2/3/4 Year Old Funding Parents Guidance Notes

All 3 & 4 year old children and some eligible 2 year old children (subject to criteria – please see manager regarding 2 year old funding) are entitled to receive up to 15 hours of free Early Education Grant Funding (EEGF) for 38 weeks in a year; a total of 570 hours which is based upon the academic school year of 38 weeks. This provision is provided by the Government until a child reaches compulsory school age. Some children are eligible for the extended entitlement of 30 free hours of childcare dependent upon criteria and is up to 1140 hours per year.

You can start claiming the funding for your child(ren) after the school term your child(ren) turns 2 or 3. The date you can claim will depend on when their birthday is and will be available during the next school term.

Any missed hours due to a child being away from the nursery either through sickness or on holiday cannot be banked or claimed back. If parents choose to remove their child from the nursery prior to the end of the term, they are not be able to transfer any payments made by the Local Authority to WRDN to any new provider. Parents must provide the nursery with 4 weeks written notice should they wish to remove their child(ren) from the nursery. The extended entitlement allows parents to use more than one provider in order to use up all the entitled hours of childcare.

The Local Authority sets the number of hours that they fund over 3 school terms; Autumn, Spring & Summer. Each term has a different number of weeks and a maximum amount of hours that can be claimed during that funded period. A minimum of 2.5 hours and a maximum of 10 hours each day can be claimed for any child, which is set by the provision that the child attends according to availability and the structure of the provision. Each academic year, the number of weeks and hours claimed in each term will vary.

When a child becomes entitled to receive the funded hours following the term after their 2nd or 3rd birthday; their Parent(s) must provide the nursery with proof of their address and a copy of the child’s birth certificate.

At the beginning of each school term, the Local Authority will issue a Parent / Carer Agreement Form that is provided to the parents by the nursery and is also available to download on the Coventry City Council’s website. Parents / Carers must complete this form and return it to the nursery before the head count day which is stated on the form. If parents do not submit this form, they may not be able to receive the funded hours for their child(ren) for that term and will have to pay the full rate of the nursery fees.
Parents must provide the nursery with their eligibility code that they will receive once they have applied for the funded hours.

The Parents /Carer Agreement Form is an agreement between the Nursery and the Parent(s), which states the number of hours that will be claimed for the child(ren), known as the Pattern of Attendance for that school term based either upon a Term Time Only Option or a Stretch System.

Once this form has been submitted, changes cannot be made to the pattern of attendance for the term. New changes can only be made at the beginning of the following term and upon the availability of the nursery. It is essential that Parents fill this form in correctly and promptly depending upon the system used. Invoices will be provided for the entire year with a break down of fees owed per month.

The Early Educational Entitlement for children who attend WRDN will be based upon subject to availability and the nursery will try to accommodate requests for number of days.

Term Time Only Option

A maximum of 15 / 30 hours of Early Educational Entitlement can be claimed each week for those children who will be attending during the Academic School Year only, a total of 38 weeks of the year. Children would not be permitted to attend nursery during any holiday periods including half term breaks, Christmas or Summer Holidays that are not funded. Parents must also be aware that should they choose this option; the nursery is not able to guarantee any space for a child after a holiday period, especially after a long break such as the Summer Holidays.

Parents choosing this option must also take into consideration that additional charges will be made for additional hours and will apply at the full rate. Charges will also be made for all meals, extra-curricular activities such as gym, French and dance sessions.

Should parents wish for their child(ren) to attend during the holiday periods or additional days this will be subject to availability of the nursery and the full fees will apply for any additional sessions / days requested, discounts will be not given.

Stretch System

The Stretch System enables parents to access the funding that is available throughout the year that the nursery is open (51weeks). The number of hours that are funded each term remains the same as in the Term Time Only Option. However, as the number of hours claimed in this system is stretched over a longer period of weeks, this reduces the number of hours that can be claimed each week, each term. Additional hours, meals and all extra-curricular activities will be charged according to the number of days required in the Stretch System. This system can accommodate both the 15 and 30 free hours of childcare.

Parents choosing this option must also take into consideration that additional charges will be made for additional hours and will apply at the full rate. Charges will also be made for all meals, extra-curricular activities such as gym, French and dance sessions.

Parents must be aware that due to the restrictions within the claiming process, the number of hours that can be claimed each week can only be to the nearest hour and there may be some minutes lost each hour. As previously stated, these minutes cannot be ‘banked’ or used as ‘part of’ any other sessions.

Please follow the link below to find out further information upon free childcare, to apply for funding and tax-free childcare www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

If you wish to access the government funding, please let the manager know which system you wish to access for your child. The manager will issue an invoice based upon your request.

Please do not hesitate to seek further information or support.