The Nursery Education Grant is available for all 3 and 4 year olds. Eligibility to receive the grant starts the term AFTER the child’s third birthday. Every Nursery Education Provider (playgroup, pre-school, private nursery or Independent school) supplies full details of all eligible children to the Leicester City Council, and the grant is paid directly to the Provider based on this data. The Provider will deduct the amount of the grant from any fees being charged to parents. The eligibility dates are as follows:
| 3rd Birthday on or before: | Eligible from: |
| 31st December | Spring term (January – April) |
| 31 March | Summer Term (April – July) |
| 31 August | Autumn Term (Sept – Dec) |
Each eligible child will be funded Nursery Education Grant up to a maximum of 5 sessions per week for 38 weeks per year. Each session must be at least 2½ hours long, and no more than 2 sessions can be funded on any one day. The number of funded weeks varies each term. These terms generally run parallel to school terms, although the Providers can decide the exact dates. Parents should ask their Provider for full details of term dates and funded weeks.
If a child is attending 2 different settings it is very important that both providers are made aware of this, as the funding may have to be split between the two settings. It is still only possible to claim up to a total of 5 sessions, but the parents must decide how many sessions are claimed for at each setting, and then inform both settings of their decision.
If a child is attending an LEA school as well as a private or voluntary nursery, the school automatically receives the whole of the grant. No sessions can be funded at any other setting if the child is attending an LEA school. It is very important that providers and parents are aware of this.
The provider must see evidence of the date of birth and identity of each child- usually a birth certificate or a medical card. This verifies the eligibility of the child to receive the grant.
Any payments made for children that are subsequently found to have been ineligible will have to be recovered by Leicester City Council.
The current amount of funding is £45.05 per child per week, based on a child attending 5 sessions. If a child attends less than 5 sessions per week then the funding is calculated accordingly as follows:
| Sessions per week: | Funding per week |
| 1 | £9.01 |
| 2 | £18.02 |
| 3 | £27.03 |
| 4 | £36.04 |
| 5 | £45.05 |
The funding is paid directly to the provider in two installments - one at the start of term and one before the end of term. A child is only eligible to receive each payment if they are enrolled at the setting on or before the ‘headcount’ date at the start of each half of term. The appropriate amount must be deducted by the nursery education provider from any fees that the parents are paying.
This information is provided by the Early Years Service to help providers and parents understand the basic eligibility requirements to receive the Nursery Education Grant. Providers will be subject to auditing to ensure that the grant is being administered appropriately and that parents are benefiting accordingly.
For more information about eligibility and the responsibilities of providers please refer to the “Sure Start Code of Practice on the Provision of Free Nursery Education Places”, or contact the Early Years Service.
For more information about eligibility and the responsibilities of providers please refer to the
Early Years Service
10 York Road,
Leicester,
LE1 5TS
Tel: 0116 229 4385
