Help with nurserys i am clueless

[fran_23]

Hi, Excuse my complete ignorance in this area..the youngest child in my family is 16 so i have no idea about this type of thing!! i realise its probably different according to your area but any help would be appreciated...
my "MIL" has been nagging Haydens dad (she likes to stir it up) saying that i should really be applying for nurseries for Hayden otherwise he won't get in to one and it will be my fault for being lazy! But i am just a bit clueless...
He was born july 31st so will be 3 in 2009...does that mean he will get payed nursery time when he is 3 or 3 and a half (these rules really confuse me) and do i have to start applying now?? i have a booklet with all the local nurseries and there numbers/adresses etc..what do i do! (god i am thick...sorry)

 

[leckershell]

I would give a few nurseries a call and say when you are looking to move him into nursery and they'll let you know their waiting lists if there is one, and their fees etc. You should probably have a look round a few too.

I believe at 3, you get 5 free sessions ie morning or afternoon and you can either just have those or pay additional on top for fulltime childcare. But I think it depends on your area - for here it's age 3 but on a quick google search a few counties seem to be age 4.

 

[fran_23]

Thank you, i was looking on google and its not that helpful it says something about it being either 3 or 3 and a half depending on the month they were born!? i'll ring round a few and see what they say! x

 

[nazmomi]

I think he will qualify for his free nursery place in the sept after his 3rd birthday. It is 5 2and a half hour sessions a week usually in morning or just after lunch. If there are any nurseries you are interested in call and ask about their admissions procedure. Some nurseries which are attatched to schools only offer these free sessions and maybe good for your LO to get to know other children he will be going to school with, and some private daycare providers can incorporate your free entitlement into any other daycare arrangements you make with them which may be a good idea if you were looking for childcare for longer than 2 1/2 hours.

 

[fran_23]

Oh thats great thank you!! the one i want him to go to is attached to a first school so i would pressume you have to get a place and they are limited so i will phone and ask about the procedure!! thanks for yor help!
Guess what? i just found out the headmistress used to be the deputy head at my first school i recognised her name!! wow what a small world!

 

[Beatlesfan]

the 12.5 hours a week of a free pre-school/nursery place the term after they turn three. (terms start sep, jan or april)

here is a link to FAQ about the scheme.

http://www.surestart.gov.uk/improvingqu ... ation/faq/
x

 

[fran_23]

Thank you for the link

 

[lisa282]

I know how you feel hun, I was completely clueless about this stuff when the time came to put my son into nursery. If you get in touch with your local council, they should give you the number for child and family services in your area, including a list of childcare providers. From there you can begin to ask around them and you will soon suss out which ones would work best for you and indeed there may well be waiting lists for them. At the moment, all 3 year olds are entitled to 12.5 hours a week of grant funded care, from the term following their 3rd birthday, so according to when your child was born will indicate exactly how old they are when starting nursery. Terms begin in January, April or September...for example my sons birthday is in May so the next available term is September. He started his funded place last month and was 3yrs 4 mnths old but had already been going to the nursery for over a year at a great expense to me Its worth checking within your local area for information tho, as even though the government provides 12.5 hours funding, your local government may well have an extra policy. Ours actually do 15.5 hours funded Depending on the childcare provider, you should be able to take these hours at a time that suits you too, not necessarily in a set pattern iykwim. For example you would imagine them to provide 5 x 3hr sessions a week, all mornings or all afternoons, but this is not necessarily the case. As I said it depends on the provider, but some private nurseries will be totally flexible with the hours to suit you. FWIW my son does 3 x 6hr sessions, monday to wednesday, 15.5 hours are free and I pay the difference up to the 18 hours. We have always done this as it fit around the hours I worked, so have never changed it, even while Im now on maternity leave and could look after him myself. He loves going to nursery so Im not going to disturb him.

Anyway, as your son was born in July, he should get a funded place from September 2009. I would def start looking into it now and go and have a tour and/or taster sessions at the ones in your area so you can choose the one you prefer. That way you should have plenty of time to register your interest and secure a place for him at your first choice nursery. Some will have waiting lists, others wont, but if you leave it till a couple of months before you need the place, you might have to settle on somewhere that you dont want him to go to if that makes sense? Hope that helps a bit!! FWIW I have already booked my daughters place at the same nursery as my son, for when I start back at work in May. I want them to be together so didnt want to just presume that they will fit her in, even though my son already goes there.
Good luck x

 

[Beatlesfan]

Excellent advice Lisa282!!!

