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Provision for three and four year oldsAll three and four year olds are entitled to 15 hours per week of free Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provision from the beginning of the school term following their third birthday until compulsory school age. This free entitlement can be taken up in maintained school nursery classes and/or private and voluntary sector Ofsted registered provision. It is your choice as to which type of provision is most appropriate for your child and most convenient for your individual circumstances.
All early years providers, whether schools, day nurseries, preschools or childminders, have to meet EYFS requirements and your child will get the same experiences whichever type of provision you choose, it is only the environment that changes. To be eligible to offer the free entitlement, early years providers have to register with North Yorkshire County Council who maintains a directory of providers. You can get information on all EYFS providers from the North Yorkshire Families Information Service (FIS) website at www.nyfamilies.info or by calling 0845 6011630. The FIS assistants will be pleased to talk you through the options available to you. You can access the 15 hours of free provision flexibly, within the following parameters:
This flexibility is designed to enable you to plan provision that best suits you and your child. You cannot assume that all the EYFS providers in your area will be able to meet your requirements, but you can expect as a minimum to be able to access provision either as five sessions of three hours (five mornings or afternoons or a combination of mornings and afternoons) or as three sessions of five hours, although not necessarily at every setting. Once you have chosen the provision you wish to use you will be asked to sign a parental agreement that specifies exactly when your child will attend. This agreement will remain in force for at least a school term and possibly for the whole school year. If you would like us to consider your child for a school nursery place, you should first speak to the head teacher of the school. If nursery places are available in maintained nursery schools or classes, we need to decide which children we should offer these places to.
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