Parents of children eligible for pre-school credit are reminded that they can now submit applications.
The Department of Education and Children ceases to provide pre-school places at the end of the summer term, to be replaced by a Government-funded credit scheme to help towards the cost of places with registered providers of child daycare who offer pre-school provision.
The revised arrangements were announced in March by the Council of Ministers’ working party on pre-school provision.
A credit certificate with a value of £350 is available to parents of all eligible children who reach their fourth birthday between 1st September 2012 and 31st August 2013. There is an additional £800 for those who would be eligible for free school meals – i.e. in receipt of Employed Person’s Allowance, Income Support or income based Jobseeker’s Allowance.
The new credit certificate will be available for parents to use at any Department of Social Care-registered provider.
The Government’s Customer First team is administering the credit scheme and application forms can be made online or downloaded from: http://cf.gov.im/categories/education,-training-and-careers/pre-school/.
Alternatively, application forms can be collected from the Welcome Centre at the Sea Terminal, Douglas, the DEC head office at Hamilton House, Peel Road, Douglas, or requested by ringing 651540.
Completed forms should be emailed to customer.first@gov.im or posted to:
Customer First
Department of Community, Culture and Leisure
2nd Floor
Illiam Dhone House
2 Circular Road
Douglas
IM1 1PG
To date, 297 applications have been received, 202 of them online and 95 of them in person or in the post.
The Customer First team is reminding parents submitting forms manually that their National Insurance number must be filled in.
Parents will begin to receive pre-school credit certificates from the start of August along with full instructions on how to redeem them.
A list of registered providers of child daycare who offer pre-school provision is available via the same weblink and from the Department of Social Care’s Registration and Inspections Service at 3/4 Hill Street, Douglas, IM1 1EF. Tel: 642427.
Registered daycare providers will be advised of the process for reimbursement of credits by the Department of Education and Children.
