Following the successful introduction of ‘free’ nursery hours for three and four year olds the government, with the participation of a number of Local Authorities, and nurseries operating within those LAs, have been operating a scheme to pilot places for two year olds.
Unlike the free entitlement for three and four year olds, not all two year olds will be eligible. Instead a set of critera will be applied to assess whether a two year old is eligible. You can see the criteria at the bottom of this page.
Throughout the nursery sector there is concern that there will be inadequate funding to support this extension of the free entitlement to two year olds. Whilst the government has earmarked a sum of money to support this initiative, they are not really certain of the extent of its cost as they do not have clear visibility to how many children fit the eligibility criteria, and hence whether the funding pot is adequate.
Nurseries themselves have raised concerns about the hourly rate Local Authorities are likely to fund for two year olds as many of them, as already detailed within the pages of this website, are already struggling with sustainability based on the insufficient rate paid for three and four year olds. Not only is the ratio of children to staff lower for two year olds, they also incurr greater costs in terms of provision of nappies etc. In addition it is highly likely that those two year olds eligible for funding will require extra support based on any additional needs (see secondary criteria, below), the costs of which a nursery will be expected to swallow.
If you’ve taken part in the pilot scheme we’d like to hear from you. Click here to complete our survey on the subject.
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Is the two year old eligible? Standard local authority criteria:
Primary criteria:
All families accessing the offer MUST be in receipt of one or more of the following:
- Income Support.
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance.
- Child Tax Credit at a rate higher than the family element.
- Extra Working Tax Credit relating to a Disability or Pension Credit.
Secondary criteria:
Family/parental criteria -
- Teenage Parents.
- Family have experienced domestic violence.
- Family have experienced substance misuse issues.
- Lone Parents.
- Children from families with 3 or more children aged under 5.
- Parents with health issues or disabilities.
Child criteria -
- Children with speech and language needs, including English as an additional language (EAL)
- Children with developmental or learning delay
- Children with sibling/s who have a disability
- Children experiencing emotional and/or behavioural problems
- Children involved with Social Services
- Children in temporary accommodation
