Eligible for pre-school grant in September, but not starting until October

[Marabou]

Hi all!

We booked a holiday for the whole month of September not realising that's the month DS would be due to start in nursery.

I spoke to a friend and she said it might be a problem for nurseries to take him from October, as they prefer to start them at the beginning of term. Is this true?

We haven't yet approached any of the nurseries we've applied in..

Also, does anyone know if it's compulsory to use the full 15 hours per week or could we start DS with 9 hours and increase once we feel he's ready? He's never been in nursery or any other form of childcare, just home with me (we do go to various activities etc.) and I worry 15 hours a week might be a bit much to start with.

If the nursery is over subscribed so has the choice then I would imagine they would prefer to take a child using all their hours than one taking only some as most local authorities only pay what is used (with a little allowance for sickness) and would be impossible to fill a month and hard to fill a few hours weekly. If the nursery isn't full though then it's not likely to make a difference.

Right, I imagine most nurseries in our area are oversubscribed

Re: starting in October, I'd imagine that your DC could be enrolled in the nursery from the start of term, and just be off for the first few weeks. As far as I'm aware, we signed a form at the beginning of the year confirming that DS would be using his hours, and I don't think that the preschool gets penalised for days he's not in (sickness/ odd term time holiday). He's at a preschool though, rather than a nursery, so its possible that there are different rules.

Hm, we haven't yet got a place for him, so I'm not sure whether he would go in preschool or nursery. Are preschools the ones attached to a primary? All the ones we have applied to are attached to primary schools.

Most preschools have a waiting list and insist you use the full entitlement
Private nurseries can be more flexible
Your best bet is to ring all the nurseries/ preschools and ask them directly

Our preschool lets you choose how many hours you want with the minimum claim of two 3hour sessions.

The only problem being you may not be able to increase hours later in the year- unless other children leave for some reason or other before the next Sept intake.

You might need to take the place from September and take holiday. Many pre schools, nurseries and childminders let you use less than 15 hours and all offer the same curriculum.

Starting late may mean missing head count day and the pre school won't get any funding money for your child.

Depends on individual policies - talk to them!