Gmt grant for nursery when your child is 3

[lavender11]

Apparently there is financial support in some form or other for your nursery fees when your child turns 3 and you are back at work. How can I find out whether I qualify and how much is it (is it a fixed amount or is it means tested)
thanks
i am clueless! & sorry if this has been done many times before

Go to Places for children or local nursery, ask if your child can get his/her 15 hours free.

Some nurseries may have a place available, others may have a waiting list.
I think you will have to pay the rest/find out about Working Tax Credits childcare vouchers to help with paying the rest?

thanks dominique
is the 15 hours universal or is it meanstested do you know? (as you say the nursery is likely to know but just wondered whether you might know)

Hi, The government pays for 15 hours worth of preschool a week in the term after your child turns 3. This is based on aset amount by the LEA, so if your child attends a full day nursery or even an independant preschool it may not cover all the fees for 15 hours a week but contributes towards them. All Ofsted registered nurseries apply for this on behalf of the kids as a matter of course.

Are you looking for a day nursery or a preschool, or a nursery class within a state primary school. The latter will be completely free for 15 hours.

Not all nurseries offer 15 hours at the moment, some of them are 'moving towards it' which means you might get only 12.5 hours.

Best thing is to ring your local council's family/early years team and they will let you know if your chosen childcare provider is part of the scheme. Around here, some of the nurseries make parents pay the excess of their normal fees on top (ie if the council give them £3.50 an hour but the nursery's usual hourly rate is £4.50, you might have to pay the extra £1). My council are trying to stamp that out but I think some of the pricier places just won't participate in the scheme.

It's not means tested and only applies for 38 weeks a year (in line with school terms) so during holidays you have to pay the full fees.

Also check how they administer - my nursery charges and then gives me a refund at the end of each term which means you have to fork out in advance but some of them only make you pay the balance.

Sorry, that's a bit of an essay!

Not all nurseries offer it, depending on where you live. Eg in our area, only council nurseries (which close over summer/school hols) or selected 'partnership' nurseries have the free hours; also I think it is (or can be) proportionate to how many days your child is at the nursery. Don't know anything more about it yet as although DS is 3, until a couple of months ago our nursery was not a partnership nursery. Up til now we have been getting money through child tax credits (NOT working tax credits though). I found it almost impossible to work out how much we were 'due' though...

I don't know if this is covered on here, but it's a really useful website for working out what benefits etc. you are entitled to:
www.turn2us.org.uk/benefits_search.aspx

So, if working full time, who do I call about getting help (through working or child tax credits)?
Should I wait until I've been working for a month so I know exactly how much money I'll be taking home?

the money doesnt come to you, the nursery will claim the money on your behalf from the local council and will deduct it from your bill.
the grant is only for 33 weeks per year so you will have to pay full fees for the rest of the time and only from the term after your child is 3, so if your child is 3 between jan and april you will get it from april, 3 between april and aug you will qualify from sept and 3 between sept and dec you will qualify from Jan.
Most pre schools and nurseries will sort all this out for you and will just ask you to provide a birth certificate.

Once you're working you can call 0845 300 3900 to claim tax credits and ask if they can help with paying childcare costs. You will need details of the childcare provider, and if it is Ofsted or Local Authority, and the registration number of the nursery.