How have mixed aged settings found the 2 year olds coping with the increase to 3 hours?

We had children falling asleep after 2 hours this September, I don't know if they will cope with 3 hours!

Does anyone send 2 year olds home earlier than 3 hours? If so how do you deal with it?

Do the books balance for the extra 1/2hr funding and paying staff 1/2hr extra?


Some of the questions posed at our staff meeting the other night, got the feeling it's not very welcome

many thanks

Our session is 3 hours long and I find the 2 year olds find it quite hard going towards the end of the morning. It is a very long time for them and by that stage they are getting pretty tired. Some of our 2 year olds come for 2 or 3 sessions a week but the parents seem to think they are ready.

The 2 year olds do not need to be in the setting for 3 hours that is for children in receipt of NEG so there is no reason why you could not offer them a 2 hour session.
We do have some 2 year olds that attend for 3, 4 and 5 hours and cope well. It depends on the child.

Is it not disruptive having children leaving at different times?
Also what about childminders who may be collecting a few children, some 2 and some 3?

We just can't seem to come to a conclusion on this one.

We only have a few 2 year olds (and they are nearer 2 1/2 than 2) but they are coping well with 3 hour sessions, but the ones who come in the mornings seem to cope better than the Friday afternoon, one session a week children... We actually have a couple getting 2 year old funding, they have up to 3 sessions a week and one has a lunch session as well to make up to the 10 hours.

If you offered 5 X 2hour sessions a week for your 2 year olds, I guess it would work fine if the adults are happy bringing them in at the different times - and they won't do the 'running late to get little Johnny, won't be able to get him till I get big Jessie' bit. If you have a free-flow based session, starting/ending at different times won't matter to the provision, ifyou offer a more structured session it would need some thinking about.

Because of the time we start and the other schools attended by elder siblings, some of our children trickle in at the beginning of the day, so we keep some one round the desk to register them in but it's no more disruptive than when we did 2 1/2 hours. Finacially, there's not a problem, in fact the funding forms seem to be easier now.

I find 3 hours is too long for the 2 year olds and although we open for a school day, I don't let parents book 2 year olds in for more than 2.5 hrs in the morning or 2 hours in the afternoon. I don't have many 2 year olds and it works fine. Financially its tricky - I am putting fees up to 4 ph soon for 2 yr olds and any extra hrs for funded children.