Our local authority has just withdrawn full-time nursery places. Do other areas still offer full-time nursery places?

[AubergineKenobi]

Our local authority used to offer the normal 15 hour a week nursery provision until the term before Reception when it would offer 9-3.30pm in order to acclimatise the children to school hours and get them used to eating at school etc. This worked because we had staggered Reception entry (summer borns did nto start until January).

The LA has just informed us that all Recption children will now start in September and as a result they can no longer offer fulltime places to any children. All children will get 15 hours nursery until they start Reception. This is partly because they anticipate that "government funding for full-time places will be cut". I am not happy about this, not least because they are acting on a cut that has not yet been made. I am thinking of writing to complain but first I wanted to see how common this approach is.

Do you live in an area where full school hour nursery provision is offered for a period before Reception or is that actually quite rare?

none of the nurseries in our area offer full time paid nursery places so I would think it is quite rare

none of our nurseries off full time care (either here, or where I used to live). In both areas reception has not been staggered intake and started in September full time for all pupils.

I think that your situation will be a one off. I have never heard of that anywhere. Certainly not here or where my dm lives and not where we used to be either (Northampton, Manchester, Cumbria)

Sounds like you are just becoming the same as the rest of the UK.

I didn't realise that anywhere offered free full time nursery places!

In my area and the LA next to me both offer full days but only for children with additional needs or where there are special family circumstances.

Other than that some nurseries will offer longer sessions if you pay for them.

Our LA used to have a lot of Nurseries (mostly attached to schools) that offered 'school hours' places throughout the year, but that all stopped 2 or 3 (or was it 4?) years ago when the '15 hours for all' funding came in, and they all had to go to half day sessions, except for exceptional cases (children in extra need, who can 'qualify' for a longer session).

Our LEA still have a few full time places but they are allocated based on various educational, medical and social needs.

The only full time free nursery places here are on a strict criteria of looked after children, parents on a low income in college and parents with medical reasons.

Most LAs have had to reduce the offer of full days unless the child has an official statement of special needs or is a CIN (child in need) or on the child protection register. This is because the Government has reduced the funding to councils. So there are only the 15 hours funded by the Government left. If you don't like it- think about the issue next time you vote!

Never happened where I am. And the only children that will be affected are the autumn born, is that correct? The rest will now be in YR instead of nursery so the full-time nursery place is effectively the same.

Never understood this 'acclimatisation' age that we live in. Why have a whole term of it? One or two days is enough .

Our borough currently provides 15 hours + the Governments 15 hours. This will be reduced from September. All the surrounding boroughs have either already done this or will be following suit in September.

Every centre/nursery will be different in how they offer 'acclimatisation'. We prefer to have a case by case basis. Adjusting the settling in time as the children need- since every child is different.

They are missing a trick if they don't give you the option to pay for the additional 15 hours if you want your child to stay in nursery.

Ok we're in bham and until last yr most nurseries here were 9-3. Now though there are places 9-3 but you have to meet the criteria...
Have sen or parents with sen
Lac child
Parent in prison
Speak English as a second language
Have 1 parent in prison
Have 3 or more children under 5!

We didn't meet the criteria however we got a full time place as I fought for it (due to other reasons.) we did have letters from social workers etc

Some schools in my area offer full-time places for children of working parents. These places are fully funded by the local authority, essentially doubling the statutory 15 hour provision. It's first-come first-served and places allocated by the school (not the LA). I was very surprised to hear that we are eligible, as we are working but on high enough salaries to carry on paying for childcare if we have to (we've always had to before). However, it would appear that there is not full take-up of the places, because (frankly) a majority of parents in the area don't both work and therefore aren't eligible. So we may take up a place. Not decided yet - lots of other factors to consider. Of course it would be a major help to us if our costs came down a year earlier. I'd hate to take a place away from a family who needed it more than us, but if there are places currently available then I figure we might as well apply. Of course, the rug could well get pulled at any time.

My area (Trafford) does 15 hrs a week. Manchester LEA does the full 9-3 though (so I hear).

15 hours only here.

full time only for kids in "special needs" schools

12.5 hours here

Several schools in our area had all full time nursery places (40+ per school). They've been cut very dramatically by the LA and are not prioritised depending on level of need.