Parents of children eligible for pre-school credit 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 will be 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 system will be fairer as only around half the children eligible for pre-school places were previously accommodated in DEC-run settings. 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 collected from the Welcome Centre at the Sea Terminal, Douglas, the DEC head office at Hamilton House, Peel Road, Douglas, requested by ringing 651540 or filled in online/downloaded from: http://cf.gov.im/categories/education,-training-and-careers/pre-school/
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.
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:
3/4 Hill Street
Douglas
Isle of Man
IM1 1EF
Tel: 01624 642427
Providers will be advised in due course of the process for reimbursement of credits by the Department of Education and Children.
