To think this is a slap in the face for working parents

[Dylaninthemovies1]

DS4 attends nursery in Scotland. He is entitled to 1140 hours per year nursery funding. The local council offered 2 options: either full year funding (22 hours per week all year, taking him up until school starting on 12th August ) or term time funding (30 hours per week during term time). We chose 22 hours per week full year, and juggled working hours around this.

This year, up until covid, he has used 200 hours of the funding. Any child on term time has used 300 hours of funding.

His nursery started back last week. We put him back in 2 day per week until he starts school so that we can work, and I can catch up with study (we both work 30 hours per week)

We’ve just recieved a £400 bill for nursery to take us up until DS starts school. The council has cancelled the funding to pay for key worker childcare. So basically my son only recieved 200 hours funding instead of 300 like his nursery cohorts on term time.

Aibu to think this is a slap in the face to have his funding cancelled? We have worked right through lockdown, juggling work, childcare and studying with absolutely no help: and now the funding for his nursery has been cancelled meaning we’re £400 out of pocket. If we knew this in advance we would have bought childcare vouchers to offset the cost, and planned this into our budget.

Is ut a council run nursery? Fife had some nurseries running 1140 hours before they were offered by government. Family centres were able to offer year round places at 1140h or selected nurseries could do 1140 term time only. Fife council is offering 1140h from August to all nursery pupils. During lockdown council nurseries ran feim the hubs. If private i wasn't aware they were offering the 1140h so don't have a clue.

It’s a private nursery. They were definately doing the 1140 hours

Some nurseries have been offering the 1140 hours for ages years as set up. Others are only gearing up for the official August. In a way it’s a bit of a lottery even within same council areas. SG announced very very quickly almost prior or just after lockdown that they were delaying the 1140 Requirement. Reason being building works stopped for some nurseries recruitment wtx. However it’s all a ploy. Lots and lots of councils and individual nurseries were set up for it already give a bit of slack to those that were still building but not a full year derail. So now here we are with each council area now allowed to decide for itself. So you have some saying full 1140 hours again right away, soem saying they’ll build up and others saying opt 600hrs (even though children in that council has previously been in 1140hrs!!) should be more info coming after July 30 apparently.

I would call council OP. Ask them to explain the decision behind bill but it sounds like they’ve effectively said all hours are considered taken for this year with no new funding again until next term starts b

I’ve contacted my MSP, education secretary and also the local education department.

Good for you. Let us know if they reply!

I guess there’s just no money left in the pot though, it’s been diverted to provide free childcare for key workers

No.... it's not you vs key workers? You just sound bitter there OP. Theres no money because its been spent on managing loads of crazy stuff through Covid, not just providing childcare to key workers

Let's be clear here.... you were relying planning on 100% govt funded childcare? And you are whinging because it's been reduced?

I'm a high earner. I dont claim the (lower) funded hours I'm entitled to, I pay all my childcare from my earnings. Because the government is skint and it's my choice to have kids and I really, really want the government to have money for hospitals. Schools. Etc etc.

Be grateful for the funding you do get.

: it’s nothing to do with being ungrateful or not. It’s what we were told we would be receiving.

I don’t understand why key workers should receive free childcare while others don’t: and why other funds should be diverted to pay for them.

Either way, in august my child starts school and won’t be entitled to any of the funding anymore, so we will be paying for his wraparound care again

Probably because those key workers didn't have the option to work from home! Places were only offered (certainly initially) to households where both parents or lone parents were key workers. Funds were diverted to pay for their children to be cared for while they could continue to do critical work to keep other people and their children safe!

You are seeing it that
"Key workers got free childcare" (did they actually get anything they aren't normally entitled to? Where I live (England) key workers childcare was not free.)

The timing has been unlucky for you in terms of when covid nursery closures happened and when your child starts school. But you must see our country/economy has got much bigger issues? These are seriously desperate times.

In England funding is till the term after 5th birthday I think? Check this as you may get some more towards wraparound.

Ps

Funds were "diverted" (you mean prioritised) for key workers because we need them. Its all in the name. Key worker

My 5 year old is in a private nursery in Fife and on a 6 month trial for the 1140 hours. When we returned I checked the funded hours were still in place as I expected it to be pulled due to Covid. We’re still getting the full funded hours as agreed right up until she starts school in August. I would check with the nursery as something doesn’t add up here. If funding is cancelled by Fife Council you would expect it to be across the whole area.

Regardless of the OP’s circumstances, the OP should have been told and made aware that they will be billed for the hours her child attends nursery.
It is not acceptable to be charged for something that was supposed to be free of charge, unless nursery has already sent an email to tell about the fee changes that she might have missed/went in junk mail?

Regardless of the OP’s circumstances, the OP should have been told and made aware that they will be billed for the hours her child attends nursery.
It is not acceptable to be charged for something that was supposed to be free of charge, unless nursery has already sent an email to tell about the fee changes that she might have missed/went in junk mail?

