Extending hours

[sjcree]

Hi - does anyone know what the process is with Ofsted to extend hours? We currently run 9 till 4 but parents are asking for 8 till half 5. I did contact Ofsted but the unhelpful gentleman on the phone told me that since I was not the nominated person he could not tell me! Also, if we wanted to move from term time hours to all year, would that be the same process or different?

[Fredbear]

Crumbs that's worrying that they won't answer a simple question like that.

I'm sorry but I don't know the answer either. Will take a search and see what I can find.

[lsp]

I would imagine you also have to inform LA as it may change your funding rates?

[lynned55]

Why would it change your funding rates?

 

When we extended our hours I just emailed Oftsed telling them what we were doing. We had extended our hours from 3.5 per day to 7 hours per day and had children staying all day. We didnt extend our weeks open though.

 

Sill story re the above. I got an email back telling me they couldn't answer my query about the setting until I had provided some security info such as name of setting, phone number, date of birth and my home address.

So I emailed back and said please read email carefully as I had no query but was providing information and certainly wasnt going to give out personal info like home address and date of birth in an email to just anyone, the other info they required was on my original email. I also repeated our extended hours.

 

I never heard back and four years later when the inspector came knocking she had none of these details re our hours! But it was all fine.

[lsp]

Why would it change your funding rates?

 

When we extended our hours I just emailed Oftsed telling them what we were doing. We had extended our hours from 3.5 per day to 7 hours per day and had children staying all day. We didnt extend our weeks open though.

 

Our LA pays extra funding increments for being open for longer hours - may not make any difference as they all pay different amounts etc. <_< Also they hold database, Family Information Service, on settings details - free advertising!

Edited February 14, 2016 by lsp

[lynned55]

I see! Ok- well depending on what your LA does then. Although ours pay all settings the same base rate if you are deemed to be 'flexible' then you get slightly more.

[sjcree]

OK - thanks for that. I would anyway have contacted our LA, because this is part of us trying to stay sustainable. We are really short of children at the moment and the most recent contacts about places have been wanting longer hours which we don't do.