Pre-School Education
What your child is entitled to
North Ayrshire is committed to providing free quality pre-school education for all children aged three and four. In North Ayrshire most children are entitled to free nursery education from the month after their third birthday. The exceptions to this are children born from March to June. They can access nursery education from the August after their third birthday.
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Pre-school education can be taken at a local authority nursery centre, nursery class in a primary school or in a partner provider centre.
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A pre-school education place is usually 5 sessions per week, each session lasting two and a half hours, for 38 weeks of the year.
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The total number of pre-school hours is 475 per year. Occasionally nurseries can offer a combination of sessions, dependent on availability.
How to apply for a nursery place
In January an advert will appear in the local papers giving details of the nurseries in North Ayrshire and inviting you to register your child for a place in the nursery of your choice.
When you visit the Local Authority or Partner Provider nursery of your choice you will be asked to fill in paperwork and provide your child's birth certificate. We cannot guarantee that you will be placed in the nursery of your first choice therefore you will also be asked to list a second choice of nursery.
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There are no catchment areas for nurseries. This means you can choose to send your child to any nursery in North Ayrshire, if a place is available.
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Provision of a nursery place in a particular school does not influence the availability of a place in that school at Primary 1 entry time.
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Partner Provider Centre's are not run by the Council but have been commissioned by us to provide pre-school education. They include private nurseries, voluntary playgroups and college nurseries.
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Funding for the place is provided by the Scottish Government and is paid directly by the Council. If you take a place at a partner provider centre, the partner provider will receive a contribution towards your fees depending upon the number of sessions your child attends.
Information on nurseries available in North Ayrshire can also be accessed from Childcare and Recreation Information Service (CARIS) on 0845 351 3000 (local rate), by emailing caris@north-ayrshire.gov.uk or by visiting www.scottishchildcare.gov.uk.