30 hours funding

[Littlestgirlguide25]

Hi. I am looking for some advice as I can't find what I am looking for online.
My DS goes to nursery 4 days a week, term time only. We qualify for the 30-hours funding, but nursery say they only offer it stretched over 51 weeks at 21 hours per week, so because we have a term time place we are only able to have 21 hours a week free and pay for the remainder.
Are they allowed to do this?
I can only find guidance online which says that PARENTS can choose to stretch the funding if they wish, or that nurseries can opt out of offering it if they choose.
Obviously I will just have to suck it up if it's allowed of course, but it would be nice to know!
Thank you.

Id be insisting on bringing him outside of term time too for 21 hours a week in that case and see what they say.

They have said that 'if there is space' he can come for extra days in the holidays - but the point is that I don't need that, I have a term time place and had hoped that 30 hours term time funding actually meant 30 hours every week in term time.

Nurseries only receive £4 from the government for each of the 30 free hours offered. So if their running costs are more than that (most are), they will lose money. Hence many nurseries have devised schemes to minimise their losses - as it sounds like yours have done. I would rather be able to claim 21 hours of free care than a) having the nursery close down because it is running at a loss, or b) them not offering the 30 free hours at all, which may have been their alternatives! But do talk it through with them directly, there might be another dimension to it.

It is very misleading to call them 'free' hours... They are subsidised.
We are in a very similar position to you, OP. It is very annoying.

It is annoying but the frustration should be directed towards the government (which had failed to put sufficient funding in place) rather than the nursery.

We are in a cheap area of the country for childcare.
The bill is £38 per day, 7.30-6.
That's less than the £4 per hour the government provides so it seems they are actually making a profit on my 'free' hours...?

We are also in a cheap area of the country for wages - it's all relative!

I would call your LA and check that they are not then claiming 21 hours for all the weeks this then leaves you 9 hours to spend elsewhere such as with a child-minder. I believe if they are insisting on stretched funding they need to be able to offer it....but they can say we only offer 21 hours a week leaving you the rest.

Please remember that although the published area figures may be £4 that may be what the council is paid they then choose how much to pass on.

They don't have to offer all 30 hours. Even if they were only open term time, they could limit how many hours they offer each week. A pre school near me is open term time only and offers 20 hours a week at set times.