Nursery World - NEG to be paid by hour, not session, in Kent

The free early years entitlement is to be offered by Kent County Council for private, voluntary and independent providers by the hour rather than by two-and-a-half hour sessions from next April.

Faced with growing numbers of enquiries from providers and parents aboutthe current 12.5 hour per week funding, the council wrote to theDepartment for Children, Schools and Families for clarification.

The council was told that nurseries must not charge, for example, if aparent chose to take their entitlement in three-hour blocks over threedays because this would be less than 12.5 hours a week.

In a letter to providers, Kent council said this will mean 'significantand difficult change' for some nurseries. For example, in this scenario,the nursery cannot charge for half an hour a day, as the child isattending for only nine hours a week.

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