Parents must speak to their childcare provider about how the funded places can be taken at the provision.
Funded hours can differ from each provider, from the times in the day and week they are open. Providers can choose to offer funding across:
- 38 weeks of the year ( referred to as ‘term time only’ funded hours) - often algined to the school term time dates but it does not have to be, or as
- some childcare provision run by pre-schools or schools/ academies are only open for 38 weeks.
- 'Stretch' - this is funding across more weeks of the years but for fewer hours per week.
- this is often supplued by private day nurseries or childminders open all year.
- Example - stretch funding supplied over 48 weeks of the year could equate to funded hours of 23 hours, 45 minutes per week – it is the same amount of funded hours across the whole year.
Some providers may do both depending on a families needs, but how a childcare provider offers funded hours is at their discretion. Parents should ask their childcare provider and if flexible options are available but government guidance states parents may not get the hours in a patterm or at a time they want.
Providers who offer ‘stretched’ funding can do so over any number of weeks (over 38), many will offer funding across 48 weeks, some could be 50 weeks or 51 weeks.
Changing childcare provider - Providers and parents should be aware there could be occasion when a child has been accessing their full entitlement as stretched in summer and change to the 38 weeks offer in autumn term, (often if child has more to a different childcare provider). Due to the maximum number of funded hours that could be used some children might be left with fewer funded hours in spring term (January to March) because of accessing more funded hours than normal in the previous (two) summer and autumn terms. Parents need be aware of how many hours they have accessed in a term by asking their childcare provider in a term, as a child cannot access more funded hours in a year than their maximum entitlement allows.
Below are the standard parameters providers can offer funded places:
• No more than a maximum of 10 funded hours used in a day.
• No minimum requirement of funded hours need to be used.
• Between the hours of 6.00am to 8.00pm - Monday to Friday.
• At weekends.
• For parents accessing the 15 hour entitlements, this can be offered over no less than across 2 days.
• For the full 30 hours entitlement could be offered over no less than across 3 days.