All three year-old children who attend a nursery or pre-school which is registered with OfSTED (the Office for Standards in Education) and located in South Gloucestershire are entitled to three terms of free nursery education. This can start the term after the child's third birthday regardless of where the child lives.
All four year-old children who attend a nursery or pre-school which is registered with OfSTED and located in South Gloucestershire are entitled to a free nursery education place for three terms before they reach statutory school age (the term after the child's fifth birthday) regardless of where a child lives.
The grant funds 12½ hours of 'early years' provision per week for a maximum of 38 weeks per year (13 weeks in the summer term, 13 weeks in the autumn term and 12 weeks in the spring term). Providers can decide whether to offer sessions lasting either 2½ hours or 5 hours in length and can choose the weeks in which they offer Nursery Education Grant-funded sessions in each term.
Conditions relating to fees charged by a provider
- Providers cannot charge parents any additional fee for Nursery Education Grant-funded sessions
- Providers cannot charge parents in advance for a Nursery Education Grant-funded session and refund those fees at a later date
- Should your child be in attendance for more than 12½ hours per week your provider is entitled to charge you for all hours attended in excess of the 12½ nursery education grant-funded hours
- Should the number of weeks in a term be more than the weeks funded by the Nursery Education Grant your provider is entitled to charge you for all those sessions in those weeks
- Your provider's fee policy should clearly state the charge for each type of session offered
| The value and payment of fees for sessions not funded by the nursery education grant is a matter between the parent and the provider. The local authority will not get involved if a dispute should arise. |
Claiming the nursery education grant
- Ask your provider for form EY4 - a nursery education grant parental registration form
- Complete this form and hand it back to your provider together with your child's birth certificate or proof of date of birth - for instance a passport or letter from social services confirming your child's date of birth
Your provider will keep the form EY4 and take a copy of your child's birth certificate. You will be asked to complete a new EY4 at the beginning of each term.
The grant is then paid directly to your provider.
For further information
See the 'Read more' section on this page to download the latest Nursery Education Grant leaflet which gives more in-depth information. If you still have further questions contact the nursery education grant finance officer on 01454 863394.
For providers
If you are an early years childcare provider and would like more information about the nursery education grant there is more information and downloadable forms on the nursery education grant forms page and also on the business finance pages. You can find these links in the 'More in this topic' section at the top of the page.