs. Access to the furlough scheme was allowed dependent on a calculation of how much a setting made from grant vs commercially, e.g., if 60% of your income came from grant funding you could furlough 40% of your staff wage bill.

Those missed hours will never be carried over as it is impossible, much the same as missed school days will be forever missed.

Yes settings were allowed to claim funding to pay their bills etc. They had to offset the amount of funding they got and only claim a percentage of the furlough scheme tho so they most likely weren't raking it in.

Even if they didn't claim the funded hours, the government wouldn't have let you claim them as they were closed.

You can claim them now from when they have reopened.

I think you are being a bit unreasonable to have expected them to save all those hours for you.

Thank you to those that have clarified that as I was generally just asking as I was confused!

Fitz billy I don't know if I'm reading your message in a different way to what your meaning but there's no need to be harsh. It was a genuine question. Of course I'm using them now but they have tried to charge me for days that are normally funded which is why I was asking the question.

Where does it say I was expecting them to carry 3 months worth of hours over? I was asking people to clarify what that link meant. As I say the op was rushed. I forgot to include that they are now trying to charge me for days that are normally funded and wondered if they were allowed to use the funding for bills when they were shut with no children
Genuine question.
There was enough key worker children to remain open.

Sorry, no I want interning to sound harsh. Just wondering which bit you wanted clarification on.

So they are charging you now for days that used to be funded? That seems strange. They should be getting the funding now for your child? Has the contract changed? It does seem strange.

No contract hasn't changed. I haven't changed her hours either (I know lots of others have) and I've asked them to clarify why I'm being charged and asked them if they received the funding during the time they were closed - they did and spent it on bills (understand that's okay) as I was going to ask if funding has stopped for some reason but it hasn't so I still have no idea why I'm being charged.
I've asked in an email and on the phone but they just said it's to do with funding.
Hence my confusion.

So are you saying they have used the 30 hours per week, but they are charging you the full amount, for a period of time when they were closed? I think that's terrible and surely can't be allowed?
I have been paying my usual amount through my dcs nursery closure (I also get 30 hours free). I've received a rather large invoice from them and I'm hoping this is not going to be the case for me too.

No just for July there's a few dates that are normally funded. Random days though which is why I got confused.

If you mean should you get your funded hours until the end of the summer term in July. Then yes you should.

You should be entitled to funded hours now

I know councils have only just realised funding till the end of term so could it be your nursery is still awaiting the payment?

The most I would expect to pay is the usual amount. Nursery would get usual funding plus usual payment from me to hold space. (Or nothing if I decided to give notice and leave).

The only way you would have to pay the funded hours is if the nursery stopped receiving funding which would not be covid related.

Have you reconfirmed your 30hrs? You have to do it every 3 months or it gets stopped. If you haven’t reconfirmed that might be why they’re charging you.

No they have funding until the end of the term but have said it's only for the first two weeks in July? Term where I am finishes around the 23rd so I'm paying for an extra nearly a week when it's normally funded. Also there's a random day in the middle that I have to pay for.
I know this sounds so confusing as I'm reading it back going wtf?

Sorry cross post. Are there any school hols in July? Funding is normally term time.

The funding covers 38 weeks of the academic year (38 weeks x 5 days) and the nursery gets to choose 5 inset days so is that what they are using the week before your term finishes for? So TTO children should finish at the end of the second week of July and they can charge full fees for the following week? It should be set out to you each year what the nurseries term dates are and when they are having their inset days. Do you have anything like this to refer back to?

Just to clarify it's 38 weeks after the 5 inset days in case my message was confusing.

You need to check what date the government funds them until (ie what date the term ends). This has nothing to do with furlough or the funded hours over the last few months, that’s a red herring. The issue is they’re apparently receiving funding for your child in July but charging you as if they weren't receiving it?

Yes that's correct they are deceiving the funding but asking me to pay on top

Term where I am finishes around the 23rd so I'm paying for an extra nearly a week when it's normally funded
Nursery terms always finishes earlier than school terms as they have no onset days. @hardyloveit