AIBU to think that I shouldn't be forced to send my child to nursery full time due to the rules about the 30 free hours

[Justanewname]

I had been looking forward to saving some money on childcare once my child is 3 but I've been reading about it and it seems that to qualify for the funding your child has to attend for all the funded hours.

I am a shift worker, and do my full time hours over 3 long days a week, different days each week including weekends. This means to make sure I'm covered no matter which days my shifts fall on I need to pay for a full time place. But at the moment if I'm not at work then I can keep my baby at home with me and nursery isn't bothered as long as I let them know what our plans are.

Once we're eligible for some funded hours though it looks like I will have to send my child into nursery every day whether I'm working or not in order to keep the funding.

I think this is unfair and penalises people who work different days each week. Which includes lots of NHS staff like me.

Is there any way around this? Is it actually enforced in practice?

Just ring in sick

I only send my son for some of the 30 hours. He does 1 day and 2 mornings. I don’t know (or care) if the nursery claims he attends full time but as he doesn’t like it too much and I only work part time I’d rather keep him with me

That’s odd. I don’t think that’s a rule for the funding from the government - it’s not enforced at the private nursery my daughter attends. It must be a rule for your particular nursery / preschool

My nursery lets DD do 2 days a week but spread over 52 weeks rather than just term time. I think she only uses 22 hours of the allocated 30 even then, but nursery haven't said that's a problem.

You don’t have to. Some childcare providers may make you do a minimum number of other sessions to use your free hours with them.

That’s up to the childcare setting themselves. My child’s preschool asked if we could please put down the 30 free hours even if we weren’t going to use it as they can then can claim the money for it.

The problem is the borough won’t pay the nursery if your child has a lot of time off. If that was the case, as a childminder, I wouldn’t renew your contact. I just couldn’t afford to and it wouldn’t be my fault either.

It's up to 30 hours and that's over 38 weeks.The rule you have been told is the childcare setting's rule.

I'm an NHS shift worker as well, and also work all my hours over 3 days.

I have formal flexible working agreement so that I can work set days precisely so I can plan childcare. Could you do similar?

It's up to 30 hours and that's over 38 weeks.The rule you have been told is the childcare setting's rule.

Yes but if some weeks the op wants the 30 hours and some weeks she doesn’t then that is what will be causing this issue.

My child’s preschool asked if we could please put down the 30 free hours even if we weren’t going to use it as they can then can claim the money for it.

My nursery refused to do this as it's fraudulent. My son attends less than the free hours so I said if they wanted to claim for him using them all I was happy for that (as they are a really great rural setting much loved by the community) but I was told they wouldn't feel happy morally accepting payment for hours he didn't attend.

You don't have to us all the 30 hours. Like PP have said it's your settings rule. Look elsewhere

I'd speak to the nursery and see if they can specify which times / hours are actually funded. If its a full time place there is still a fair portion of private hours, and you should get flexibility at least within those hours you have paid for so if you don't want to send your DD you could just send her for the free sessions meaning a shorter day for her if you are off work?

Our nursery doesn't even participate in the scheme! I didn't know they could opt out. We have to pay every penny or go on a waiting list for the nursery further away that is in the scheme.

Noone is FORCING you to send your child to nursery full time. You would CHOOSE to send them full time in order to access the free hours.

You could just apply for 15 hours and pay for the extra sessions you need. I know around here a. child would lose their place if they didn't use the hours.

I don’t use all the 30 hours, I use some of them across two different settings.

Our son does his 15 hours at school nursery and then up to another 8 hours at a private nursery, maximum 23 hours a week (usually he does 18.5 hours in total) - nursery have allocated 15 hours a week for him on 4 out of 5 afternoons depending on when I work I need the place to be there, the fact that he doesn't actually attend all of these on any week doesn't change that his place is held open for him.

We have a place at nursery for 30 hours. Most weeks we use all the hours but due to shift work etc we sometimes don’t send her and just let them know she won’t be in. Nursery don’t mind at all.

You aren't forced though. Either you come to an agreement with your employer or nursery that works for you, I work shifts but have 4 out of the 14 shifts in a week that are protected off so there's effectively 2 week days (and the nights going into them) that I don't work. This means I pay for 3 days nursery (just the top up fees) I get 22.5 hrs free as it's spread over it of the year. It does mean I pay for some nursery I don't need but not loads. A couple of work friends do things this way, alternatively there are completely ad-hoc shift work nursery places like tops or busy bees where you can book your sessions week by week. I think sadly it's becoming rare to get completely set shifts agreed in the NHS now, at least in the trust's that surround me.

You aren't forced though, if you want the free childcare you abide by the rules and if you don't like the rules you just don't claim and pay your own childcare. It's not hard.

It could be Incase the nursery get pulled up on a local authority audit.
If they are claiming 30hours, the child should attend for those hours, if the drop off/pick up times regularly don't match the 30 hours funded then nursery would be accused of claiming fraudulently.

It’s annoying when ops don’t come back to clarify things so people can actually help.

As others have said it is the nursery making those rules. The preschool my DC3 goes to is happy for me to use 20 hours on the days I chose. However, I know a few others locally who have similar rules to your nursery. I asked the owner why ours was different and she said that lots of the people who send their children to our nursery have a parent not working (expensive rural area of SE lots of slightly older SAHP) and so they don't qualify for the 30 free hours so they still have to pay. That way she isn't out of pocket and the few of us who do use the 30 hours can use them how we want.

I’m not entirely sure what clarification was wanted but I’ll try!

I have thought about trying for a flexible working agreement but in my department not many people have got them. I definitely would not be allowed set days to work. I might possibly be allowed one or two set days off so that’s one thing I plan on trying. It’s very much discouraged in my department though.

This isn’t anything to do with my current nursery or their policies. It’s policy from the LEA.

It’s good to know that some of you have found that your nursery’s haven’t had a problem with funding.

I hadn’t thought about the effect of splitting the hours across the year. We could probably use 22 hours a week most of the time so maybe that would mean that they’ve could claim for the hours we actually send her and then we could be the ones paying for the additional hours to make the place up to part time.

Thanks for all your advice. It’s really helpful hearing what’s worked for other people.