-
Early Education Funding
Early Education Funding
Early Education Funding
Under the Government's Early Education Funding (EEF) scheme, all children are entitled to a free, early education place for 15 hours per week from the term following their third birthday. The funding will continue until your child moves into a reception class in a maintained school, or until the beginning of the term following your child's fifth birthday. This is when they reach statutory school age, and it is compulsory for your child to attend school. Please note that the admissions policy in Kingston upon Thames enables children to start at infant or primary school in the September of the school year in which they will become five years of age.
The information below tells you when your child will be eligible for a part-time early education place. Please note that the term dates mentioned refer to terms set by the Department for Education and not local school term dates. You should pay particular attention to these dates if your child's birthday is around the Easter period, as this varies from year to year in school terms, but the cut-off date for free early education is always 31st March.
You can work out when your child will qualify for the funding by looking at the dates below:
o Children with their third birthday between 1 April and 31 August qualify for funding from the autumn term starting in September;
o Children with their third birthday between 1 September and 31 December qualify for funding from the spring term starting in January;
o Children with their third birthday between 1 January and 31 March qualify for funding from the summer term starting in April.
Early education is provided in a variety of childcare settings:
- Maintained nursery class in an Infant or Primary/nursery school
- Independent or private nursery class or school
- Day nursery
- Pre-school or playgroup
If your child attends a maintained nursery class/nursery school (see 1 above) funded by the Local Authority, this is their funded part-time early education place. This means that funding cannot be claimed for any hours your child may be attending in a private, voluntary or independent nursery or group (see 2, 3 or 4 above) during the same term.
If your child attends only a private, voluntary or independent nursery or group (see 2, 3 or 4 above), funding is paid directly to the nursery or group by the Local Authority to enable them to provide your child with their funded early education place.
To claim this funding the nursery or group has to be included on the “Directory of Providers” as agreed by the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Local Authority. To do this, settings are required to meet certain criteria which are contained in an annual agreement. This is updated and reviewed every year.
All these nurseries and groups are registered with the Government’s ‘Office for Standards in Education’ (Ofsted) to provide early education. You can look at Ofsted inspection reports by:
o Asking the nursery or group to show you their report
o Looking on the Ofsted website (www.ofsted.gov.uk) under childcare
o Contacting the Kingston Families Information Service (FIS) to view a copy of the report.
Early learning from birth to five: what will my child learn?
In September 2008 the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) was introduced in all childcare and early education settings and schools. The EYFS is a single quality framework to support children’s learning and development from birth to 5 years (end of child’s reception year).
Children learn best through active play which builds on their individual needs and interests. Well planned play, both indoors and outdoors, is a key way in which children learn with enjoyment and challenge, whether on their own or playing with others. The EYFS will help practitioners provide appropriate learning experiences to enable your child to develop in all areas, and to recognise your child’s strengths and any areas where they may need more support to develop new skills.
Note: the Government are reviewing the EYFS with implementation of the new framework in September 2012. Detailed information about the Early Years Foundation Stage and proposed changes can be found by searching for EYFS on www.education.gov.uk. Further useful information is available on www.foundationyears.org.uk.
Why aren’t all groups registered to provide early education?
All maintained nursery/nursery schools provide free early education (see 1 above). Other groups (those at 2, 3 and 4 above) who wish to be included are expected to meet certain quality standards and conditions for inclusion on the Directory of Providers. Most nurseries or settings in Kingston upon Thames work towards becoming eligible to receive early education funding. However, they do not automatically qualify for the funding when they first set up., The Local Authority work with them initially to ensure that the quality of provision and outcomes for children meet their criteria. If you are unsure whether the setting you are considering is on the Directory of Providers, speak to the nursery or group direct to find out.
What early education is my child entitled to?
Your child is entitled to a free education place for 15 hours a week for a maximum of 38 weeks per year (570 hours). There are different ways of offering this entitlement.
- 3 hours a day over 5 days
- 5 hours a day over 3 days.
- However some settings may be able to offer flexibility to vary the way in which you use the hours.
- A child attending a private, voluntary or independent nursery or group may be able to attend for less than 15 hours if you choose.
- Sessions could be taken over two or three days. This might help you with childcare whilst at work or college (restrictions apply on the amount of hours that can be taken in a single day or over two days).
- If your child is attending a day nursery that is open all year (excluding holidays) you may be able to spread the hours over the whole year. This would mean having less funded hours a week over a longer period rather than 15 hours for 38 weeks.
- You may also be using more than one nursery or group and you can divide the hours between these, but you will only be allowed the agreed total 15 hours per week at a maximum of two nurseries or groups.
- A child can attend a maintained funded nursery class/nursery school for either five mornings or five afternoons each week of the term; this is their full early education entitlement. Some schools may offer parents the option of 2½ days totalling 15 hours at the beginning or end of the week. These schools have a * in the booklet.
The Local Authority has a responsibility to ensure that there are sufficient Early Education Funded places in the borough. They also have a responsibility to childcare providers to support their settings in ways which contribute to sustainability of the business.