Actually, I’m probably being unfair saying the funds have been diverted to key workers. The nursery advised that paying for key workers childcare seemed to be the reason the funding was stopped. And, it seems that every second person is a “key worker”. I know people who only have one parent as a key worker able to put their child into nursery, even when both parents WFH. But, for other friends i know that their nursery only accepted kids during lockdown if both were key workers.

Hi op, in England each LA is able to hold some funding money back (underspend) incase there are more children than they realised and to support 1-1’s if this money isn’t spent it here returned to the gov. This would be a reason for the LA to release this money to cover this event as it’s was unexpected. Some LA ‘s keep a few £1000, but others a lot more. It worth asking if this can be used

@Freddiefox thanks for that. I can’t imagine if that’s the policy re stopping funding, they would make an exception in funding for our child (we don’t have any special circumstances, I’m just pissed off) x

Any nursery providing 1140 hours before lockdown, were doing so on a pilot scheme/voluntary basis, before the official roll-out started this August. At the start of lockdown, Scottish Government announced they were postponing the implementation of the 1140 hours and Nurseries were not legally obligated to provide the double hours.

They also announced, after saying Partnership Nurseries would be entitled to Furlough, that this was in fact not true. Private Nurseries receiving Government Funding could not apply for Furlough for any member of staff involved in teaching Curriculum (eg 3 to 5s).

It's not just Families using the nursery this has affected, the nursery I was working in had joined the pilot scheme. We were all working extended hours, now we've been told they won't be providing those hours next year as they are no longer obligated to, that's a massive pay-cut for some and I have lost my job as my temporary contract wasn't renewed due to funding being cut.

Partnership Nurseries are always a second thought unfortunately, it's very easy for Local Authorities to wash their hands of their responsibility to them.

Just for information. I'm a 'keyworker' (nurse) and I did not get a penny of free childcare! Please don't blame us for the fact the local authority have messed you around. I actually continued to pay my nursery even when I didn't use it, just to help them stay open. There was no offer of free childcare even when I ended up having to send my little one in to nursery.

I don't think they can legally do this as your child is entitled to those free hours. I think the funding comes from central government?

I am in Fife too and our nursery was closed until just this Monday past. I am pretty sure the funding still went to the nursery but as ours was closed (and it belongs to a bigger organisation) we were not charged at all. All the staff were furloughed. I also know that as we've had the 33 since Jan that ours was split by 12 as well. It has also been confirmed that the extra hours are still going ahead so we are splitting the hours with 2 days of school nursery and 3 days of the private for childcare purposes.

@Thesepostsmakemechuckle. I’m not blaming key workers, but the council for redirecting the funding. It looks like the nursery have misinformed me of why the funding was stopped.

@Merryhobnobs. I have a really strange feeling I actually know you! I don’t want to reverse search in case you have posted anything sensitive. But you may want to NC xx

Just an update: recieved the below from the council

Dear Ms Moaneyfaced
Thank-you for your emailing detailing your concerns at being charged for childcare since 15 July 2020 for your son to attend nursery. MNHQ edited name

We do appreciate the challenges working from home has presented to all families during the past few months, and we do know that the ability of ELC services to reopen from 15 July has been welcomed.

Little Angels Nursery was involved in the phasing programme during the past academic session. This meant that sitting alongside the statutory entitlement to 600 hours of funded ELC during the course of the year, Fife Council also supported Little Angels to trial approaches to implementing the 1140 hours programme prior to the anticipated full implementation of the programme from August 2020. The extra funding to bridge the gap between 600 hours and 1140 hours for each child involved was not an entitlement but was part of the phasing programme, and not all children and families across Fife benefited from it.

With the onset of the pandemic and the guidance issued to close all ELC services towards the end of March, the Scottish Government issued guidance to all local authorities that opportunities to provide critical childcare for Keyworkers as identified by the criteria set out by them should be maximised. This included the ability for local authorities to divert funding from programmes such as the phasing of 1140 ELC, which could no longer take place due to the closure of ELC services, to support local authority, private and voluntary sector services as well as childminders to be able to deliver emergency childcare. In Fife we have supported not just the children of Keyworkers but also those children most vulnerable and at risk in our communities to access childcare during this emergency period.

I do realise you will be disappointed on return to [nursery name] that you cannot continue to benefit from funded ELC until the end of the summer holidays. However the phasing element is an addition to the 600 hours of ELC delivered during term-time, and as this was not available due to the closure of all ELC services then there are no opportunities for parents to access funded ELC during the few weeks between 15 July 2020 and the end of the holidays.

So it was the Council's decision.

Also , I think you might've used the real nursery name in your post so you might want that edited.

@ComeOnBabyPopMyBubble yip, the council decision. I’ve also asked mnhq to edit the nursery name