Funding Policy

Nursery Education Funding is government-funded childcare support offered for 38 weeks of the year. This is stretched over 51 weeks when using our nursery.

 

Funding Available from Government

Child Age	38 Weeks Offering	Eligibility
2 years	15 hours	Families receiving Government support
3 - 4 years	15 hours	All Parents
From 9 months - 4 years	30 hours	Eligible Working Families

 

Eligibility Criteria

If your child is born between:	They are eligible for a place from:
1 April and 31 August	1 September after reaching 9 months*, second or third birthday until statutory school age of 5
1 September and 31 December	1 January after reaching 9 months*, second or third birthday until statutory school age of 5
1 January and 31 March	1 April after reaching 9 months*, second or third birthday until statutory school age of 5

*Check government eligibility criteria regarding when you return to work.

 

Our Approach to Funding

The government provides funding for 15 or 30 hours per week for only 38 weeks of the year. This equates to:

Funding Type	Annual Hours
15-hour funding	570 hours per year
30-hour funding	1,140 hours per year

Since we operate 51 weeks per year, we stretch this funding across the full year, meaning the weekly funded hours are lower than the stated 15 or 30 hours. We commonly refer to these as the "15 or 30 offer". The actual weekly hours are reduced when stretched and the number of funding hours per day varies by attendance pattern. These adjusted hours are all outlined within the Schedule of Fees.

 

Eligibility & Code Requirements

Eligibility for working parent entitlement must be confirmed through HMRC, and a valid eligibility code must be provided. Codes must be renewed every three months. Codes can only be applied from the term after your child’s qualifying birthday or after they have reached 9 months.

 

Transparency of Charges

From January 2026, all providers must clearly show how funded hours are delivered and what additional charges apply.

Broken down our pricing into additional hours, food, consumables, and activity charges.

Sessions that allow you to attend at no cost, in patterns that we plan out for efficiency.

Created flexible fully inclusive offers where parents choose one of our All-In packages at a favourable rate.

If you're not eligible for funding, please speak to us about private fees that are available at competitive daily rates.

 

Pricing & Billing Model

Our nursery operates 51 weeks a year, using an equalised billing system:

Fees paid are split equally across 12 months.

Funded hours are only delivered on days your child is booked to attend.

Full fees are charged for holidays, bank holidays and training days.

Charges remain consistent to support predictable monthly payments.

 

Additional Charges Explained

Consumables include but are not limited to:

Tissues

Paper hand towels

Soap, face flannels and other care-related items

Cotton wool

Nappy sacks

Cooking materials

Science kits

Calpol

Seasonal resources

Disposal of all used nappies

Full access to the Famly App

 

Activities include but are not limited to:

Enrichment sessions (e.g. yoga, music, specialist visitors)

Seasonal Events

Makaton

Gifts (e.g. Mother's Day, Father’s Day, Easter, Christmas and Graduation Party)

Festivals & celebrations resources e.g. Diwali, Eid, Chinese New Year, Christmas

Gardening & growing activities

 

Why we Ask for Contributions

These contributions are key to ensuring we can continue to deliver an exceptional level of care and curriculum filled with awe and wonder. They allow us to:

Provide a seamless, all-inclusive package for working parents.

Offer children access to specialist tuition and engaging enrichment activities.

Celebrate important milestones and cultural events with high-quality resources.

Maintain our high standards in hygiene, comfort and wellbeing.

 

Food

Breakfast

Snack

2 course hot lunch

Afternoon snack

Individual dietary requirements are fully met

Food tasting

Food for celebrations

 

Are these charges mandatory?

No. You may opt out of some or all additional charges.

Your child may be excluded from certain activities and resources if you choose not to pay for them.

The core Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provision will always be provided at no cost, ensuring no compromise to their basic education.

 

Flexible Funding Models

We offer two flexible options:

Option	Description
Enhanced All-In Package	Bundles all extended hours, meals, consumables and activities into a best value monthly rate. Ideal for convenience.
Build Your Own Package	Using the tables in the Schedule of Fees, choose session times and add daily extras including food, activities, consumables and additional hours as required.

 

Please note:

30 hours funding is only offered as a stretched model over 51 weeks.

A limited number of 38-week places are available for 15 hours only.

We encourage early applications as sessions can fill up quickly.

 

Termly Funding Allocations

Our local authority calculates funding differently each term, meaning the number of funded hours varies per term. The Termly Funding Allocations tables in the Schedule of Fees illustrate how we receive and allocate these hours.

Additionally, the number of funded hours your child receives will depend on:

Which term they start funding for the first time.

How many terms remain in that academic year.

 

Attendance Monitoring & Responsible Use of Funds

We are required to ensure that government funding is used as intended and in full.

Where you attend for funded only hours:

You must ensure that you do not arrive late or collect early with any frequency.

Your attendance should not drop below an acceptable level.

We may have funded hours removed in these instances and will apply additional hourly charges to cover any removal of funding.

 

Claiming Process

To claim Nursery Education Funding at our nursery you must:

Complete both the Funding Parental Agreement and the Local Authority Parental Declaration Form.

Refer to our Admissions & Waiting List Policy for guidance on place allocation.

 

Final Notes

Once your child is eligible for funding, we will support you in accessing the right pattern for your needs. The nursery reserves the right to revise packages in line with government guidance and funding changes.

We aim to be fully transparent, fair and flexible while supporting high-quality childcare for every family.

15 Hours Offered

15 Hours Offered	Your Choice	Weekly Funded Hours
8.00am – 6.00pm	Over 51 weeks Enhanced Offers 2, 3, 4, 5 days	22.35
8.00am – 1.00pm	Over 51 weeks Enhanced Offers over 3, 4, 5 sessions	11.18
1.00pm – 6.00pm	Over 51 weeks Enhanced Offers over 3, 4, 5 sessions	11.18
1.00pm – 6.00pm Monday & Friday	Over 51 weeks Basic Entitlement 2 Sessions	10

30 Hours Offered

30 Hours Offered	Your Choice	Weekly Funded Hours
8.00am – 6.00pm	Over 51 weeks Enhanced Offers 3, 4, 5 days	22.35
8.00am – 6.00pm Monday & Friday	Over 51 weeks Basic Entitlement Over 2 days	20

Enhanced Offers include food, consumables, activities and extra hours.