Free Nursery Education Places?

All children have entitlement, from the term after they are 3, to a funded part-time early years education place with a provider that is registered to the Nursery Education Fund scheme. 

Eligible children will be entitled to a maximum of 5 sessions per week, each session lasting 2 and a half hours. five free sessions per week for at least 38 weeks per year, to coincide with school terms. Each session is 2½ hours long.

You could also choose for your child to take their free entitlement at two different settings, this is ok as long as the total amount does not exceed 5 sessions a week.

The total amount of sessions you may receive varies from term to term, but from summer to the following spring term the maximum number of weeks you can receive grant is 38 weeks a year.

Within the City of London, the free nursery education sessions are broken down as follows:

Summer term: 13 weeks, 65 sessions
Autumn term: 13 weeks, 65 sessions
Spring term: 12 weeks, 60 sessions

Maximum per year, 38 weeks and 190 sessions.

Each childcare provider informs the City of London of the the number of three and four-year-olds who are attending each term; funding for the free places is then given directly to the nursery to allow them to offer the discounted places.

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