Wootton Nursery is pleased to be able to offer 15 hours free education for all children the term after their 3rd birthday in line with the current government offer.
We also offer 15 hours free education to those 2 year olds who meet the criteria set down by the government the term after their 2nd birthday.
Funding is allocated the term after your child’s 2nd or 3rd birthday as follows:
| If your child is born between: | Eligible for funding from: |
|---|---|
| 1st September and 31st December | January (SPRING TERM) |
| 1st January and 31st March | April (SUMMER TERM) |
| 1st April and 31st August | September (AUTUMN TERM) |
If you believe you may be entitled to free education for your 2 year old child please click here.
You will be asked to set up an account to check online if you are eligible for the funding. If you are, then you will be sent a letter from the council with a code that you need to bring into school.
If you have any problems accessing the online system please contact the council: Dawn Wilson on fis@Bedford.gov.uk
Please click here for the local authority privacy notice relating to Nursery Education Funding
If you believe you are entitled to access the government offer of extended childcare for up to 30 hours per week please get in touch.
To find out if you are eligible you need to log onto the Gov.uk website:
In addition to the free education that is offered we also offer parents the opportunity to purchase additional hours and further details on this can be found below.
All additional hours are subject to availability and you should check with your nursery office.
Children of eligible parents can access up to 15 hours of funded play, childcare and early education for up to 15 hours per week.
If eligible, your child could get up to 15 hours a week of funded early learning and childcare in a participating day nursery, pre-school, school nursery or with a childminder (please note that not all settings provide the funded entitlements).
Even if you don’t need childcare for work or study, these places provide excellent play and learning opportunities for your child, helping to ensure that they will be ready for school when the time comes.
Further information is available in the following sections:
Your 2-year-old can get free childcare if you live in England and get any of the following benefits:
2-year-olds can also get free childcare if they:
You may have to pay for extra costs like meals, nappies or trips.
If you’re a non- UK citizen who cannot claim benefits
If your immigration status says you have ‘no recourse to public funds’, you may still get free childcare for your 2-year-old. You must live in England and your household income must be no more than:
You cannot have more than £16,000 in savings or investments.
The following dates show when your child is eligible for their Early Education Entitlement.
A child born on or between … | Will become eligible for a funded place from … |
1 April and 31 August | 1 September following their 2nd birthday |
1 September and 31 December | 1 January following their 2nd birthday |
1 January and 31 March | 1 April following their 2nd birthday |
If you meet the following economic criteria you must apply online at https://fiso.redbridge.gov.uk/Synergy/Core_Live/SynergyWeb/Parents/default.aspx.
You will need to provide a variety of information including your National Insurance number and you and your child's details on the system.
You can watch a video tutorial on applying for two year old funding on the Redbridge Parent Portal here.
If your child meets one of the following additional criteria you must complete a manual application and email the form, along with the required evidence, to find@redbridge.gov.uk.
The form can be downloaded here.
If you are a non-UK citizen and your immigration status says you have 'no recourse to public funds' you may also be eligible. Your annual household income must be no more than:
You cannot have more than £16,000 in savings or investments.
You can find a full list of participating childcare settings here. If you would like further support in finding a suitable provider please contact FiND.
It is important to ensure that what your chosen provider can offer is right for you and your child. You should discuss your requirements with the provider prior to coming to an agreement.
The early learning place can provide up to 15 hours a week of funded early education. It is usually either offered as a term time only place of 38 weeks per year (15 hours per week), or as a stretched offer over 51 weeks (up to 11.17 hours per week).
Different settings will provide the early years places in different ways, however sessions must meet the following conditions:
Whether you wish to access just the funded early learning place or if you choose to access additional hours or services, the provider’s offer to you should always be clear and transparent. Where you are accessing any unfunded hours or additional services you should ensure this is clearly explained by your provider and a contract is put in place that clearly states the agreement. You should ask to see this before committing to a childcare place. If you are in any doubt, ask questions before agreeing to a place.
Children can start their funded early education place during certain times of the year. Children should start their place as follows, where possible:
If you miss this deadline and want to take up a place before the next term starts, then you will need to consider the following:
If you have missed the deadline for starting your child this term, please discuss when funding will next be available with your chosen early years setting. You may still be able to start this term but would likely need to pay for this, or alternatively wait until the following term to access a funded early learning place.
Children can move their funded early education place from one setting to another during certain times of the year. If you intend to move your child, then you will need to consider the following:
If you have missed the deadline for moving your child, please discuss this with the early years setting at the earliest opportunity. You will likely need to pay for the remainder of the term or alternatively wait until the following term to access a funded early learning place.
You are able to claim your funded early learning place at up to three different settings, as long as they are not based on more than two premises. For example, your child could access a breakfast club and nursery class at a school, followed by a childminder. Where you are accessing a place at more than one setting please ensure that you are clear with all settings how many hours of funded early learning that they are each offering your child.
Where your child is attending more than one setting you will need to ensure that the settings include this information on your Redbridge Parent/Carer Declaration Form.
The offer of a funded early education and childcare place must be offered ‘free at the point of delivery’. This means that if your child is only receiving the funded hours without any additional paid hours or services then you will not be expected to make any payment to the provider to access your child’s place.
The funded early learning place also only covers the cost of your chlid’s care and early learning. If you are only accessing the funded early learning place then you can choose to provide a packed lunch which would not incur an additional cost, or pay the additional fee for any meals and/or snacks provided by the setting.
If you wish to access any additional hours outside of the funded place, then you will have the option to pay for additional hours. Where your child accesses additional services (such as meals, nappies and other consumables) your provider is entitled to charge for these services.
All childcare providers should have a clear and concise charging policy so that there is no misunderstanding of any costs. The arrangements for payment are a private matter between providers and parents.
If you are asked to pay for your child’s funded early education and childcare place in advance, or if you have any concerns about how your child’s funded place has been calculated you can contact FiND for further advice. Please see the section ‘Further advice and support’ below.
If you have not yet accessed a place for your child then unfortunately you will no longer be eligible to access the funded early education place.
If your child is already accessing their funded early education place then they may continue to do so until they become eligible for the funded early education places for three and four year olds.
There are some circumstances where funding may be withdrawn from an early years setting and that they would not be able to offer two- and/or three- and four- year old funded places.
What happens next will vary depending on the individual circumstances but below are some examples of what you can expect if a setting stops being eligible to offer funded places.
Suspension by Ofsted
If Ofsted suspend an early years setting they will need to cease caring for any children and therefore, early years funding would also stop. We would await the outcome of any investigation before deciding what happens next.
We would usually be able to offer that children accessing a funded place in a suspended setting could transfer their funded place to an alternative setting.
Inadequate inspection rating by Ofsted
No action would be taken until Ofsted publish a setting's Inadequate inspection report. Once published, we would usually look to withdraw funding for two, three and four year olds but would usually offer at least half a terms notice to the setting and their funded parents/carers.
We would also take other circumstances into consideration, such as children due to move to school soon and availability of places in other Good or Outstanding settings.
Requires Improvement inspection rating by Ofsted
No action would be taken until Ofsted publish a setting's Requires Improvement inspection report. Once published, we would usually look to withdraw funding for two year olds (not three and four year olds) but would usually offer at least half a terms notice to the setting and their funded parents/carers.
We would also take other circumstances into consideration, such as availability of places in other Good or Outstanding settings.
You can watch a video with our most Frequently Asked Questions answered at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBuL-kDNJGQ.
For further information and support please contact Families Information Direct (FiND)
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