Funding — Explained
We’re pleased to be able to offer the Government’s Early Years Funding to our families. All children aged 3 and 4 years old in England are entitled to 15 hours of Government funded childcare per week, for 38 weeks of the year, starting from the term after their third birthday.
Eligible working families are entitled to 30 hours per week of Early Years Funding. This is for children aged 9 months to 4 years.
How it works?
Early Years Funding covers 15 or 30 hours per week for 38 weeks of term time. However, given we’re open 50 weeks a year, we ‘stretch’ this funding across the full year. The stretched funding is converted in the following way:
38 weeks of 15 hours is stretched to 50 weeks x 11.4 hours per week
38 weeks of 30 hours is stretched to 50 weeks x 22.8 hours per week
When could my child become eligible?
Children become eligible for age-specific funding in the term following their relevant birthday (or month, in the case of 9 month olds).
Term start dates are:
1st January
1st April
1st September
Families eligible for the 30 hours of funding are responsible for applying for a positive determination of eligibility from HMRC, i.e. a valid eligibility code. This eligibility code must be provided to us before your child’s Early Years Funding can be claimed. You are responsible for re-validating the eligibility code every three months, when reminded by HMRC. Failure to do so may result in the 30 hours funding being withdrawn.
To find out if you’re eligible and to read full details, visit https://www.beststartinlife.gov.uk
Non-funded items
Depending on your attending schedule, you may still receive a monthly charge even when claiming funding. This will be a combination of:
Any additional, non-funded hours that your child attends each week.
Additional charges for food, non-food consumables, and activities during funded hours, which are not covered by Government funding rates, such as those lead by our language specialist teachers, our regular forest school, occasional community visitors and other magical experiences, created especially to enrich your child's learning and development.
It is important to understand that the Early Years Funding does not cover the cost of these items, nor is it intended to. We believe these items are a vital part of our nursery experience and they enhance children’s learning, wellbeing, and readiness for school. This is why we created the nursery in the first place.
You will see these items charged separately on your invoices, following Government Guidelines.
That said, families are able to ‘opt out’ of our food, consumables, activities, and their associated charges for funded hours. To discuss this option, please speak to the Nursery Manager.
Tax-free Childcare
We are also accepting Tax-Free Childcare, which is a Government scheme that helps families save on childcare costs, including nursery fees. It can be used alongside both the 15 and 30 hours of Early Years Funding.
The eligibility criteria are similar to those for 30 hours of funding, but unlike funding, Tax-Free Childcare is available for all nursery-age children.
Find full eligibility, scheme and application details via the Tax-Free Childcare portal.
