To not understand nurseries that offer mornings only/ 6 hours a week/ 3 afternoons a week/

[Napqueen1234]

Hello,

Not meant to be in any way goady just genuinely interested. Our nursery only offers full day (can do half days as ‘extras’ if staff available) and all the children seem to do 3+ days a week 9-5 or just before and after matching working hours.

I’m always seeing on mumsnet ‘DC does 3 mornings a week’ ‘DC does 6 hours a week’. Where/what are these nurseries? Do you work or is it SAHP only who would do this? We want to move DD from the private nursery to one attached to primary school for 3-4s next year but even that explicitly states ‘we rarely offer less than full time places and only in exceptional circumstances’. Obviously that could be difficult for those only entitled to 15 free hours childcare as they would have quite a lot of ‘top up’ hours to pay for if forced to send a child full time so may put people off. If we asked her private nursery for her to do x hours eg 6 a day they’d look at us like we were mad and we would have to pay a full days fees £58 regardless if she was there full 11 hours or only 6.

So I just wonder what’s the set up with these nurseries? do you sort of share a place with another child eg your DC does 3 morning and another child 3 afternoons? Going on mat leave soon and I want to keep DD in nursery and would have loved to drop to half days but after extensive research locally (Manchester!) nowhere offers this?!

Thanks!

My daughter does 3 hours 3 mornings a week. I work night shifts so my husband drops her off in the morning and I pick her up midday so I get a bit of extra sleep.

I don't know how the nursery work it but I do know there's quite a few children that don't do full days. We found it really difficult to find a nursery that offered those hours. Most offered full days or half days only.

Mine have both started off with a morning or two and built it up over the years before school, I'm half SAHM and half work from home so I can be flexible about childcare. Plus it's good for them to socialise with out adults and children.

The nursery my 2 went to that was attached to the local school only offered 5xmornings or 5xafternoons and term time only

There are a few places I know like that - they’re only term time only and only open 3 hours a day. And only accept kids over about the age of 2. I think they’re often not for profit. But yes the only people I know who use them are SAHP or people whose child is looked after by a combination of patents / grandparents etc

www.hopscotch.uk.com/how-to-pay/fees-funding-brighton/

This nursery has half days ....

My two only did their 15 hours. I went in explaining that that's what I wanted, and they accommodated. DS1 was at a private nursery (started age 2 one morning a week so I could have a morning to breathe with newborn DS2) and then had his 15 hours (two days 9-3 and one day 12-3) once he moved into the preschool room.
DS2 went to the preschool attached to DS1s primary school and just did his 15 hours (same set up as DS1). It just wasnt an issue. I think yes, you generally share the place with another child as there wasn't any wriggle room. A nursery/preschool will have a number of places and will choose how to allocate them. If someone wants five mornings, then that frees up five afternoons. Some places may choose to only offer full days so that they don't have to worry about filling the left over spaces.
I was a SAHM until DS2 went to preschool, and then found a job working within his hours. I changed jobs and increased my hours once he was at school.

I was a SAHM and mine was at a nursery attached to a school. She started at I think 2 mornings a week, and over time went up to 3, then 4 then 5 mornings for the term before she started school.

Round here you have the option of school nursery (free but only term time and 2.5 hours a day so totally unhelpful for working parents) or private nursery where you usually have to commit to at least 2 full days but most do more.

Our DS does three mornings a week and we can switch to just afternoons if we want right now too.

My husband is a SAHP and my daughter goes 3 mornings and an afternoon.

It's run as a charity and very cheap to attend (7.50 a session).

I think it's absolutely brilliant, much better than the private nursery she used to attend.

I find it odd that you think this is odd OP! It’s been the norm for years even when my eldest (now 29) was a toddler. Lots of nurseries including the one I work in offer “sessions” rather than “days” so a morning is a session and so is an afternoon. A full day is two sessions. Lots of children cope better just doing mornings and going home at lunchtime.

To note, each half day is £30, a full day is £52. Loads in Manchester offer it as I have friends there who's children do the same, just maybe not in your area 🤷

I think a lot of nurseries only do full days as with half days they have to find someone else who can fit their schedule around the other half a day.
Where as a full day is easier to offer to other parents possibly. I don't really know.

Ours did full days only.
School nursery did 3 hours either all mornings or all afternoons.

Playgroup type care will often be 2-3 hours a few mornings a week. The childcare settings designed for working Parents wouldn’t be able to profit from these hours when keeping their facilities open 8-6.

Nurseries attached to primary schools will call five sessions a week full time. So either five mornings or afternoons.

That would be a term time only preschool. My two went to one. I only work term time and my mum picked them up for me if I was at work.

Thanks for all your answers very enlightening! I may do a bit of research locally again and see if I can find somewhere. I assumed that all places were similar to our private nursery/local school where the days are 7:30-6 for nursery and 8:45-3:15 for school nursery with absolutely no flexibility (other than breakfast and after school clubs at the school). Thinking perhaps it’s just my assumption and seeing friends using similar nurseries who all work traditional 9-5 hours so look for similar nurses I have wrongly assumed they were all the same. I don’t think one of the only three hour a day places would work for us even though they sound great but one that offers ‘sessions’ while on mat leave could be good.

There were some of these around here, but they have all closed by now. the15 hours are too badly funded to cover bills (even non profit), and the didn’t have the extra hours to bring in additional money.

Dc2's preschool was open 6 hours a day and you could choose which sessions and which days you wanted as long as there was space (there usually was) so dc2 did 2 mornings a week. Dc4 and 5 went to a preschool that was only open in the mornings so they started off doing one morning and then increased as they got older. Dc1 went to a private nursery and did 2 full days which was the minimum they allowed. I think preschools tend to be more flexible and have shorter hours as they are aimed at sahp who just want their child to play with other dc their age for a couple of hours.

I think you are confusing Nursery (for child care) with Pre school.
My DC went to pre school sessions which were morning or afternoon not both.

Do the free 15 hours and I think some families now get 30 hours only apply to term time? What happens in none term time if so? Surely nurseries will not just hold an empty place for weeks a year?

add on: all still existing nurseries are 6:30 to 6. minimum 3 full days per week, 15 hours only if you take 5 full days

My DDs nursery has a variety of options too.

Morning sessions (8am - 1pm), afternoon sessions(1pm - 6pm) or full day sessions (8am - 6pm.)
For the 15 funded hours, it can be split across 3 mornings/afternoons or 1 full day and 1 morning/afternoon.
These are all subject to availability though.

If you google preschool playgroups in Manchester you’ll find some.

@Wornoutalready at DDs nursery the funded children have holidays in the that way schools do.

No problems with holding the place, they just break up and go back exactly as if they were at school.

My two both went to the nursery attached to a primary school. It was either morning or afternoon sessions, 5 days a week. (8.30-11.30, and 12.30-3.30). They didn’t offer full day sessions. They made very clear at the induction meeting that 30 hours funding etc was not available, 3 hour daily sessions or go elsewhere!