I know there have been other threads on funding 2009/2010 but just in case Essex's hasn't been posted yet I found out that it's going up 2.5% to £9.28 per 2.5 hour session. Also does anyone know if it is definately being raised to 3 hours in 2010?

Wow! I am in Buckinghamshire where we are currently funded at £8.50. Have not heard anything on increases (has anyone in Bucks any inside knowledge?) but would love something closer to £9!!
As far as I am aware the 15hour entitlement will be rolled out to all settings in 2010 but again have no details of working of it as this was only discussed with settings prioritised to receive it earlier. Would def be interested in any info on it though!

I was talking about this with our owner last week - she said she'd still not had any news one way or other, although thinks we must offer by next April. Essex really seems to be dragging it's feet with this issue - we open 3 hours so would much rather offer the flexible hours ASAP.
xx

We too already do a 3 hour session and don't charge top up fees so the 15 hours a week will be great for us as it will mean a lot more money coming in. i do hope it happens and that they don't change their minds.

Just wondering if anyone has heard of 'single funding formula for Early Years Provision'?

By pure accident whilst googling for something completely unrelated I came across this which is being adopted by Suffolk.

They are paying an hourly rate for each funded 3 and 4 yr old as opposed to an overall rate per session and the hourly rate varies according to the level of staff qualification! On top of the hourly rate there is a 'block allowance' paid to PVI settings, for groups on school sites it is £1020 a year, for groups not on school sites it is £2040 and for childminders £210 a year

Briefly the hourly rate is calculated by which band the setting is in, dependent upon their highest qualified staff
A for QTS /EYP (£3.62 per hour)
B for Level 5/6 (£3.42 per hour)
C for level 4 (£3.22 per hour)
D for level 3 (£3.02 per hour)

There are all sorts of stipulations about the highest qualified member of staff being present for a certain percentage of the time and it all sounds a bit complicated!

Maybe I have misread/misunderstood it all - if anyone is interested you can read about it here:

http://www.suffolk.gov.uk/EducationAndLear...dingChanges.htm

That's interesting Geraldine, I wonder if that will be the same in other counties?

Well the Government has committed to offering every child 15 hours' free nursery education from the term following their third birthday from September 2010, and I think for the 25% of children in areas of high deprivation from September 2009.


I am pretty certain each Local Authority will decide their own priorities for funding - they will have looked at the experiences of the Pathfinder authorities, and decided upon which model to adopt. From there they will work out the various enhancements in order to reach the rate at which they will fund settings, depending on which of the enhancements/uplifts each setting meets.

I wonder what the average hourly rate is in Suffolk and whether those figures that Geraldine quoted will cover their fees?

Maz

Well we are in Essex, but then again we're not...............

(We are in Thurrock which is definitely Essex, but Thurrock is a Unitary Authority so sets its own rates etc)

However I digress, in Thurrock 15% of nurseries in disadvantaged areas WILL offer the 15hrs from September,
rates have not been published yet but word is they will be in £9 odd bracket.

We are one of the selected, and interestingly have also been forewarned we MAY also be offering funding for 2yr olds from Sept!!

We are now discussing implications etc ( every damned parent will be ringing to find out if they can get a funded place for their two year old as they will be in high demand ) however as I understand it the funding will depend on the postcode the child lives at (disadvantaged area children again).

I suppose all will be revealed in due course

The token Male

Tony

That's interesting Tony - as I understand it our Borough is offering the 15 hours from September to groups whose postcodes are in the traditional areas of disadvantage but to all the children who attend the group because it was felt that this would be easier for settings and the Borough to administer.

Is it too much to hope that the £9 you quote is the hourly rate? Its quite shocking that you haven't been told conclusively how much the rate will be in September - after all that is only a term away!

Maz

I am in Essex too and the 15hours needs to be offered in September 2010 however the funding for 2 year olds is being piloted in the Basildon area for one year it will then be rolled out over the next 18 months after the trial is up. We were hoping for the funding for 2 year olds too but no such luck for at least a year!

I know this was an old post but I've only just seen it... being in Suffolk I can assure you it is complicated!

I have just seen this thread too. I think this bit seems a bit unfair. I am on a school site, why should I get paid less than non-school premises? I pay a huge amount of rent (£16.00 per hour) with no other subsidies!!! If this is adopted in Essex I am not sure how I will sustain my massive rent!!!

Settings on school sites in Suffolk are assumed to be paying a peppercorn rent and I don't know of any Suffolk settings on school sites that aren't. So the expenses in Suffolk are less for settings on school sites than not. I'm shocked to hear you pay so much for your rent on a school site! Do you pay it straight to Essex CC or to the school?

I thought my rent was high! You must have lots of children on your books to cover that, Shiny!

Maz

We pay ours straight to the school but our lease is with Essex CC.


What with rent, insurance, wages, NI and Tax, plus minimum yearly resource budget I need 30 bums on seats for a morning session and 24 for an afternoon. It is very difficult to do in September (one intake at the school) but we are registered for upto 40 children per session. Every year the head comes bothering us about more money but we have managed to hold it off for the last 3 years!!!!

So it's been £16 per hour for the las t3 years? That sounds even worse!

Our lease is with Suffolk CC and we pay the rent straight to them, I think it's common practice in Suffolk as I don't know anyone who pays it straight to the school.

Essex haven't yet decided exactly which formula they will use. I went to the consultation meeting at County Hall in Chelmsford last night and it was interesting to say the least!

They are going to be using an hourly rate but there will be other supplements too. What these are and how they will be calculated has not yet been decided.

They seem keen to include a 'quality provision' supplement but how this would be 'measured' is not yet clear. Qualifications of staff and OFSTED inspection outcomes were mentioned! The latter was strongly opposed by the vast majority of those present - it may be that Essex develop their own 'quality assurance' type scheme.

Extra funding for children in deprived areas was also discussed. Those present were asked for a show of hands as to what percentage of the overall budget would be 'right' .

They did say that though the new funding comes in early next year, the increase in hours is effective from September 2010. They were talking in terms of hours of attendance being 570 a year per eligible child.

One immediate thought is that the funding runs from april - april but each child's 'year' will start the term after their third birthday so the adminstration could be problematic in terms of keeping track of hours over different funding years! Not sure I am explaining it very well! Currently the funding has its own 'year' and though children are eligible at three different points during the year the funding as a whole 'starts and stops' and a new amount announced for the new 'funding year'. Under the new system a child who gets funding in September will have two terms under the current 'funding year' but when the new funding year starts the child's entitlement of 570 hours a year would still have a term to run! It seemed obvious to me that if they want to calculate things in terms of hours it would be easier to do X number of hours a term but that would reduce the whole 'flexibility' issue.

They also said that they expect a transition period of about two years for the new system to be embedded.

It was certainly an interesting evening but the two hours went far to quickly but it was good to be invited to attend and get an insight into the enormity of the funding issue at LEA level and to know they are interested in the views of practitioners. As with many things we cannot all get what we would like and the outcome will be that some settings get more than they do currently and others may get less.