Nursery Fees & Funding Options - 2, 3 & 4 year olds
Here at Sunshine we pride ourselves on putting families before profits. We are a registered charity and any profit gets invested straight back into our resources and play areas. Our fees take into account everything we do to go above and beyond normal childcare, while maintaining fair pricing for the families that rely on us. We don’t have set session times in order to be able to offer our families a nursery space to suit their individual needs.
2 year old funding (limited eligibility)
Some families are eligible for 2 year old funding the term after their second birthday. This needs to be applied for via a link on the Childcare Choices website. The birthday cut-off dates are March 31st, August 31st and December 31st.
Families can choose their days and times within our opening hours (subject to availability) in the exact same way as non-funded children. This flexible approach to childcare enables us to offer a nursery place which is individual to each family’s needs. We welcome everyone without discrimination and strive to do our very best to ensure our setting can meet the needs of all children and families.
We offer the funding in 2 ways:
1: Standard offer – 15 hours per week, term time only (38 weeks). You child is welcome to come during the school holidays but this must be booked in advance and paid for by yourselves. (Please note we set our term dates in line with Burgh School and these dates cannot be altered)
2: Stretched offer – 12 hours per week stretched over 47.5 weeks. This covers most of the year, including school holidays. The funding runs out early August, after this your child is welcome to still come but this must be booked in advance and paid for by yourselves. Or you have the option to keep your child off nursery during the non-funded weeks and return again when funding restarts in September.
In order for us to be able to claim this funding we need you to complete and return a funding form.
Additional Charges:
Here at Sunshine, we use a method which makes it easy for parents to access funded hours, but that is also sustainable for us so we can maintain quality and future investment. We provide the core Government-funded hours at no cost and with no time restrictions. However, the Government funding rate does NOT cover our costs and as such we have two voluntary charges as follows:
Voluntary snack charge: We offer a healthy snack in the morning and afternoon and ask for a donation of 25p per day
Voluntary Consumables Charge: We offer many resources and activities for the children and ask for a donation of £3 per day.
These costs are automatically added to your invoice but are voluntary, please let us know if you would prefer not to have them added to your invoice.
3 & 4 year old funding
The term after their 3rd birthday, all 3 & 4 year olds are entitled to 15 funded hours of childcare – known as the Universal Entitlement.
The birthday cut-off dates are March 31st, August 31st and December 31st.
Some children will be entitled to an additional 15 hours known as the Extended Entitlement (or 30 hours).
The Universal Entitlement is up to 570 hours per year. The Extended Entitlement doubles this to 1140 hours per year.
You do not need to apply for the Universal Entitlement.
To find out if you are eligible for the Extended Entitlement (generally most working families are eligible) go to childcarechoices.org.uk. If you are eligible you need to apply for this and you will receive a 30 hour eligibility code. You will need to recheck your eligibility every 3 months.
Families can choose their days and times within our opening hours (subject to availability) in the exact same way as non-funded children. This flexible approach to childcare enables us to offer a nursery place which is individual to each family’s needs. We welcome everyone without discrimination and strive to do our very best to ensure our setting can meet the needs of all children and families.
We offer the funding in 2 ways:
1: Standard offer – 15 hours per week, term time only (38 weeks). You child is welcome to come during the school holidays but this must be booked in advance and paid for by yourselves. (Please note we set our term dates in line with Burgh School and these dates cannot be altered)
2: Stretched offer – 12 hours per week stretched over 47.5 weeks. This covers most of the year, including school holidays. The funding runs out early August, after this your child is welcome to still come but this must be booked in advance and paid for by yourselves. Or you have the option to keep your child off nursery during the non-funded weeks and return again when funding restarts in September.
In order for us to be able to claim this funding we need you to complete and return a funding form. If you only want the 15/12 universal hours you do not need to do anything else. If you want the 30/24 extended hours you must apply for these at the website above.
Additional Charges:
Here at Sunshine, we use a method which makes it easy for parents to access funded hours, but that is also sustainable for us so we can maintain quality and future investment. We provide the core Government-funded hours at no cost and with no time restrictions. However, the Government funding rate does NOT cover our costs and as such we have two voluntary charges as follows:
Voluntary snack charge: We offer a healthy snack in the morning and afternoon and ask for a donation of 25p per day
Voluntary Consumables Charge: We offer many resources and activities for the children and ask for a donation of £3 per day.
These costs are added to your invoice automatically but are voluntary, please let us know if you would prefer not to have them added.
Help paying for your childcare
There are a few different options of Government help available with childcare costs for all families. Whether you have toddlers or teens, you could get support. Go to childcarechoices.gov.uk for the most up to date information. We have outlined below a few of the current offers available to families:
Tax Free ChildCare
- For working families, including the self-employed, in the UK
- Earning under £100k and at least £167 per week (equal to 16 hours at the National Minimum or Living Wage) each
- Who aren’t receiving Tax Credits, Universal Credit or childcare vouchers
- With children aged 0-11 (or 0-16 if disabled)
- For every £8 you pay into an online account, the government will add an extra £2, up to £2,000 per child per year (£4000 per year if your child is disabled)
Tax Credits for Childcare
- For working families, in the UK
- With children under 16 (or under 17 if disabled)
- 70% of childcare costs, up to a cap
- If you cannot make a new claim for Tax Credits, you may be able to apply for Universal Credit instead.
Universal Credit for Childcare
- For working families claiming Universal Credit, in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales
- With children under 17*
- Up to 85% of eligible childcare costs
- Who aren’t receiving Tax-Free Childcare
