Need Your Help

[Guest]

Hi

I am a teacher in an Infant school with a nursery and I am currently looking into the changes to the nursery funding for 3 and 4 year olds and the issues that it will cause being raised from 12.5 to 15. I am trying to put together FAQ questions that need answering for different types of settings including PVIs and maintained nurseries. What questions do you have about it so far that you want to find out - flexibility of sessions, lunchtime provision, staffing ratios etc? I would love to hear as it will help me to make sure I address as many issues as possible.

Thanks ever so much

Fi

[Guest]

Hi

I am a nursery manager, running a term time only nursery. The main issue that we have is currently if a child attends for two EYEE sessions in one day they have to be separated with a 30 min break, With the increase to a three hour session we will not have time for the break. Unless we extend our day which we do not REALLY want to do. We operate on the site of a school so try to keep the same hours as far as possible. We are hoping that they will change the rule, but wolud appriciate the heads up asap incase our session times have to be changed for september.

 

claire

[Guest]

We already run the 15 hours NEF. To offer two sessions on the same day we also have to have a 30 minute break and any children doing both sessions MUST be taken off the premises by a parent or carer.We therefore, can only offer a 3 hour session in the morning(9 till 12) and 2.5 hour in the afternoon(12.30 till3).We are also on school premises and therefore, can only operate when they are open.

[Guest]

Why don't you start a lunch club to cover this break? Children can bring packed lunch we used to run one for 45 minutes allowing children to attend both sessions.

[Inge]

Hi

I am a nursery manager, running a term time only nursery. The main issue that we have is currently if a child attends for two EYEE sessions in one day they have to be separated with a 30 min break, With the increase to a three hour session we will not have time for the break. Unless we extend our day which we do not REALLY want to do. We operate on the site of a school so try to keep the same hours as far as possible. We are hoping that they will change the rule, but wolud appriciate the heads up asap incase our session times have to be changed for september.

 

claire

 

This is probably an area thing.. in our area providers have been able to run 2 funded sessions together for ages now...

 

 

 

Why don't you start a lunch club to cover this break? Children can bring packed lunch we used to run one for 45 minutes allowing children to attend both sessions.

 

 

This will depend on registration with Ofsted.. if sessional registration you MUST have a break with no children in your care.. so lunch club will not work.. IF extended hours or full daycare this would work.

 

We changed from sessional to extended hours to allow us to offer the 15 hours... it only took a letter to Ofsted

 

Inge

[Guest]

Yes we do the same in our playgroup. The children get an hour lunchtime if they stay all day.

 

Problem is we are open from 9-3.30 but can only claim for 6 hours per day per child so parents having to pay for extra half hour.

 

Thinking of changing hours to 9-3 with only half hour lunch instead which also means the children get less time to run around after eating while others are still having lunch!

[Cait]

Just ask the parents what they prefer. My parents pay for the full hour lunchtime quite happily

[Guest]

I to am unsure how we are going to offer the flexibility aspect of the 15 hour entitlement. We currently run two 3 hour session a day between 8:45 and 3:05 leaving us only 20 minutes between morning and sfternoon session. We also currently do not mix age groups, our younger ones come in the morning and older ones in afternoon, we therefore end the year we both sessions each day full of funded children. I know I am probably going to have to mix the sessions and looking at probably introducing a lunch club somewhere, but can't get my head around how it will all work. we too are on a school site and so can't really change our opening hours much.

[Cait]

Then you may just have to offer the entitlement for the hours you have. You don't have to take up the full 15 hours. But you need to be aware that parents have the option to split their entitlement across a couple of settings if they wish.

[Guest]

If you open 5 mornings for 3 hours you are offering the 15 hours. If you want or need to open afternoons you can do less hours and just claim less for each child ie they do 3 morns and 1 afternoon so claim for 11.5 hours.

I'm still confused about the difference going from sessional to extended hours.We were told by our Improvement officer that we could have an extra hour for lunch but then no afternoon session as this became full daycare and so a change of registration, staff lunch hour etc.

[Inge]

If you open 5 mornings for 3 hours you are offering the 15 hours. If you want or need to open afternoons you can do less hours and just claim less for each child ie they do 3 morns and 1 afternoon so claim for 11.5 hours.

I'm still confused about the difference going from sessional to extended hours.We were told by our Improvement officer that we could have an extra hour for lunch but then no afternoon session as this became full daycare and so a change of registration, staff lunch hour etc.

 

extended is same as full daycare really, just that we were only open term time so called it extended , we were closed same as school for holidays etc.

 

The difference between that and sessional is that you are offering more than 4 hours continuous care in a day, which is why they are telling you that you cannot have lunch club and afternoon session running together. We had lunch club and afternoon session with a 15 minute break between very successfully, just had to have a period with no children in our care.

 

It is not a change in registration but a variation to change to the extra hours, we changed from 2 sessions and lunch club a day to 6 hours a day very easily. A phone call to Ofsted and a letter stating how we would structure the hours, and cover a quiet time, children sleeping, lunch cover for staff etc. Covering lunch is quite easy as not all children take up the hours so we can allow a member of staff a break at this time easily, (we had minimum 3 staff each session)

 

Now we can offer more flexible hours to a degree, being limited by the way funding is paid in 2.5 hour blocks, but parents pay for the extra hour mid day in half hours so we can now offer full half day or just funded sessions... worked for us, but we have found that not all lunch clubs are financially covering cost of staff, but on the ohter hand more parents are paying for an odd extra session so children can stay all day.

 

If you are able to offer the extra hours it may be worth a call to Ofsted to find out how/ what you have to do and see if it is possible.

 

You will also need to ask parents if they would use this and how often to see if it is viable, we put a questionnaire out regularly to find out if it would work.

 

Inge

[Guest]

As we already offer the 15 hours to all of our children does that mean we are okay then, I was under the impression (not sure from where) that we had to be offer parents the option of taking their 15 hours flexibly over a minimum of 2 1/2 days if they wanted. Maybe I'm worrying for nothing !

[Guest]

Paintbox - I believe that the offer of 15 hours flexibly over three days is an aim by the government but certainly in our area we are being told we can continue to offer it over the five days and not flexibly. Annoyingly however, we have been told those settings which can offer the flexible offer will be paid a premium on the NEF, but it is yet to be put in writing so I don't know if it holds water legally speaking.