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Free government 15 hours- confused!

10 replies

outoffuel · 04/07/2013 12:49

Hi, my son is currently at a daycare provider (3.5yo).

However, in September he is going to a 'pre-school' at the local village church. They do 4 x 2.5 hour sessions (4 mornings a week).

From this, I can calculate that 10 out of his 15 hours would be used.

Am I able to find a childminder then that would have him for 5 hours on the remaining days, and still not have to cough up any cash?

I'm a bit confused about the whole thing, and could do with the extra 5 hours as it'd help me do a bit more consultancy.

TIA

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PandaG · 04/07/2013 12:55

you may be able to find a childminder in the area who is accredited to take the 'vouchers'. Soem are able to accept them and some are not. In theory you can split your funding between 2 different settings - could your son go to the daycare provider he is currently at for 1 day a week? You may end up paying a bit for this, depends how the setting calculates their fees.

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outoffuel · 04/07/2013 13:42

Unfortunately not without paying through the nose... As they will only allow you to use a limited number of hours each day, and even then the saving isn't great as they're open all year! I'm going to do some exploring of the options!

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Elizabeth22 · 04/07/2013 13:54

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Message withdrawn at poster's request.

outoffuel · 04/07/2013 14:27

Mnnn... sounds like this won't go well for me then.

Was literally just looking for mornings, on a Friday, just during term time. But, if the reality is that no-one is going to take the vouchers, then it won't be financially worth my while to do it- as my job is really ad-hoc consultancy that is more for keeping my CV up to date whilst being a SAHM, rather than making money!

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outoffuel · 04/07/2013 14:29

(by vouchers- I mean the free government hours, not the salary sacrifice vouchers)

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gintastic · 04/07/2013 14:58

My childminder takes them, but she wouldn't have a child for 1 session, once a week. Is there another preschool locally? My son goes to one that offers full days 9-3, so he goes 3 full days and I just pay for one session. Worth asking around as preschool do vary in what they offer.

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outoffuel · 04/07/2013 15:33

I thought that if a childminder had a quiet day on a Friday they may welcome having a child fill the gap (nurseries always seem quiet on a Friday). Sad that the government hours aren't seen as being worth it- makes a mockery of the whole system really.

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ReetPetit · 04/07/2013 21:43

some childminders charge by the hour, its worth calling around. most of us a charge a day rate but depending on your area and you may find someone willing to do the 5 hours and you just pay for that.
I wouldn't worry too much about using all the 15 hours, you are getting most of it so 5 hours with a childminder shouldn't cost you much if that's your only childcare expense.

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insancerre · 05/07/2013 07:31

it might be worth checking with the pre-school that their provision is not spread out over more than 38 weeks
if it is then you will be getting the maximum grant anyway as the 15 hours a week only applies to the 38 weeks

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outoffuel · 05/07/2013 16:28

Ah... good point insancerre. I was presuming that it ran for the 38 weeks- but that is just a presumption!