Pre- pre school

[Shakyfoundations]

I am looking into preschool, so far I have gleaned that my DD will be entitled to a funded place for a year in the year before she starts school, so 2014. I understand that I should apply December 2013 and would then find out where she was accepted to April 2014. I am not too sure how many hours that is for though.

DH is a SAHD but I would like DD to get a bit of pre school/playgroup experience the year before when she is 3. I was thinking a couple of mornings a week or something. Does anyone know if the preschools do this for younger children and if so do you apply in the same way as for a funded position and how much does it cost?

Thanks!

I'm not sure what you mean about a funded place the year before school, but my dcs have always had 15 hours free at preschool from the term after they have turned three. My dts are due to start school in 2015 and so will get either a free morning or afternoon session Mon-Fri from Jan 2013 (3rd birthday is Oct 2012). I am not sure whether this differs from area to area though. The best thing to do is to look at a couple of local preschools and then talk through the options with the one you like best.

All get 15 funded hours the from the beginning of the term after they turn 3, regardless of area.

Look into private nurseries too - ours do pre-school funded hours. Some will have minimum attendance hours though.

Your child gets 15 hours funded place from the term after they turn 3.
Some preschools take from 2, and nurseries even sooner but you pay for the sessions you want. I started my dd doing 2 mornings at aged 2. I think it was about 9.00 a session. So shop around your local preschools and see when they take children and how much it is. You literally make an appointment have a look round and see which days they have available.

As Bagpuss says - the government will pay for 15 hours of preschool education each term after your child is 3. How this 15 hours can be used is up to individual preschools. So the best thing to do is to find out about all the preschool and nurseries near to you. Every preschool and nursery seems to be different, and all have different admissions policies. You may be able to sign up for a few of them now. It is not like schools where there is one central admissions system. You have to apply to each individual setting.

As for places before the funded places, that also depends per setting. You just have to find out about all the settings you are interested in. Your local council should have a list of all the places near you.

The preschool playgrou where i work offer sessions from age 2. Most dc's start with one or two a week. The cost of these varies from place to place and then as others have said the funding kicks in the term after the third birthday.

Some lo's are not ready to be left at 2 and others are. Have you considered a stay and play or toddler group where parents can stay. Some of these are structured like preschool to prepare lo's for the next step.

Good luck

Your local authority website should give you all the details you need of all pre-schools and nurseries in your area. You should just be able to call them and arrange a visit, fill out a form then start (depending on if they have a single intake or not, many you can just start whenever).

Your local Family Information Service (Google them) will be able to tell you what childcare is available in your area.

The Pre-School I work at takes them from 2yrs, funded at 3yrs.
We also have a pretty long waiting list and wouldnt be able to take a child interested in starting the very next day/week etc etc, you have to bear in mind staff ratios as well.
Personally I dont think 1 session is enough for some children, as some take longer to settle thanothers, and a week from one session to another is a long time, it may feel like their first day starting over and over again iyswim.

My closest pre-school only takes new DC in September, the new starters are usually aged from 2y6m to 3yo.

If your DC's birthday is Sep-Dec, you have to pay for just the first term, then are funded from Jan.

If your DC's birthday is Jan-April, you have to pay for the Autumn term AND the Spring

Term.

If your DC's birthday is from May-Aug, you have to pay for all three terms the first year, OR send them a year late so that they are funded.

Hi there,
Yes, as others have said, there is funding from the term after they turn 3 for 15 hours. But often pre-schools will take them from 2.5 or from 2 in some cases, when you can pay for however many hours (normally 2 or 3 mornings a week is good). So, if you can afford it get her name down for local pre-schools to start when she's 2.5, or 2.3 or 2 (depending on when they start them in your area). It does depend a lot on the child on what age is best. Generally by 3 they are very ready to be left, but some will go fine at 2. Get in touch with the local council for list of pre-schools. The charging depends on what sort of pre-school it is/what area you are in. As a guide I think we paid £15 a morning for DS. Day nurseries- more geared up for working parents- will also take children sometimes for mornings or afternoons, but are generally more expensive. If they are good quality worth considering though- and you might get more hours (for more money)- eg 8am-1pm rather than pre-school 9-12. Depends what suits you.