Access
Place guarantee to ECEC
Eligible children are entitled to 600 hours of funded pre-school education per annum.
This is usually delivered as around 16 hours per week over the school year (38 weeks).
Affordability
All 3-4-year-old children are legally entitled to free, part-time non-compulsory early learning and childcare (ELC). In addition, so are a number of 2-year olds, whose families are in receipt of certain types of benefits (around 27% of 2-year olds).
Place guarantee to ECEC
This article focuses on publicly funded provision for three- and four-year-olds. It also covers provision for two- to three-year-olds living in deprived areas, funded through the Welsh Government’s Flying Start programme.
Place guarantee to ECEC
Eligible children are entitled to 600 hours of funded pre-school education per annum.
This is usually delivered as around 16 hours per week over the school year (38 weeks).
Affordability
All 3-4-year-old children are legally entitled to free, part-time non-compulsory early learning and childcare (ELC). In addition, so are a number of 2-year olds, whose families are in receipt of certain types of benefits (around 27% of 2-year olds).
This article focuses on publicly funded, part-time pre-school provision for children aged three to four. It also covers publicly funded provision for disadvantaged two- to three-year-olds. Provision is available for children below these ages but is paid for by parents themselves.
This phase of education is not compulsory.
Publicly funded, part-time pre-school education is available to all three- and four-year-olds, and some two-year-olds, should their parents want it. Local authorities (LAs) have a statutory duty to ensure such provision. Participation is voluntary and places are available in a range of settings, including: