Mouseketeer Posted March 12, 2008 Posted March 12, 2008 hi can anyone tell me how many wks funding they'll get for summer 08 and how they're getting around it , our county is only funding 13wks, as we have easter hols so early this will mean either finishing on 11th July (cant see parents going for that one !) or charging them all for a full wk to finish same time as schools (cant see them going for that either !)
Guest Posted March 12, 2008 Posted March 12, 2008 Hi Deb and welcome to the forum. We will only be funded for 13 weeks although we will be open for 14-we have two weeks off at June half term break so we finish on 24th July. We will have been funded for 38 weeks altogether but have each Friday at the end of half term as a training day. Hence the seemingly free week. How many weeks funding have you had so far? We had 15 before Christmas and 10 this time. Linda
Guest Posted March 12, 2008 Posted March 12, 2008 We get funded for every week that we are open. We break up for the summer hols on 11th July, like all of the schools. We break up next Thursday (20th) for easter and go back on 7th April. Summer term is 13 weeks.
dublinbay Posted March 12, 2008 Posted March 12, 2008 We're the same as you Brenda except for breaking up for Easter on Wednesday 19th. Don't know how that was wangled!
Lou Posted March 12, 2008 Posted March 12, 2008 We only get 13 wks. We have next friday and following monday off for easter and then we break up on friday 28th. So we are a week later than you.
Inge Posted March 12, 2008 Posted March 12, 2008 Our funding is standard each year 14 weeks Sept to Dec... 11 weeks Jan to March 13 weeks April to July total of 190 days or 38 weeks dates are up to us to choose. we declare them every January for following financial year.. we follow those of school terms and as that is 195 days take 5 days off during the year at our discretion. we call them closure days and we don't work unless we need to ... we don't get funding for them and parents have got used to the fact we close for days same as schools. This year the terms are so different over the country.. we have easter weekend off including the following Tuesday and return for 8 days before closing for 2 weeks from 4th April returning on 21st April .. and end on 24th July with Mayday and 1 week off for Spring BH. As Linda said how much have you received.. likely that you are getting full 38 weeks funding for the year, but proportioned differently.. Inge
Andreamay Posted March 12, 2008 Posted March 12, 2008 summer term is 14 weeks we dont break up til 19th or 20th july or round about then cant remembe sorry but i know we aare claiming for 14 weeks
HappyMaz Posted March 12, 2008 Posted March 12, 2008 We are funded for 38 weeks, and we tell the Borough what our term dates are. So long as we get the 38 weeks in over the financial year we're fine. So long as we're open for at least part of each week we get the full funding for the week, so we're covered for inset days etc. Maz
Guest Posted March 12, 2008 Posted March 12, 2008 Yes we have had the same discussion today. We are hoping to change so that summer will be 14 then autumn 13 and spring 11 weeks. if they don't we will just charge for the extra days. Steph
Mouseketeer Posted March 13, 2008 Author Posted March 13, 2008 hi all thanks for your replies, im in dorset, we only ran a 14 wk term in aut 07, expecting to get in our 38 wks funding by then having 10 this term and 14 summer 08 but dorset have said they'll only fund 13 wks, the wk we saved in aut term apparently was on a use it or lose it basis ! why cant all counties just fund the same and move to a school year rather than the way they run it now, oh well this will be fun when parents get their next terms invoices.
Deb Posted March 13, 2008 Posted March 13, 2008 Hi Deb Am in Dorset too, it was quite a shock and rather unusual to have 15 weeks Autumn 07 term - maybe that's why I was ill all over Xmas!! Like you we will get funding for the summer term of 13 weeks which means us finishing on 11 July, unless of course parents want to pay for the extra week or we take 2 weeks at Whitsun, maybe that would be an option?
