Help with
childcare costs
9 MONTHS TO 3-YEAR-OLD FUNDING
From 1st September 2025, eligible working parents of children aged 9 months and above will be able to access 30 hours per week (term time) of Early Years Funded Entitlement government funding. Settings who deliver care all year round (51 weeks or more) are permitted to offer ‘stretched funding’ of 22 hours per week.
Parent declarations will be given to you as your child becomes eligible on completion of which the free entitlement will then be automatically allocated to your child. A copy of the child’s passport or birth certificate will need to be shown.
The proposal set by the Department of Education states that the funding does not cover any consumables provided within the nursery. The Government funding is to cover the cost of delivering the free childcare but is not intended to fund the cost of consumables we provide within our rates, such as drinks, snacks, meals, nappies, wipes or additional services including our garden, non- EYFS sessions such as PE/ forest school sessions.
The rate of funding per hour for each child is less than the nurseries hourly rates.
Therefore, the nursery is permitted to charge for these as “additional services” which helps cover the disparity between the facilities and fully inclusive service the Old Dairy Farm Nursery provides and the rate of funding, which is intended to pay for care only. We charge an enhanced provision charge of £2.75 for every funded hour claimed. These ‘additional services’ are optional when accessing FE hours only.
Please see link below for further information about all funding and whether you are eligible
3/4 YEAR OLD FUNDING
15 hour per week funding; as we offer funding for the full 51 we are open, a maximum of 11hrs per week is available.
30 hour per week funding; if you are eligible this is available for a limited number of children aged 3 & 4, we offer this for the full 51 we are open, therefore a maximum of 22hrs per week is available.
Subject to availability, we offer a FREE PLAY Early Years Foundation Stage session Monday to Friday between 1:30pm – 6pm. This session does not provide any enhanced specialist teaching and is only available to those children claiming their free hours who are not attending at any other times of the day. Children who attend the FREE PLAY Early Years Foundation Stage session are not subject to any additional charges, deposits or fees.'
FLEXIBILITY &
EMERGENCY CHILDCARE
For parents who may need child care for the occasional session or odd day we'd be happy to offer your child any sessions where we have space due to holiday absence. Please give us a call and we will do our very best to help.