Free hours and nursery location

[Waspie]

Dumb question alert!

My 2 year old son goes to nursery 3 full days a week. This nursery is close to where I work and not in the local authority in which we live.

Will this affect his entitlement to 15 free hours once he is three?

I'm guessing that if the hours are funded by central government then it won't matter that his nursery is not in our home LEA, but if the places are funded by the LEA then it may make a difference.

Can anyone help please?

Thanks in advance.

I've got the answer from the Family Info service at the council.

Their reply:

"The free entitlement for 3 and 4 year olds is available nationwide. It is therefore not a requirement for a child to attend a nursery or pre-school in the borough where they live. The nursery must be registered with the local authority where it is based, to receive the funding, so I would suggest you check this with the nursery or contact [name] Council.

At the time when the funding is due to start you will need to complete a form that the nursery will provide to you. This form authorises them to claim the funding on your behalf and it is then paid directly to the nursery. You should not be required to pay up front and then be reimbursed. However you will need to check with the nursery what the fees will be for the hours your child attends outside the free entitlement, which is 15 hours per week for 38 weeks of the year."

Hi Waspie,

See my reply to a similar post here: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/nurseries/1027886-Applying-for-free-12-5-hours-nursery-care
it may have implications for whether you recieve funding or not.

Thanks lindsR. That is really interesting. I'm in Wokingham but my sister is in Windsor and her toddler attends nursery in W&M so I will pass on the URL.

My son's nursery is a local authority nursery but run as a private concern. I'll contact the nursery manager and query the funding and how it all works. Your post has answered a lot of questions, thanks again.