While many people choose a nursery or playgroup for their child's free Early Years place, childminders can also provide this as part of their service.
Who is eligible for Free Early Years Education?
All 3 and 4 year olds in England are eligible for 15 hours free early education and some are eligible for 30 hours. Children become eligible the term after they turn 3. Some 2 year olds are also eligible for 15 hours early education. For more information about free early education and eligibility please visit https://www.gov.uk/free-early-education.
Why use my service for your Early Education place?
- Many nurseries and playgroups can be quite strict about times when they will provide free places but I am happy to be more flexible about this. The only restrictions on this are that the session must be at least 2 and a half hours and no more than 10 hours long and it must be between 7am and 7pm.
- I can also 'stretch' funding do that it can be used throughout the year rather than term-time only
- I may also be able to provide early years education for children who are waiting for a nursery place (eg. in September)
- Some parents may not feel their child is ready to start at a larger setting when they turn 3. I am registered to care for a maximum of 3 children under 5 years of age at any time.
- I can also share funding with another setting eg. a child who has a part time nursery place could use the rest of their funding at my setting.
