Nursery Funding - Warning!
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@Emma I am kicking myself for not just doing it. I thought i’d just wait for expiry, as I was told it didn’t matter as long as you had your marriage certificate. It’s been 4 years since I got married and there’s been a few times it’s caused issues.
If you're applying for funding now, you won't be eligible until January as you've missed the cut-off for this term. So, you might still have time to sort out documents and apply with your name. As long as you've applied by December 31st, otherwise you'll miss out on the January term, too
@Frankie He is going in January which is why i’m stressing that I can’t apply 🤦♀️
Oh crap I need to apply for feb onwards when mat leave finishes but we don't even know where we will be living until mid of Jan 🤦♀️😰
I always use my driving licence anyway, which is in my correct name
@Frankie I was told by my child's nursery that I can apply for the funding whenever? That even though she will start in June 2025, I won't have to wait until September for it
@Rebecca, sorry, I just noticed this. If you want funding for June, you just need to apply before April as June falls into the April term funding. If you wait until June to apply, you'll have missed the deadline and would have to wait until September for the funding. Is your child of eligibility age before the April term starts? If not, then it would be Setember for funding, unfortunately. I see alot of parent miss out because their child's age just kisses the cut off or they apply too late. I think you can check up to 3 months before the child's eligibility age, and then you just need to make sure to reconfirm every 3 months
@Frankie yes, she's eligible from April as she will be 9 months in Feb 🙂. I'll talk to the nursery next year anyway ti finalise things and to make sure I do it all correctly
So, for example, if you apply under the working parent eligibility. Would your child be 9 months before April 1st 2025? If so, you're eligible for funding from April. I always recommend to parents with funding to try start even just on the funded hours (our setting does not charge fees on top when using funded hours) a while before due to go back to work so the child is settled and then upping to the sessions that are needed for work. So for example, a parent with funded hours would do 3x 5 hour mornings with no charge as funding would cover it then, when they go to work they would just up to the amount of days they actually need and pay the top up fees. Not every nursery offers this, though, and a lot of nurseries charge a fee on top of funded hours.
@Rebecca ohh that's brilliant. Make sure to get your code/reconfirm before April. Also, if you are paying for fees on top of your funded hours, don't forget to pay via tax-free childcare. This is where the government pays 20% of your fees, so you only pay 80% :)
Thank you!!! I was going to change my passport etc to my married name slowly when it expires. It looks like I'll doing it earlier!!