15 Hours

[NiceCupOfTeaAndASitDown]

This might seem an odd question but does anyone know if my 3 year old has to use all 15 hours assigned for childcare in nursery? Or is up to the nursery itself?

My DD is 3 and a half and hasn’t been to nursery or anything yet. Her older siblings are home educated and we were settling after a big move. She’s definitely ready for nursery but I’d like the option to take her in less frequently than her siblings went if that’s what she needs. Has anyone sent their child in for less than the allotted 15 hours? If so was this an official agreement or just something you did?

With my sons Nursery they liked you to use the 15 hours because otherwise you could be depriving another child of a place at the Nursery who would need and use those 15 hours. Not sure how it works legally though.

I believe they need to provide copies of registers and if children aren’t attending regularly risk losing the funding.

In the county where I work, you are not allowed to insist that a child takes their full 15 hours. We offer a minimum of 2, three hour sessions, spread over 2 days.

Many children, particularly those who are going to be in Nursery for 5 terms, start off with fewer than 5 sessions and then build it up over time.