confused about 15 free hours

[yougotafastcar]

I'm looking at sending DS (3 next week) to nursery asap. The nursery I have found charges £53.70 for 2 half days a week, so 12 hours a week (7am-1pm or 1pm-6.30pm).

In September he will be entitled to 15 free hours a week, but the nursery have said the fee's will go down from £53.70 to £29.something a week.

I used to work in a nursery that would allow parents to use their hours whenever they suited, as long as there was available space, so this is probably what is confusing me, but can anyone explain why it will still be £29 if he is only attending 12 hours a week when he can get 15 hours free?

Sorry if this is a stupid question its why I'm asking here instead of the nursery

With those times I am guessing they are charging for meals?

I would as the nursery directly tbh.

It sounds like you are only getting one of your half days for free. Do they insist that the 15 hours are taken in a whole day or something? I don't understand either, ring them.

Maybe they do their Free Education Hours during school hours only, so you would be taking up 2 sessions (6 hours) of Education Funding, and the rest paid for Child care?

We can all guess, but honestly, the best thing is to ask them
They won't think you are stupid - everybody should understand what they are paying for, I expect all parents ask.

They say you can get a 'free entitlement place' which is 8am-11am mon-fri.
So maybe it is for meals.

I'll ask when I arrange a visit. Just didn't want to look stupid, so thought I'd test it here first!

Maybe the morning sessions are what they offer, but at the setting my child went to, he had afternoon sessions that were included in his 15 free hours, so I would say that is their stipulation not the government's.
Just to prove this,'y sin's new setting are including his free hours for one day 8-6 and one afternoon 1-6.

Apologies. Posting on phone. My son's new setting, that should say!!

They have fixed the free hours so that nearly everybody needs to pay in order to access session times...

Seriously, who wants to get a three year old somewhere for 8 am and pick them up at 11 am?!

Consider looking elsewhere.

Are the sessions you mention over the whole year/include half term and school holidays?
At our DCs' nursery free sessions are averaged over the period the nursery is open for i.e. to include weeks when schools would not be open - the number of free hours is still the same.
You can book into our nursery for about the same number of hours you mention, which averaged over the period the nursery is open would mean they were almost all free; or for more hours over the period the nursery is open, you'd get a reduction; or you can book a shorter period (not quite but almost the same as school terms) in which case you could probably just about wangle the hours to have them all free.

(But in the case of our nursery, you have to book on the sessions that they run for everyone else, which are the sessions most parents want for work - there are no different hours for children on free sessions)

I have my dd in for 2 full days now, I pay the extra hour.
But it's a sure start centre and runs to school times and term times. If I want the breakfast club or dinner club then I have to pay the extra.

FEE only covers term time and school hours and does not include any food so that might be part of the reason for he extra charge.

But I echo PP's and say ask the nursery to clarify the charges as you have looked and don't understand how they have structured it.
No shame in that

Is it via your councils referral scheme? Some children in our council (usually 2 year olds) get 5 half day sessions laid for by the council, but these are families with special circumstances.

The standard 15 'free' hours is actually a set amount per child per term that they have just decided arbitrarily will cover 15 hours at nursery - which of course it just doesn't. It works out to a teensy amount - about £3.60 an hour - which won't cover staff salary, rent, insurance etc...

Ask the nursery how the scheme works.

Seriously, who wants to get a three year old somewhere for 8 am and pick them up at 11 am?!
This is how I feel. I also have a 2 week old baby, so by the time we got there and back it'd be time to go and pick him up!
The problem is I don't drive so we are fairly limited in what nursery he can go to, the other two local ones don't have a place until september.

Are the sessions you mention over the whole year/include half term and school holidays?
I thought this, but no the information says x amount of weeks are subject to full pay as the 15 hours is term time only.

Thanks for all your thoughts anyway, will give them a call and ask tomorrow

Is your son going 7-1pm?

Nurseries are allowed to choose when they allow the funding to be used and they have chosen 8-11am. So your £29 will be paying for 7-8am and 11-1pm.

They do it to earn extra money. Annoying for you, but allowed.

And so to clarify he'll be using 6 funded hours and not 12.

Am I right (I think I read it on here) that a CM can't force parents to book extra hours beyond the 15 hours? Could you use a CM?
It wouldn't fill all the nursery criteria but would give you some much-needed time with your baby.

So in theory he could go Mon to Fri 8 to 11 with 2 mornings of 7 till 1.
That's what you are paying extra for
The hour between 7 and 8 and the 2 hours between 11 till 1 twice a week
Do they not offer the option to do just the 8 till 11 term time only?

Some CMs offer the hours, and other don't, DrSpouse - entirely up to them. They too can decide it's not worth it financially for them, because most LAs pay so much less than their fees. Also, it's supply and demand - where there are lots of CMS, they may be happy to take a dc for a couple of hours, but they aren't likely to turn away a full timer for just two or three hours, paid at a lower rate.

The 15 hours are supposed to be free at the point of delivery. But settings can make this tricky for parents to access by advertising free hours from 4 - 7 pm or whatever, or making it so that free hours don't match up with natural breaks in the day - which is what I feel is happening here...

TeddyBear5 & insancerre that makes sense, thank you. & makes it sound very simple (yes I feel silly now!)

Yes it sounds like you wouldn't be getting a good deal at that nursery. It's a pain though. Round here the only nurseries that seem to offer the 15 hours with no strings are the school ones but they are not very flexible re after school and holiday care. The private nurseries seem to find various ways to deny your entitlement though one thing that us fair enough is that the free 15 hours is a term time entitlement only so if the nursery is open all year it works out more like 11 a week.

Some nurseries and CMs offer flexible hours to fit around the hours you want and some have set times. If the set times are 8-11 mon-fri then 15 free hours are available ... Just that people will probably use additional hours, which they will pay for.