Putting DD's name down for the free 15 hours.

[MiaSparrow]

Hi all,

DD is 25 months and has never been to nursery - I'm freelance and can work from home so it's just been easier not to put her in. But I do want her to do the free 15 hours as of next year. We're looking at a nursery this week. Would I have to commit to certain days/hours now if I put her name down? How does that work?

Total novice here, as you can probably tell!

Thanks.

if you want a place for the term after she turns 3, then you don't commit to any particular hours, you just put her name on the waiting list (assuming you are talking a school nursery here)

Yes just get on the waiting list. Our preschool though has a waiting list from when children are born so sometimes parents have already secured places two bloody years before their dc's start. Doesn't give you much of a chance.

The hours won't vary from week to week, if that is what you are thinking. Otherwise nurseries wouldn't know if they were coming or going!

Get in touch with local settings and find out what they offer. A school nursery may offer the hours as 9 - 12 each day, for example.

Yes get on the waiting list, my 26mth old is on the list. She turns three in Dec and will start in Jan, the free 15hrs starts the term after their third day, so if your child's day is in Jan? The free sessions will start after easter.

I have chosen the days I want but you don't always have to but you will then be left with whatever sessions other parents don't want so best to specify ime,.

Thanks all, yes she'll be starting the Easter term next year. It's either going to be two full days or three mornings, but that's good to know I might not have to commit just yet. It's a day nursery. I did get in touch with them a while back and they said contact us again when she turns two so I don't think the waiting list will be a problem. (I hope not!)

Update: so we've just been to see a local nursery. DD balled her eyes out because we had to leave, which is a good sign I guess!

But they're only offering 3-hour sessions a day for the free 15 hours, so for example, Mon-Fri, 8 til 11.

Is this the norm? I was hoping for three longer mornings, eg 8-1. Obviously we'll have a look at some others but I'm just trying to gauge how nurseries split these 15 hours generally - or is it different in each nursery concerned?

Thanks!

Five short sessions are often offered by settings, as that is generally considered to be most beneficial for children's learning and development. This is the traditional pattern of nursery schools, nursery classes and pre-school settings.

However, settings can choose to offer the hours as they wish, as long as they fall between the hours set out in the regulations for the free entitlement and no more than 10 funded hours per day, if I remember correctly.

You could look around elsewhere?

For what it is worth, I don't think these hours are too bad - you do hear of poor settings offering 'dud' hours to parents for the free entitlement.

Sounds like a private nursery? Ours is like that - it encourages parents to pay for the 'extra' to make it up to a full morning. One based at a school might be different?

Exactly, uncle - we were handed a spreadsheet explaining all the extra fees including the wraparound fees for holiday weeks. They have just scrapped their policy on taking a deposit though and we did really like it so I guess there's no harm in registering her and still looking elsewhere.

Thanks for replies, all.