To be annoyed nursery are refusing to continue to give my son his 30 hours from September because he starts school nursery later that month

[Charliebrow]

My son has been at the private nursery since January 2023, just after his first birthday. I have had all 3 of my children use this nursery, my first since early 2018, sometimes I’ve had 2 children there at once. I’ve only managed to take advantage of the 15 hours for a little with my last child for a few months as it was introduced when he was already 2yr 9mo old. We did use 30 hours from age 3 with all of them. I dread to think how much money I’ve spent there.
My youngest goes to nursery 4 days a week, Tuesday - Friday and starts school nursery in September for 1 year before starting reception next September.
My son starts school nursery on Wednesday 10th September. I’ve taken Tuesday 9th September off as a holiday because I didn’t know how that would work with 30 hours so I’ve asked for my last day at private nursery as Friday 5th September. The Nursery have said they’ll charge me full private day rate from September 1st as they are refusing to “split it” although there is a clear end date of 5th sep, and the school nursery starts sep 10th. Are they being unreasonable or is it more complicated than I realise?
thanks

IIRC, only one setting can claim the hours per term. It may also be that the term (determined by the LA) won't start until till around 3-5 Sept so they may not be able to claim it.

You’re unreasonable as they can hardly submit an application to cover the first few days of term. They’re providing a service - the discount for school hours is due to government funding - even if it was possible I’d imagine it’s a lot of extra admin work and only benefits you not their business.

I imagine they think it’s much more reasonable and fair that someone is able to claim the funding for the entire term rather than you using 5 days out of a whole months LA funding.

Plus he will then be in a school nursery which in effect has the funded hours to make it free. As far as I understand both settings can’t claim for the full funding for the term for the same child.

Doesn't quite work like that, as they don't get a block. It's applied for for each child (and won't be at the expsnse of another child). The admin would be horrible for a very small number of days is they did, and I don't think it's transferable (at least it wasn't under the old system)

It is more complicated than you think. Actually I am not sure it that much more complicated for this but in essence no they cannot claim free hours for a week before he starts school

I would more focus on being pleased they are offering him a space for that week it doesn’t always happened once they start school quite a few end it in August (although that is usually school)

and once at school nursery it will be school term time I asdume

The school nursery will be using all of his hours.

Seems fair to me. It might be worth looking at can you take the first week as a holiday or buy annual leave?
Because that week of nursery fees will be pricey.

Thats what i did before my youngest started school, I'm Scotland school goes back mid August, funded nursery ends 31st July.

The 30hrs funding only covers term time. In our county that would start on 3rd September but may be later elsewhere. Some nurseries may allow you to spread the funding over the holidays but then you would get fewer than 30 hours a week. That would then get very complicated if you wanted to use your full 30 hours at the school nursery as you would have already dipped into your hours.

I’d just suck it up and pay tbh. It may only be a couple of days of funding you’re missing out on and would involve your day nursery spending time doing the whole term’s funding application for just those two days so I can see why they are not keen.

i thought there was more flexibility in it than there is, thanks

Yeah, as a provider that claims funding i would defo say that claiming that for one week would be a logistical nightmare. There's also a chance that the school would claim the full term too even if they're not supposed to.

We had this when our son used 2 childminders. The way the admin works, the funding is in blocks of hours and each block can only be allocated to one provider. So if the private nursery claims for the funding block, the school nursery can't get any of that block and visa-versa. The only way to do this is to pay one nursery privately and claim for the other. It isn't really fair, but I guess it would be an admin nightmare any other way.

The amount you’ve spent there is irrelevant, you’ve used a service and paid for it.
Again, you are wanting to use a service at your convenience to split across 2 settings. You are lucky they have not withdrawn the place for only 5 days, many settings would. Both settings cannot claim the funding, so either you pay or they don’t go. It is your choice to swap settings and not stay at the same one.
You are being very unreasonable towards the current setting.

Sounds like you have every right to be annoyed, but that won’t change anything 😒

Its more complicated than you think.

There is a census day that children on roll can then claim the hours for that whole term.

Your child won’t be on roll for them to claim it, they simply won’t get any money for the days your child attends in September, therefore they cannot offer you funded hours.

You either have to pay the day rate, move your child into school nursery for all September (but guessing the school nursery doesn’t start the same time)
Or have no childcare on those days.

Yes all of this also^

Not being unreasonable AT ALL.

I work at a nursery, funding has to be claimed for the full term or not at all. If you're claiming the majority of that terms funding at the new setting, the current nursery will not in any way, shape or form receive any funding for those few days as the funding for that term will be allocated to the new setting

No right to be annoyed at all sorry. The funding can't be used at one setting for a few days and then switched to another for the rest of the term, that's not how it works.

There is no entitlement to funding for only a few days at the start of the term if that term's funding is allocated to a different setting and the current nursery can't just give free childcare away.

From my understanding nurseries can’t just claim for a couple days it’s on a term based so if the private nursery claimed for the full term it would fraudulent and would stop the school nursery from collecting that funding. So the private nursery is right to say for the couple of days it would have to be privately funded, couple you mange for a couple of days either with annual leave/ friends/ family to save paying the private fees.

It’s much more complicated than that. There is a “headcount” day. Any children in nursery on that day get the funding for the whole term. If you change provider before that day the earlier provider gets nothing. If you change provider after it the later provider gets nothing. So are effectively looking after your child for free.

It’s irrelevant how much you’ve spent there

Finding comes for a term they can't do this op but they will allow him to go at full cost I feel this is reasonable

And he's funding will be going to the school nursery for that term

I think the only way to split between two settings is if you are attending one setting for, say, two days a week and the other for three. I believe you can’t split it the way you want

So you want them to lose money and now you’re whinging that they don’t want to do that?

honestly, just ask. They will explain to you that you are being wildly unreasonable and why.

We couldn't split it. I worked at a private nursery. It would go to the setting where the child is on "headcount day" which is often in October. You could always speak with the school and ask if they would transfer some of the funding to the nursery but it's doubtful they will - I only saw it happen a couple of times in nearly a decade.