Funded Early Education

On this page: Information about free access to part-time education for three- and four-year-olds.

Early education funding is administered by Swindon Borough Council to provide free, good quality, part-time education to pre-school age children in the Borough of Swindon.

Funding is provided by the Department for Education (DfE). It is sometimes also referred to as:

• The Nursery Education Grant
• Three and four year old funding
• The free entitlement for three and four year olds

Eligibility

Three and four year old funding eligibility table 2012-2013.

Curriculum and Ofsted Inspection

All settings which provide funded early education follow the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum and are inspected by Ofsted. Funded early education places are available at:

• Daycare nurseries
• Pre-schools and maintained nursery units
• Accredited childminders

Number of Hours

All eligible children are entitled to flexible funded early education either for up to 15 hours per week for 38 weeks of the year, or the same maximum number of funded hours over more than 38 weeks pro rata.

Individual providers offer different levels of flexibility and will be able to advise you about the services they offer.

The Council must advise the DfE of the name, address and date of birth of the children who receive this funding.

Parents should receive a privacy notice (formerly known as a fair processing notice) from their early education provider to inform them of this.

To register your child with a pre-school, nursery or childminder please contact the provider of your choice.

Further Information

A set of leaflets is available as downloadable PDF files:

• Funded Early Education - Information Leaflet (371Kb)
• Funded Early Education - The Flexible Offer (382Kb)
• Funded Early Education - List of Providers (298Kb)