SAHM nursery funding advice please!

[QuirkyHare]

Hello, I’m hoping others can help me out on this as I’m going around in circles! I’m a SAHM and my DS3 has attended nursery one day a week from 9 months old and we’ve always paid as we don’t qualify for funding.

We moved house this year and my son has started at a new nursery, which he loves and is thriving at. He turned three in March so we asked his new nursery if we could pay for three days a week for the term leading up to his third birthday and then his universal 15 hours would kick in the term after.

Now he qualifies for his universal hours we are going in circles with the nursery telling us we must supply them with a code but all the sources I’ve come across online state you don’t need a code for the 15 universal hours. I can’t find a code anywhere!

Does anyone else have experience with this please? I’m starting to panic at the thought of a massive bill every month! Thank you!

Correct - universal 15 hours for 3/4 year olds doesn't need a code. Tell them to confirm with the LA and that's 100% right.

I'm a nursery manager

no code for universal 15 hours at 3&4.

might be worth emailing your local authority for evidence and presenting that to nursery.

There’s no code for the 15 hours for three year olds as it’s universal everyone gets it.

We had the same with our nursery, I think because they were so used to dealing with the working parents free childcare so assumed that was what I meant. Once I sent them a link to the universal funding they finally realised what I was talking about.

Thank you, I’m so relieved it’s not me being thick!! I’ve shown them everything I’ve come across and they’re still stating ‘they need a code’ and for me to keep looking on my end. They must be filling out the wrong form or getting muddled somewhere! I do feel for them as it’s a really complicated system and there’s very little advice online.

Am I reading this right? You can willingly be a SAHM and therefore not work or pay any tax and, whilst you're at home, your child can go to nursery paid for by people who do work and pay tax?

It's some hours of early education for children aged 3 and older which has been around for about 30 years! You yourself probably benefitted from it with playschool or similar.

Just like SAHM can send their children to state school paid by the tax payer too! And they can use hospitals and children's dentists, all for free!

Yeah, mine did - 15 hours a week, term time only, from the term after they turned three. It’s universal preschool education, not childcare. In some cases it was (presume still is) available for children age two with particular SEN needs, who are looked after or whose parents claimed particular benefits - again for the benefit and education of the child.

Not all SAHP mum's do so willingly - they may have disabilities, or caring responsibilities.
If they are doing it willingly, their other halves are likely to be high earners with a large tax bill.
But as PP has said, the 15 hours are for EY education, not child care.

@HoskinsChoice my husband is a high earner and pays huge amounts of tax, I am a SAHM who could take advantage of the 15 hours. We literally get no other benefits, not been entitled to child benefit for years etc. We think it is more than fair that our children are entitled to the hours given that we are net contributors which many people even when both parents are working full time will not be

15 hours for age three and above were around when mine were little which was years ago.

nothing to do with if your working or not.
maybe the poster commenting is confused about the hours being used at pre school or nursery?

Shouldn't need a code but I did have to fill out a form each term for the nursery to be able to get the funding from the council.

Pre school/nursery hours have existed for a very long time. It’s early years education, not childcare, and all children are entitled to 15 hours a week the term after their 3rd birthday. I was a SAHM and my children all attended the pre school class of what would become their primary school the following year in Reception.

Wait until you hear that their children are entitled to attend school as well! 🙄

OP, another one confirming no code needed for 15 hours. We do have to fill in a form every term though (although not sure why, as it’s not like we could become ineligible).

The form is so the setting can get paid. You're declaring that that's the only place you are claiming and that your child is attending (ie the setting isn't inventing any children for payment!)

Thank you all so much for your help (apart from the one odd person who accused me of sitting at home all day leeching off society 🫠). Like many others my partner pays an eye watering amount of tax each month so we get no handouts and don’t expect any as such! I’ve sent an email to the LA as suggested and they’ve already responded saying no code is required so fingers crossed nursery will be able to figure it out on their end and hopefully I won’t receive a big bill at the end of the month! 🙏😅

This may be a silly question but where does the universal hours form come from? The LA? This nursery seems to have not heard of just using universal hours, they keep sending me funding forms 🙈 If I can point them in the right direction it would be really helpful!

Parent Declaration form, they'll have one for every child claiming funding, it's not something you find.

Is that what they've sent you? If so you do need to complete that.

Thank you, no I don’t think I’ve been sent this so I will bring this up with them. Thank you so much for taking the time to help me!

Is there a chance your provider doesn't participate in the scheme?

No problem at all. If you're not eligible until September then they probably won't do it yet to be fair.

You definitely do not need any code to claim just the 15 universal hours.
I would suggest the nursery contact the LA who pay their funding as they don’t appear to have a clue what they’re doing.

Thank you, I can’t quite believe how unhelpful they’ve been or that they’ve never experienced this before! I don’t think they’ve even attempted to figure it out 🙈

I think that it is more than 30 years! I went to Nursery School when I was 3 and my mum was a SAHM and I am 45 now. The teacher in charge was called Miss Watts and there was a really good dressing up box. But you were not allowed on the climbing frame if you were wearing clothes from the dressing up box. This was a Difficult Decision that I had to think hard about every day. 😂

You don’t need a code but you do need to fill in a funding form so they can claim the universal hours.