Enrolling for pre-school education
Each education authority has its own procedure of enrolling children for pre-school education. You should contact your local authority or the local childcare information service to find out more.
Additional Costs?
Pre-school education places are free. Centres may charge a small fee for snacks and other extras and parents usually have to pay for additional wraparound care (wraparound care is childcare that combines education and care. For example, a child that attends school nursery in the morning could be picked up and attend an out of school club for the afternoon).
Partner Providers (such as private nurseries and playgroups)
Education authorities have to offer enough places to meet parental demand. They should also take into account the different types of services that parents want – for example, some parents may need all day care for their child. There is Guidance on Pre-school Education and 'Guidance on Commissioning Pre-School Education Partners', but it is for local authorities to decide which centres they contract with. Your local Childcare Information Service should be able to provider a list of partner providers in your area.
Hours
Education authorities must offer each child 475 hours of pre-school education per year (less for children who start pre-school later in the year). This is usually delivered as five 2½ hour sessions per week, although some authorities have different arrangements.
Guidance on pre-school education encourages education authorities to offer flexible arrangements to meet parents’ needs (taking into account things like working patterns). Sometimes more flexible arrangements are available in partner settings, such as private nurseries.
Education authorities can provide more than 475 hours if they choose - for example by providing 3 hour sessions. Providing that they offer at least 475 hours per week, it is up to education authorities to decide whether to provide additional hours in their own centres or in partner settings.
