How many of you really get 12.5 hours FREE nursery time for your 3 1/2 year old?

[mommycat]

How many of you really get 12.5 hours FREE nursery time for your 3 1/2 year old?

I lost my job when my daughter turned 3 1/2. Even though she goes to nursery only 10.5 hours a week, we have to pay £30 for that. I know that is a low price but when a family of 3 is expected to live (and pay a mortgage) on £78 a week it's not that easy.

Also the government claim that ?Every three and four year old in England is entitled to 12.5 hours of free early learning per week, in nurseries, playgroups, pre-schools or at their childminders for 38 weeks of the year.?

Where I live these free places are few and far between. Our nursery does not offer ANY free time at all, and the state nurseries are full - I guess we should have got on the waiting list before she was born rather than when she was 2.

I'm not talked about 'reduced fees'. I'm asking how many of you actually get FREE 12,5 hours a week?

Thanks

DS2 is at a private nursery but gets his 12.5 hours free (or gov funded)

Every child of 3 or over is entitled to it and private and state nurseries should offer it as they just claim it back from the government.

we get it totally free. we are in scotland.

How much is the 3hrs (or 2 1/2) equivalent to in money terms? Is it £6, £9, does it vary between settings? ie, how much off your bill will you get!

lister, £9 a session in nottinghamshire

OUrs is free, but we choose to send DD for 2 full days and one morning, so we pay for the lunch hour two days a week.

Its s Surestart nursery, totally fab. Derbyshire.

DS2 goes to an amazing nursery for free, It's a Safehands Green Start Nursery and I can't fault it! He goes 3 days from 9 until 2 and has a hot dinner.

lister, it varies between nurseries. I think ours is about £9 for the equivilent time.

I remember reading something about the government's plans to 'stamp out' the practice of nurseries charging a 'top up' fee, but TBH, I think the problem is the government voucher isn't worth enough, especially in hight rent areas like London.

If you use a pre-school that charges a "top-up" type fee for the extra time beyond the 2.5 hours voucher time you are entitled to go and collect your child after the 2.5 hours and pay nothing! Reality is though that they charge the top up and offer extra time because otherwise they can't break even.

if goct banned top up fees in our area (west London) then nurseries would just go private as there are plenty of people able to pay the whole amount. Losers would be people like me who wouldn't qualify for any of the truly places but would struggle terribly to pay full nursery fees on top of childminder fees (who all charge a full day if they have to do nursery pick up and drop off).

My dd has had a free playgroup/preschool place since she turned 3. She alsp attends a private nursery one day a week and has a proportion of this for free as well. HTH

ah is that why all our local nurseries are 3 hrs then!

Yes, I do. My ds2 will have 15 hours free per week as of next term.

Ds3 goes to school nursery 5 afternoons a week and that is free.

We do - DS1 went to the nursery at the local school, so term time only. We paid for trips and 50p a week for cooking ingredients.

DS2 also goes to nursery at the local school - we've moved so it's a different one to his brother's preschool. Again, term time only. Here the "cost" is 50p a week for cooking, one piece of fruit a week and one box of tissues per half term. Their idea of trips at this nursery is for all the children to walk to the letterbox, or the local florist.

I'm guessing I live in the same part of London as Kewcumber.

DS1 is 3.3yrs. He gets 5 free sessions a week in Pre-school.
He attends 6 sessions and 2 lunch clubs.

1 session is £4.50, lunch club is £1.25
Mornings and afternoon sessions are 2hrs 30 mins
lunch is 45 mins

We do, and have done for all my dc (eldest now 10), at a local pre-school. It cost me a lot before they all turned three though, but the funded places were readily available a little after their third birthdays.

If your child goes to a nursery that is OFSTED inspected you can claim for 5 sessions of 2.5 hrs (3hrs in sept) per week. So if oyur child goes all day monday/tues/weds you would get 2.5 hours in morning, pay for lunch then 2.5 hours in PM and would pay after 3pm so if its £25 a day you would get 5x£9 off the bill so instead of paying £75 you would pay £30 IYSWIM.
If your child attends a pre school that is registered with OFSTED you can claim per session free.

With my son i used a nursery and paid the extra but remember its only for 33 weeks a year so for the rest of the year you would pay full fees. With DD im just using the play school so wont pay for her once she is 3!

Where is it Fridays child (KC pleads in a very undignified manner) - the only free one near me is so oversubscribed that I'm unlilely to get DS in...

oh and you get the funding for 3 lots of 11 weeks so from Jan term for 11 weeks then from easter term for 11 weeks and then from septemebr term for 11 weeks

I think it's time you put your foot down and demand for your child's statutory entitlement. Contact your childcare link for your county. Under the Childcare Act 2006, your council has a statutory obligation to provide your child of 3 and 4 years old with a minimum of free 12.5 hour session per week. Start making a fuss and if they don't take any notice, write to your MP and demand that she/he intervenes and finds your child the statutory free 12.5 hours.

It is unheard of around where I live for a child to be denied their free entitlement.

i think the OP problem is becasue she thinks the funding is for 12.5 hrs a week to be used anyway she wants BUT thats not how it works. If her child is only attending nursery for 2 days a week then she will only be able to claim for 4 free sessions as you can only use 2 per day and you have to pay for the time either side and between the sessions that are free IYSWIM. I cannot believe the OP is using a nursery that doesnt get the nursery funding becasue that would mean it isnt registered with OFSTED.
I would aadvise the OP to talk to the nusery and ask how many sessions she is using and if there was any way of using the funding more effictively.

Thanks for all your responses. Seems outside London facilities are better. No wonder people with kids leave.

Kewcumber - where do you live? Would it be Islington by chance? I guess because a former prime minister lived here the council thinks we are all rich.

Ah, wait, maybe not - we have two school nurseries here - that is, nurseries attached to schools, as you say "state funded nursery ...only for 1 year prior to school." I hope to get into one but as many my neighbours didn't get into reception with their children, I'm not very hopeful.

But... maybe part of the reason ours is not totally free is that they are open all year. They do not break for holidays. When i asked about funded places they said they do not have that at all, merely a reduction in fees, even for someone only going 10.5 hours a week.

We have no local surestart (see paragraph 1). Believe me Islington is not just full of rich people. We have council estates here and a lot of poverty. But we are not poor enough for surestart I guess,

Yes dd1 goes to local preschool they open every day for 2.5 hours so she would in theory get 12.5 hours free, however, because I work 2 days a week she goes the 3 days I do not work (upping to 4 days in September as my Mum will taker and pick her up for me)
Loads of state funded preschools here (Kent) but I know lots of them offer sessions form 9 till 4pm but you have to pay for the extra hours

We get 10. We could have 12.5 if we wanted. But our preschool is run by a parent committee, of which I am a member. Our costs are therefore quite low. I actually work pretty hard for my 10 free hours