Fees & Funding
Any additional hours over and above booked sessions will be charged at £9.50ph for under 3’s and £9ph for over 3’s.
Invoices are payable monthly.
A non-refundable registration fee of £40 is required to register your child at the setting and a deposit of one weeks fees for the sessions booked will be required to secure your child’s place. This deposit will be refunded during the first month’s invoice once your child has started. If they do not start, this will be non-refundable.
Fees are reviewed twice a year. We offer full-time places over 50 weeks or term-time only places for 38 weeks.
Fees are due for the spaces booked and will still be payable if your child is absent due to sickness, holiday or any other reason.
Children must be registered for a minimum of two sessions over two days per week to support settling and building positive relationships.
Government Funded Hours Information
Visit Childcare Choices website for more information and how to apply.
The below hours are based on childcare for 38 weeks of the year.
Government Funding & Additional Charges Information
All 3 & 4 year olds are entitled to 15 hours funded childcare the term after they turn 3. If you are a working family, you may be eligible to claim up to 30 hours funding for your child the term after they turn 9 months. To check eligibility and to apply, visit www.childcarechoices.go.uk
Government funding is for 15 or 30 hours per week for 38 weeks of the year, however, we also offer the opportunity for you to “stretch” the funding over 50 weeks, all year round. 15 hours would become 11.5 hours and 30 hours would become 22.5 hours.
Unfortunately, the funding we receive from the government is only enough to fund a very basic childcare offer and is not enough to cover the high-quality, enhanced service we provide at Tiddlywinks Nursery. It is also not intended to cover the costs of snacks, consumables or additional activities and services. Like many services, our costs have increased in recent years, including wages, pensions, energy and food.
Our priority is maintaining high quality care with experienced staff and rich learning experiences, therefore, we ask parents to contribute towards the additional cost of these things by paying a small additional charge per funded hour. A breakdown of how we spend this additional charge is available on request and detailed within our Funding Transparency policy.
We are committed to keeping charges as fair and reasonable as possible and review costs regularly. We are always happy to answer questions about funding and fees.
All children who are in receipt of 2 Year Better Together Funding or Early Years Pupil Premium will not be charged any additional charges, even when opting for Option 1.
If families are experiencing financial difficulty, we encourage them to speak with the manager in confidence so that appropriate support or alternative arrangements can be explored.
Meal Charges
We offer 3 well balanced, nutritious meals throughout the day
Breakfast
8am-8.30am - £1.50
Two course Lunch
12-1pm - £3.25
Light Tea £2.00
Meal Package
All 3 meals for £5.50 per day
During funded sessions, parents can choose to provide their own meals if they wish. These must not require heating or any preparation and be ready for your child to eat. We also have allergy criteria that packed lunches must adhere too.