Can I add sessions foe Early Years funding or whatever it is called mid-term??

[PleaseMrsButler]

DD is signed up for 3 sessions at nursery and will be getting teh governemtn preschool funding as she is 3.

I am considering increasing from 3 to 4/5 sessions. Will I be able to increase the level of funding mid-term or will I have to pay for these sessions myself?

I think there is a date when the nursery has to confirm how many sessions you have each term and if you change after that date I'm fairly sure you have to pay yourself until the beginning of the next term.
If you don't have to pay anything additional yourself them the nursery might let you register for the 4/5 sessions but not always use them iyswim then they get the money and you get the choice of how often to send your DD.

Is that not slightly illegal on the part of the nursery .

As it happens I do still have to pay as it is a 8-6pm nursery and the funded sessions are only 3hrs.

Ask the nursery. They may be inflexible but i beleive it can be done. Certainly in our borough they can recalculate/readjust when they send in details for the following term.

It is not up to the nursery to decide. It is the local authority, so if the nursery rings them and asks them the authority will give their opinion.

vbusymum1 - no, the nursery can't let anyone register for 4/5 sessions but not always use them.

Setting are audited randomly and it would be picked up at audit. The nursery would be made to pay the money back and could jeopardise future funding paid to them.

nurseryvoice is correct - the LA would make the decision. Our LA no longer accepts 'late claims' (which is what an increase in sessions would be classed as) so if you wanted to increase the sessions you would have to pay for them yourself until the beginning of the next term. It would certainly be worth the setting speaking to the LA though to check what their ruling on late claims is.

It is up to the local authority. Some have flexible arrangements but IME many have set dates on which an audit is taken on numbers and funding is paid against that.

In my area we give an estimate at the start of the term and recieve an interim payment based on that, then when we give the 'official' figure on audit day we get the balance of the payment for correct number of funded sessions parents have signed up for.

It is illegal to claim for sessions not used and our parents are made aware that if they don't sign up for 5 days by audit date then they must pay for any additional sessions until the next term.