Nursery places for 2 year olds - East Renfrewshire Council

Apply to nursery for a 2 year old and find out if your child qualifies for a funded place.

How to apply

You can apply 2 months before your child turns 2.

Icon for pdf Download an application form for nursery places for 2 year olds [207.74KB].

Qualifying for a funded nursery place

Your child may get a funded nursery place if you get one of these benefits:

Income support
Job Seekers Allowance (income based)
Employment Support Allowance (income based)
Incapacity benefit or Severe Disablement Allowance
Pension Credit
Child Tax Credit, but not Working Tax Credit, and your income is less than £16,105
Both maximum Child Tax Credit and maximum Working Tax Credit, and your income is lass than £6,420 (subject to change)
Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
The child is looked after. This includes under a kinship care order or with a parent appointed guardian
A need is identified (allocated through Early Years Intervention Group)
You have older children who get free school meals you may also qualify for a funded nursery place if you have a 2 year old

We'll ask you to provide proof of your benefits so that we know that you're eligible. This should be included with your application form.

What you qualify for

If your child qualifies for a funded place, you get 1140 hours of nursery care a year from August 2020.

This works out at 23 hours and 45 minutes per week over 48 weeks available in our family centres.

Funded providers like private nurseries and childminders may be able to offer more flexible ways to use these hours.

Nursery start date

Your child should start in the term following their 2^nd birthday. The nursery will confirm this date nearer your child's birthday.

Birthday	Start date
1 March to 31 August	August term
1 September to 31 December	January term
1 January to end February	April term

What happens next?

We'll assess your application against admissions criteria.

As places for 2 year olds are limited we allocate places in line with priority groups.

If you're applying for a paid place you may also wish to consider applying directly to a childminder or private nursery who may be able to accommodate your child, each provider will have their own daily/hourly rate.

Priority groups

Group	Details	Free place
1	households where parents get qualifying benefits children in need of protection (including kinship care) children with additional support needs assessed by psychological services	Yes
2	East Renfrewshire children who don't qualify under priority 1	Charged at £2.25 per hour within a family centre.
3	Children who don't live in East Renfrewshire	Charged at £2.25 per hour within a family centre.