preschool costs for 3 year old? length of school day?

Hi All,

My wife and I are considering accepting a job offer I just got in London.  We'd move in June. We have a kindergartener who would go into Year 1, and a 3-year-old who would go into that Nursery year before Reception.  That much I think I have figured out.  But here are my questions:

I see that the Nursery year is 15 hours a week of free care/pre-school; but what might we expect to pay for additional hours/week of care?  We'd probably live in one of the zone 2 or zone 3 (boroughs? suburbs? outer areas? don't know the lingo yet) places outside central London. 

And, how long is the school day for Primary school?  what are the aftercare/afterschool options/costs, generally?

thanks for any tips/help/price ranges. We're trying to figure out whether the salary I've been offered will be livable.

Zone 2 and 3 aren't very "outer" in terms of areas, so you're likely to find it more expensive than someone in, say, Zone 5 (like me).

What you pay is going to depend very much on where you choose to send your kids. We pay £4.50 for care with a registered child minder who does early years education, but we're also looking at a private nursery school at £2,965 a term (if I choose to go to work out of the house full time) or £1,780 a term for three full days (8:30 to 3:15). Those costs take into account the 15 free hours a week. If we go that route, the childminder will still have to pick him up from school and watch him until I get home, likely around 6 or 7 (yeah, don't live out in Zone 5) at £4.50 an hour, which is far cheaper than using the school's crèche (which is only open until 6).

It might be a good idea to check out local parenting sites for ideas of costs near where you plan on living. I found netmums to be an immense help when going over my options for childcare and it's very localised.

thanks for the reply! that's helpful.  4.50/hour or so (I haven't found the pounds key on my keyboard yet!)  certainly seems doable.  How long is a "term"?  

Term time varies depending on the school; ours is roughly September-December for the autumn term, January-March for the spring and April-July for the summer.

Is the 15 hours free a week available to everyone, or is it dependent on visa status?  I honestly have no idea and am just wondering.

You know, I didn't think about it. I did, however, do a LOT of Googling and don't see anything either way on the subject -- I don't see the Early Years funding on any list, either allowed or not.

As far as I know it's for every child from the start of the term after they turn three.  Your Local Education Authority should have the exact term dates.  Usually beginning of Sept to just before Christmas, Just after New Years to Good Friday and After Easter to Mid/late July.