Grant Funding and Nursery

[onionlove]

Can anyone help with this question

My son attends nursery 3 days a week and is eligible for funding in January he attends from 8 to 6 and we pay £48 the funding can be applied for three hours per day so how will they charge our daily rate does anyone have similar experience?

Thanks

Onion

The funding should be applied flexibly, the code of practice states that funding can be taken in blocks of hours, so in our LA you would be able to claim 3 blocks of 3hrs per day so the full 15hrs. Your rate at point of delivery is £4.80 (£48 per day over 10hrs is £4.80 per hour) so your bill should work out at
3 x £48 = £144 less 15hrs at £4.80= £72 so balance due to pay is £72 per week over term time, providers can also stretch the entitlement over 52 weeks so if stretched would be 570 hrs per year at £4.80 = 2736 over 52 wks =£62.51 per week reduction of fees.

Just to mention also that your rate at point of delivery is not necessarily what the nursery will get in funding, our LA give considerably less per hour than our rate of delivery, but nursery cannot charge top up fees, some try but they are not suppost to.

Some changes are coming in in Sept 2012 mainly around the hours / days that can be taken.

Some nurseries move you from the day rate, to an hourly rate if they apply funded hours for part of a day. This may mean that you pay a higher rate for the unfunded hours. You need to speak to the Nursery about their policy on this as it changes from nursery to nursery. From what you've said, it looks like you will only be able to claim 9 hours funding (3 days x 3 hours per day).

Have a look at this

media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/doc/c/cl%20-%20co/code%20of%20practice%20for%20las%20on%20delivery%20of%20free%20early%20years%20provision%20for%20three%20%20and%20four%20year%20olds.doc

Its the code of practice which the LA's must/should consider when brokering local offer.