How much do you pay for your preschool and for what hours?

[TinyDiamond]

I am just really curious as I have a little dd and I'm sure the time will go really quickly

My local preschool offers 15 hours free funding for the term after my child turns 3, however they have advised me that if I opt for morning sessions I will have to pay £3.75 a day to cover lunch supervision as I cannot have a morning session without staying for lunch. If I were to opt for afternoon sessions it would all be free. Are they allowed to do this?

My local preschool charge top up fees on top of the 15hrs free. A morning session is 9.05 - 12.35 and they only let you use 3 free hours per session and charge £4.50 for the extra half hour. It sucks big time but the other preschool in the village does it too so looks like I have no choice.

That sounds like very similar arrangement blibblibs. It doesn't seem fair to me that if I only choose to send my child for three morning sessions a week therefore using only 9 hours of my entitlement I would still have to pay 3x£3.75 per week even though I have not used up my full 15 hours entitlement.

frowner and blibblibs, i would contact the free entitlement team at your local council as these preschools are breaking the rules. You have to be able to use 15 hours free without top ups if you wish.

ours is £9.50 a session plus 50p per week (for funded kids) 'donation' for a snack. no lunch time session though it's 8:45-11:45 and 12:45-3:45, and a minimum of 3 sessions a week. it's in the grounds of the local primary school but is separate from them.

Mnistooaddictive, thanks for your reply who exactly would I need to contact regarding this issue?

phone your local authority (if you wait a couple of weeks you will need to sign a headcount form and their details will be on this) ask for the free entitlement team. If you are in Wiltshire i can give you the number!

9-3pm £19 per day not inc lunch (packed lunch or £2 hot dinner). Not sure what the half day times are. It is attached to primary school and there is facilities for 8-9am breakfast club and/or 3-5.30pm after school club for both Pre school and primary children at £3.50 per hour.

ds is only 2. When he is 3 he gets the full day refunded, minus any dinner money paid, for up to however many hours he gets free (15 is it, not sure, so prob 3 days?).

Dd went to a private Pre school, £35 per day 8-6. Due to no free places in holiday times, and only getting a certain number of hours in the AM and then in the PM we still found most months we were paying £several hundred pounds even with free sessions.

frowner dds Pre school was like that. She did 2 days per week to start. We were told the hours were worked out 2.5 hours in the morning and 2.5 hours in the afternoon so although she was there for 20 hours we had to pay for 10 hours per week, or something like that.

And, sorry to add another thing. Both private and primary linked Pre school take children in nappies as well as pull ups (private from 3mth so you hope so! And the one ds is in from 2yrs). They have been great helping ds with potty training too.

Mine has just started at a nursery that isn't attached to a school (but is only open during term time). They take them from 2.5 until 5 (so can choose to stay there rather than do reception).

DS is 2.5 and he does 2 and three-quarter hours on three afternoons a week. 12.15 until 3.

They charge £11 a session.

You have to take a packed lunch - there's no other option.

It is a lovely preschool. I'm so happy he got a place there. I've put his name on the waiting list to up his hours once the free 15 hours kicks in.