Nursery World - Too many weeks

We are a small sessional pre-school and a registered charity run by a committee of parents. Like many others based in villages around the country, we are part of the community. Our local authority has decided that all providers must open for 38 weeks a year as part of their implementation of the Government's childcare strategy. If you cannot open for 38 weeks a year in line with schools - and some cannot, due to shared occupancy - then you will not be eligible for funding and may have to close.

Our local authority has decided that all providers must open for 38 weeks a year as part of their implementation of the Government's childcare strategy. If you cannot open for 38 weeks a year in line with schools - and some cannot, due to shared occupancy - then you will not be eligible for funding and may have to close.

As from April 2007, session times will have to be extended to three hours.

This will cause problems for groups who charge additional fees for sessions longer than two and a half hours. Fees will have to go up for those who do not receive funding, or session times will have to increase to more than three hours to allow us to charge funded children additional fees.

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included