Help with Childcare Fees

GOVERNMENT FUNDED HOURS MUST BE CLAIMED PRIOR TO THE APPROPRIATE DEADLINE FOR YOUR CHILD

The deadline to get your code for government-funded childcare hours is the end of the month prior to the new following term. For example if your child is due to receive funding from the new term in April, the deadline is March 31st. The same goes for the summer and autumn terms. However, applying early helps you to receive your codes and to get it to us prior to the start of the term.

WHAT IS FUNDED CHILDCARE?

Funded childcare refers to the government initiative of providing a certain number of hours of free childcare every year to children of working parents. It is designed to ensure that children have access to high-quality care and education, while alleviating financial burdens on parents or guardians. However, the government announced in 2023 that by 2025, working parents in England will be able to access 30 hours of subsidised childcare per week, for 38 weeks of the year, from when their child is 9 months old to when they start primary school.

HOW WE WORK THE FUNDED HOURS WITHIN OUR FEE STRUCTURE

The number of funded hours you receive depends on your child’s age and your family’s situation.

You can apply for a free hours childcare through the government portal. Once your application is approved, you’ll get a code that you need to forward to the Nursery Office (jenny@thehub-buckshaw.co.uk).

Here’s what you could be entitled to:

FOR WORKING FAMILIES

If you’re a working family in England and either you or your partner earns at least £183 a week (equivalent to 16 hours at the National Minimum or Living Wage), you may qualify for up to:

• 15 hours per week funded childcare for children aged 9 months to 3 years, starting from September 2024.
• 30 hours per week funded childcare for children aged 3–4 years.
• 30 hours per week funded childcare for children from 9 months to 4 years from September 2025

Funded hours childcare is only in place throughout the term-time weeks, i.e. 38 weeks per year. Full fee’s apply on the remaining weeks Nursery is open. You need to reconfirm eligibility for funded childcare every three months. The details of this will be in your government childcare account. This is how it usually looks:

Yes, you will receive a reminder:

• the first email reminder is sent 4 weeks before reconfirmation is due
• a further reminder is sent 2 weeks before reconfirmation is due
• a notification is sent on the deadline date of reconfirmation to notify you that your eligibility for funded childcare for working parents has stopped and asking you to confirm your details as soon as possible

This message will come from GOV.UK. Please remember to make sure that your details are up to date.

If You Receive Additional Government Support

For families on support schemes such as income support, Jobseeker’s Allowance, Universal Credit, or Child Tax Credit, you may qualify for the following:

• 15 hours per week funded childcare for children aged 2 years.
• 15 hours per week funded childcare for all children aged 3 years.

If you don’t get working families or government support

For families who do not qualify for working families or government support, you may qualify for the following:

• 15 hours per week funded childcare for children aged 3–4 years.

Up to date information can be found at www.childcarechoices.gov.uk