what's the value of the preschool grant?

[kitkatsforbreakfast]

Just a quick question - I'm trying to do some sums, and don't know what the amount is that you get back from the govt for 3- 4 year olds if they aren't in a govt funded preschool place (Eg a private nursery or nanny).

I think it's areound £1400 a year, but can't remember.

I don't know whether it will be cheaper to keep my dd in her free preschool with a childminder in the afternoons, or put her in a private nursery a few days a week.

Thanks.

It's going to be three hours a day from sept 2010
you are entitled to five x three hours per day a week
monetary value is different in each setting

The value varies from setting to setting because it is the free hours that your child is entitled too, not the monetary equivalent.

Ok. I understand that, but a couple of years ago my ds was in a private reception class and, because of his summer birthday, was entitled to the preschool grant through the whole of reception. We got about £400 I think off each term's bills.

And my eldest ds was at a private nursery school for his preschool year, and was in 4 mornings a week. Although the hours he was there was less than 12 1/2 a week, I still had to pay a top up amount because the costs for running the nursery were greater than the value of the grant.

That seems to be pretty standard.

So my youngest will be going to the nursery class of the independent school where her brothers go, and, like my ds2 will get the equivalent grant amount as a discount off each term's fees. All I want to know is how much that amount is.

It varies by county - our Pre-School gets £9.05 per 2.5 hour session. Pre-schools and nurseries cannot charge for any part of the free entitlement but can charge for anything over the 2.5 hours. From Sept it raised to 15 hrs and is much more flexible so if you are not using all your hours you may not pay anything depending on how flexible the setting is. We will be offering the lunch club as part of the entitlement if people want it.

Sorry that should read "from Sept 2010 it will raise for all settings to"

The entitlement kicks in the term after your DC's third birthday. So for e.g if you DC was 3 on 31st December then they'd get a free place from the start of the spring term in January, but if their birthday was 5th January then it wouldn't kick in until after easter iyswim.

More info here

I think it is capped at a maximum locally, so what level applies in one area may not apply in another. We got about £430 per term 4 years ago. Also you need to check that your school still meets the qualification criteria as I know, for a time at least, ours was under threat of not being eligible.

toomanyprojects is right.

The funding does indeed differ for each local authority - we get £7.50 per 2.5 hour session .

The setting can only charge you for anything you have over and above the funded sessions.

lizs that's exactly what I wanted to know. Thank you. Hopefully it will rise a bit for september given the time allowance is going up to 15 hpurs. We shall see....

I hadn't realised the funding varied that much. We get £12.30 per 3 hour session but that's uplifted as we're on a pathfinder project. I guess the amount we get in future is dependent on whether the single funding formula goes ahead.