About The 15 Free Hours

[GGmom87]

I am moving to the UK this summer from the US, and I'm still navigating the whole childcare/nursery/school scene. I have a 3 year old and 1 year old. I've read about these universal 15 hours of free care for all 3 and 4 year olds. I am a stay at home mom, so I am not sure if using free hours is something that is socially acceptable? Or is it mostly to be used as sort of reimbursement hours for full time care? We have no such scheme in the US so I'm just trying to feel it out. Thanks!

Yes it's socially acceptable to use the 15 free hours even if you don't work. It's good for the kids to be in an environment with other children

Yes, it is fine for a SAHM to use funded nursery education for their 3 year old. It is for the child's benefit.

With regard to the scheme itself, if you are looking for more information then I would suggest looking on the local authority website for the area to which you are moving as that will have the most relevant information. I am in West Surrey, near to the border with Berkshire, so my local authority is <a class="break-all" href="//url=www.surreycc.gov.uk/people-and-community/family-information-service/choosing-childcare-for-children-and-young-people/paying-for-childcare/funded-early-education-for-3-and-4-year-olds" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Surrey, Funded Early Education.

As a nanny I have cared for many children who have attended funded education sessions at pre-school (note: In the UK some daycare establishments are called pre-schools, they often only run for part of the day though there can be two sessions such as 9am-12pm, 12:30-3:30pm).

Definitely the norm to use them

The assumption is most people will use the 15 hours for the benefit the child and to prepare them for school. It is worth noting though that depending where you will be living there can be large waiting lists and the most chance of getting a place in September when older children move up to school.

DH is a SAHD and we use the 15 free hours for our eldest DD who is 3. It gives her a nice social time and is good prep for school and gives DH some one on one time to take the baby to groups etc that would be boring for our 3yo. The hours are 15/week in term time, the nursery we liked is open year round so they spread those over the whole year - works out about 10 free hours/week so we top them up so she can have 3 mornings and lunch each of the 3 mornings she is in.

Almost every child takes up 15 hour funding before school - some go to childminders and some only do 9 or 12 hours, but the majority will have done at least 15 hours of nursery before reception.
In my son's reception class of 22 children all but one child went to a preschool or nursery.
5 or 6 of them (including my son) did 30+ hours. The rest did 5 mornings or 2.5 days.
The one child who didn't had non-British parents.

I've never known a 3 year old that doesn't go to nursery for the 15 hours tbh.

This is all very help, thanks!

It’s not actually 15 free hours of childcare it is 15 free hours of education for 38 weeks of the year. It is seen as the prep year for school.

Totally fine. Once they turn 3 they can get extra 15 hours but both parents have to prove they're earning to get that. First 15 hours (term time only) is (almost?) universal.

I know with our nursery you can’t just use hours when you feel like it. You have to book a day or half day and they count the full time used toward your hours ( a half day was 6 hours I think? ) so it can end up costing you a bit as well.
The nursery may well charge you for meals on top also.

Just bear in mind that very broadly you will have a choice between putting your child in a school nursery or private one.
School ones you theoretically have to apply by March but they will accept you if not full (they aren't around here but this varies enormously). There it tends to be five mornings or five afternoons or two and a half days. You won't pay for this at all, though you will have to pay for (and provide) lunch.

Private nurseries are generally a lot more flexible with days/times and will likely offer a discount off whatever hours/days you want the child to do though some might insist that you pay for a minimum amount to qualify for the discount. They can charge extra for food (mine is £8 per day for funded hours). Good ones can be full but as a pp said spaces often open in the autumn once the current cohort has gone to school.

You might also find some church-led Playgroups that accept funded hours. For example my 3 yo goes to one which is 9.15-12.15 five days, I pay but a lot of the kids going there are using their free 15h.

@Frazzled2207 This is really helpful. I have been confused about the difference between school nurseries vs private ones. The application process seems different? I can't seem to figure out how to apply for the school ones. I found a private one I like. There is space, I just have to submit an application. But they require a £10 daily minimum. Which isn't terrible or anything, but I wondered if school ones are completely free?

Yes school will be totally free except possibly lunch. Not all schools have a nursery/preschool and in most cases it won't put you higher up the list for a place at the actual school the following year.
For the school ones you need to apply via the local authority they are in.
The deadline to apply is March but I suspect you will need a UK address to be able to do so. But if you wait until you have an address and then start contacting them directly they will tell you if they have space or not and what to do.

Thinking ahead you absolutely need a permanent UK address by January 2020 to be able to apply for a place to start school proper in September 2020- your chances of getting into a good school will very much depend on where you are living at that point and you might need to prove it(sadly people commit fraud to get into certain schools eg by renting houses that they never intend to get into).

Applying to a private nursery is variable but it's normal for there to be a small deposit. If it is small you might consider holding a couple of places until you can get here and check them out in person. Once you have an area in mind it's worth joining a local mum's group on Facebook and asking for recommendations of nurseries. There are loads of very good ones but some of these will have silly rules about using the free hours.

Btw for school nurseries there will usually be a totally free option (eg 3 hours x 5) but you can often "top up" eg to do extra sessions for a small charge.

Oh and to be absolutely clear children are eligible for 15 hours the term after they turn 3 not as soon as they become 3.
So if you want to send your child in September they need to be 3 by 31st August.
To go earlier in the summer they need to be 3 by 30th March (I think).

@Frazzled2207 You've been so helpful! Feeling a lot less confused now. We should have a physical address by August, so hopefully registering for Reception the following year won't be a problem.

That sounds good. Before then, as long as you know the approximate area it's worth contacting school nurseries to see if they might have space. But as you have deduced, also applying (directly) to a private nursery is a good idea.

Be aware that the 15 hours per week are for term time only, so 39 weeks per year following the UK school holidays pattern. If you use a private nursery, you may be allowed to reduce to 12 hours per week and spread this over 50 weeks of the year.

Additionally, you may have to be flexible about how those 15 hours are used. A private nursery may let you do two 7.5 hour days or two six hours days plus one three hour day etc. A school nursery will not he this flexible, as they usually only offer hours between 9ish and 3ish. The benefit if the school nursery is that the little ones get familiar with the building/other teachers/school hall etc so may be less daunting when they then go up to the reception class.

You can do the 15 hours with nurseries, pre schools and childminders. All follow the same curriculum, so just find the one you like best.

Tulips, the funding is actually for 38 weeks a year. Schools are open for 39 weeks, but 5 days of that is allocated for training days.