Great news that your daughter can join your son at the nursery and that the nursery is flexible about the free hours. As you've said some nurseries are not. There are plans for the Government to extend the hours to 15 per week and allowing parents to use the hours flexibly (over a minimum of 3 days) - this is supposed to be by APRIL 2010. But this is not the policy at the moment. Also the hours at the moment are free for 38 weeks of the year. This is taken from a leaflet about it all, from Sure Start (Government body for childcare etc.).

"Over the coming months we
will be consulting on how best to phase and
implement our commitment to further extend the
free entitlement to 15 hours a week and enable
parents who wish to do so to access the free
entitlement across a minimum of three days.
The aim is to ensure a better fit between the
needs of working families and the learning and
developmental needs of all children."

Here is the link to that leaflet.

http://www.surestart.gov.uk/_doc/P0002205.pdf

 

[fran_23]

I know how you feel hun, I was completely clueless about this stuff when the time came to put my son into nursery. If you get in touch with your local council, they should give you the number for child and family services in your area, including a list of childcare providers. From there you can begin to ask around them and you will soon suss out which ones would work best for you and indeed there may well be waiting lists for them. At the moment, all 3 year olds are entitled to 12.5 hours a week of grant funded care, from the term following their 3rd birthday, so according to when your child was born will indicate exactly how old they are when starting nursery. Terms begin in January, April or September...for example my sons birthday is in May so the next available term is September. He started his funded place last month and was 3yrs 4 mnths old but had already been going to the nursery for over a year at a great expense to me Its worth checking within your local area for information tho, as even though the government provides 12.5 hours funding, your local government may well have an extra policy. Ours actually do 15.5 hours funded Depending on the childcare provider, you should be able to take these hours at a time that suits you too, not necessarily in a set pattern iykwim. For example you would imagine them to provide 5 x 3hr sessions a week, all mornings or all afternoons, but this is not necessarily the case. As I said it depends on the provider, but some private nurseries will be totally flexible with the hours to suit you. FWIW my son does 3 x 6hr sessions, monday to wednesday, 15.5 hours are free and I pay the difference up to the 18 hours. We have always done this as it fit around the hours I worked, so have never changed it, even while Im now on maternity leave and could look after him myself. He loves going to nursery so Im not going to disturb him.

Anyway, as your son was born in July, he should get a funded place from September 2009. I would def start looking into it now and go and have a tour and/or taster sessions at the ones in your area so you can choose the one you prefer. That way you should have plenty of time to register your interest and secure a place for him at your first choice nursery. Some will have waiting lists, others wont, but if you leave it till a couple of months before you need the place, you might have to settle on somewhere that you dont want him to go to if that makes sense? Hope that helps a bit!! FWIW I have already booked my daughters place at the same nursery as my son, for when I start back at work in May. I want them to be together so didnt want to just presume that they will fit her in, even though my son already goes there.
Good luck x

Oh my god i have just seen this...thank you so much hun, what a helpful reply..(not that the others werent too of course)
thats great help..thanks so much

 

[fran_23]

Excellent advice Lisa282!!!

Great news that your daughter can join your son at the nursery and that the nursery is flexible about the free hours. As you've said some nurseries are not. There are plans for the Government to extend the hours to 15 per week and allowing parents to use the hours flexibly (over a minimum of 3 days) - this is supposed to be by APRIL 2010. But this is not the policy at the moment. Also the hours at the moment are free for 38 weeks of the year. This is taken from a leaflet about it all, from Sure Start (Government body for childcare etc.).

"Over the coming months we
will be consulting on how best to phase and
implement our commitment to further extend the
free entitlement to 15 hours a week and enable
parents who wish to do so to access the free
entitlement across a minimum of three days.
The aim is to ensure a better fit between the
needs of working families and the learning and
developmental needs of all children."

Here is the link to that leaflet.

http://www.surestart.gov.uk/_doc/P0002205.pdf

And thank you too hun