FUNDING/FREE PLACES
At Sandy Pre-school we are able to receive Government Funding for 3+ year olds.
This means that children will receive government funding from the term after their third birthday. There are three 'cut off' points during the year. Children who are three years old before 31st March will qualify for the Summer term , 31st August will qualify for the Autumn term and 31st December will qualify for the Spring term. This means that parents/carers do not have to pay as the funding is paid directly to the setting they are attending and children are entitled to up to 15 hours per week.
Provided we have enough spaces, we can offer 15 hours to each funded child. If we do not have enough spaces we will offer as many as we have available. As your child is entitled to their 15 hours per week at any setting, very often children who have started nursery for less than the 15 hours have the remaining time with us, to make their sessions up. As long as your child does not attend more than 15 hours of funded sessions, this is perfectly acceptable. Children can attend for more than 15 hours but they will need to pay for anything extra.
Children can access their 15 hours in a number of ways. They can have 6 hours in one day to include a free lunch club (bring a packed lunch), they can have 4 hour sessions and finish a morning with an hour's lunch club, or they can have a 3 hour afternoon session, starting with lunchtime. Any combination of these can make up their 15 hours. For example, your child could have 2 full days (2 x 6hrs) plus an afternoon (3hrs) = 15 hours.
Our aim is to provide flexible childcare.
There is a certain amount of necessary paperwork (as always) and this is completed at the start of the term your child starts to receive funding.