beth1 Posted March 20, 2008 Posted March 20, 2008 I have been given the funding forms for the summer term, the system works on like this Summer xx to Spring xx . The summer term is only 13 weeks long and we are open 14 weeks so I haven't got a clue what we are going to do, never mind how to fill in the forms! No doubt once I have done them once I will know how to do them again. Beth
Buttercup Posted March 22, 2008 Posted March 22, 2008 hi i did not realise the summer term was 13weeks until reading this. i am in gloucestershire and we are breaking up in two weeks for easter hols. i am looking at the extra week being made up of good friday and easter monday for which we get funding for although in the spring term and then we will have bank hol monday in may. i have decided to close a day early at the end of term leaving just one day which i think school are due an inset day anyway. on the plus side i am hoping alton towers will be quiet during the easter hols as alot of people will be at school angela
Guest Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 hi, Just been enlightened by this forum. We have followed birmingham school term dates and have just realised we have been offering 39 weeks funded sessions. Effectively we have offered 39 weeks funded places for 38 weeks. What is the best way to rectify this. Just wondering what other setting have done to accomodate this. Would it be better to open the 39th week and inform the parents that they will have to pay for that week as funding does not cover it or close a week earlier but then we do not receive money from fee paying parents or give them the option to attend and pay or not attend. Decisions, decisions,
Inge Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 we used to give them the option to pay and attend or not attend if they did not want to pay the additional fees.. always insisting it was paid in advance as it was often last week of term and hard to get the money if they have left!! Other option is to have a closure day or two for staff training during the term. This is how we operate now ..........keep to the local authority term dates (195 days) and have 5 closure days in the year ( so open the 190 days required). These are taken when we choose or need them not at same time as local schools so we can do internal training or attend external training courses together, which is what we have done this year. Inge
Deb Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 We have just written to parents to explain the situation and ask them whether they wanted to pay for the extra week. There have not been many takers, so it looks like we will finish a week early due to the way the funding is paid. Inge - do staff get paid for training during the 5 days you close during the term?
Guest Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 We are like Inge in that we use 5 days for staff training. I pay my staff for those days. We are normally open mornings only but take this day until 3pm. Linda
Lyanne Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 We had been going to have 14 weeks this term as we had 14 weeks in the Autumn term, 10 weeks in the Spring term because in Suffolk we have the Easter holidays round Easter & it was early this year. So having 38 weeks in the Academic year. But we've been checking all the funding paperwork for this term before sending off the claim forms, and have realised today that Suffolk are now giving us funding for 38 weeks a Financial year. And will fund no more than 13 weeks this term. We've been previously told we cannot ask for payment for fundable spaces, even if we're open for 14 weeks... so a note has gone out from today to say we're finishing on 11 July, not 18 as previously said. And with that, we were still finishing earlier than schools round here as the schools finish on 22 July. If we'd only had a few funded children this term & mostly paying, we'd have bitten the bullet & lost out on the funding for the last week. But luckily this term, most of our children are funded - we'd loose over £1000 for that week while still having to pay staff. Can't do it. We're feeling digruntled about it - it's a new thing to do it over the financial year, there was no mention of it except 1 piece of paper in the funding pack and we didn't get that till the Easter holiday. The parents/carers won't be happy - we had 2 ask why already.
Guest Posted April 30, 2008 Posted April 30, 2008 In Lincolnshire we have been advised that the Autumn period is normally 14 weeks, the Spring 12 and the Summer 12. We had Good Friday & Easter Monday just as 2 days' holiday, then 2 weeks from April 4th to 21st. In these circumstances we are allowed to 'carry' days from Spring that were short of the 12 weeks, as it were, into the Summer, i.e. they seem to be happy so long as the 2 periods make up 24 weeks in total. What I have never had an answer to is whether those 2 Easter Bank Holidays, plus May Day Bank Holiday, count as funded sessions or not. I have been not really had a satisfactory anwer and get the impression 'they' don't know. Consequently we are closing on Wednesday July 23rd, but would have closed on Friday 18th July if the Bank Holidays 'count'. I don't feel prepared to risk it as there are so many places where there is the threat that they will take action if you don't provide the right number of sessions. Any comments welcome!!
Guest Posted April 30, 2008 Posted April 30, 2008 yes in-service days and bank holidays can be counted as sessions provided by the setting. this is stipulated by our department of children and young people service in south glos
Inge Posted April 30, 2008 Posted April 30, 2008 (edited) We have just written to parents to explain the situation and ask them whether they wanted to pay for the extra week. There have not been many takers, so it looks like we will finish a week early due to the way the funding is paid. Inge - do staff get paid for training during the 5 days you close during the term? yes we pay staff for those training days .. but they understand that it can be dependent on funds at the time.. if we find we are unable to afford to pay due to insufficient funds, i keep a list of those who have done training and we pay them when we can afford to. And weightman.. In our area we cannot count any in service days or bank holidays as funded sessions.. we must have the children in our care to class it as a funded session. they are very clear on that and restate it at beginning of each financial year, but in our case Easter bank holidays were in LAST years funding , but May is in this years. we have always been funded per financial year not academic year causes havoc when declaring term dates and adding number of weeks open Inge Edited April 30, 2008 by Inge
Andreamay Posted April 30, 2008 Posted April 30, 2008 We cant use funded sessions fro training days either in Cheshire
Recommended Posts