For their own operational reasons it may not always be possible for individual settings to offer children EEF hours in the patterns described above. Settings should provide clear information about the way they offer funded places. When a parent is considering placing their child in the setting they should make an informed decision as to whether they are prepared to take up the place based on the model of funded hours which is being offered. The Families Information Service can provide parents with information about how each group on the Directory of Providers offers the hours.
You should discuss your plans with the nursery or group concerned to see whether they can provide a place for your child on the days and for the hours that you want.
What does this mean to us financially as a family?
Early Education Funded places should be free at the point of delivery and parents should not be charged any extra fees in relation to the delivery of an Early Education Funded place. Parents should not be asked to pay in advance for the funded hours. Children attending private, voluntary or independent nursery/pre-school after their third birthday will receive their 15 hours (or less if spread over a year) free. If the child attends the nursery for longer than 15 hours (or less if spread over a year) a week they will receive a reduction in fees when the early education funding starts, but may still be paying for additional services or additional hours that they have agreed with the setting.
Costs vary between each nursery or group, but each group should clearly identify on their invoices the hours which are free and any additional services being charged for
Children attending nursery classes in maintained funded schools are receiving their early education without having to pay a termly fee. State funded nursery schools receive direct funding for the whole term during which a child starts; therefore, a child cannot receive early education funding at a private, voluntary or independent nursery/pre-school during that same term. Children who transfer to a nursery class in a maintained school after term has started, due to a deferred start or late offer of a place, may not receive Early Education Funding for time spent in a private setting before transferring. You should speak to your setting to check whether funding will be available.
How do I make sure that my child will get their funded early education place?
If you want your child to attend a nursery class in a maintained school you need to refer to the Nursery Education admissions booklet and make sure that you apply by the closing date for applications that is set each year. If you choose to send your child to one of the other childcare settings (see 2,3 and 4 above) then to access the free entitlement your child needs to be attending a nursery or group that has been included on the “Directory of Providers” as agreed by the Royal Borough of Kingston Local Authority. Your child may have already been attending the group from an earlier age, in which case you should let your group know that you want your child to continue attending after they are three. If you are sending your child to nursery for the first time you need to contact a group of your choice and apply for place. This can be done at any time but as some groups have waiting lists, the sooner the better. If your child is on the register of one of these and qualifies by date of birth, the nursery or group will make a claim to the Local Authority for funding. .
The nursery or group has to claim by a deadline (called the “child count day”). This is usually about three weeks into the start of term. If your child joins the nursery or group after this date, they will not be able to claim the early education funding for your child for that term and you will need to discuss with them whether you will have to pay. The claim by the nursery or group will be for the number of hours that your child is attending. If your child is attending two different nurseries or groups, each one will claim for the right number of hours. The funding is paid to the setting to enable them to provide your child with a free Early Education Funded place.
Your nursery or group will ask you to complete a parent declaration form when it is time for them to start claiming the funding for your child’s Early Education Funded place.
If after reading this you still have some questions about Early Education Funding you can contact the Families Information Service or speak to your nursery or setting.
Who provides early education?
Your child can start their nursery education in a wide range of settings. These are explained below.
Maintained schools with Nursery classes
Maintained schools are state schools that receive public funding through the Local Authority for all their running costs. In Kingston upon Thames we have the following types of maintained schools:
Community schools
Community schools are owned and maintained by the Local Authority. At community schools the Local authority sets the nursery admissions policy. This includes the criteria, or rules, used for allocating places at schools when they receive more nursery applications than available places. As most schools in Kingston upon Thames have more nursery applications than places every year, these criteria are important to bear in mind.
Voluntary aided (Church) schools
Voluntary aided (Church) schools are maintained by the Local Authority, but generally the buildings are owned by a church. There are some important differences from community schools, both in terms of religious education and worship and also in the way they are governed. Some schools are Roman Catholic and some are Church of England. In voluntary aided schools the governing body sets the nursery admissions policy and their rules give priority to families who are members of the church concerned.
Foundation schools
Foundation schools are also maintained by the Local Authority, but their governing bodies own the school buildings and sites. They are responsible for nursery admissions and set their own admissions policy. St Luke’s C of E Primary School is the only foundation primary school in Kingston upon Thames and it has a nursery.
Surbiton Children’s Centre Nursery
This centre is maintained by the Council and provides nursery education and family support services for young children in the Surbiton area.
Day Nursery
These provide full or part time childcare for children aged up to 5 years, all year round. Some nurseries provide out of school care for older children.
Preschool or playgroup
These provide part time childcare for children aged 2 years up to 5 years, normally term time only.
Independent School
A fee paying or ‘private’ preparatory school. These may take children from nursery years to sixth form.
For further information on groups registered with Ofsted to provide early education and childcare contact:
Kingston Families Information Service
Room 16 Guildhall 1
High Street
Kingston
KT1 1EU
Tel: 020 8547 6582
Fax: 020 8547 6667
Email: fis@rbk.kingston.gov.uk
Visit: Open between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday