Frequently asked questions
Funding Childcare

Every child is eligible for 15 hours (universal entitlement) through Early years Funding (EYF) the term after your child’s third birthday.  Working parents may also be entitlement 30 hours (extended entitlement) – check here for eligibility. 

For those children in receipt of EYF funding over and above 15 hours we currently charge £4.00 for meals for each day in attendance.

In some of our nurseries we also accept 2-year-old funding, available to families in receipt of low-income benefits or in some cases, on low income and NRPF.  Check your nursery choice to see if have places.  Where we do your will need to provide us with the original authorisation letter from the Local Authority.

Yes, we have a number of places in our nurseries to accommodate funded children.  Please ask our nursery manager when applying if we have a space.  

Payments are received on a termly basis – Autumn, Spring and Summer over a total of 38 weeks. Dates and weeks vary throughout the year; however, this information is readily available from your Nursery Manager or your Local Authority. 

In all of our nurseries we stretch funding which means you are able to access 11 hours (universal funding) or 22 hours (extended funding) each week for 51 weeks of the year.

Each funding entitlement scheme has different rules. Our nursery managers will guide you, however its imperative that you provide the funding scheme with the documentation they require and provide our nursery manager with the right eligibility criteria.  Failure to provide this may result in the Nursery being unable to claim the funding, and in this instance, you would be wholly responsible for any fees incurred at the standard daily rate.

It is worth noting that should your child leave us mid-term then it is possible that the Local Authority will claim back part or all of the allocated funding which may result in you having an outstanding balance with us. The Local Authority in some cases will contact you directly to claim back overpayments.

Yes, our nurseries and holiday clubs are signed up with the childcare vouchers companies and our nursery manager will work with you to set up the account and agree the deductions.

Yes, we accept full or partial fee payment via the tax-free childcare scheme. Once you have registered, select your chosen nursery or holiday club as your preferred childcare provider. Share your tax-free childcare account number with us to enable your payments to be appropriately allocated.  Find out more about tax free childcare

Yes, we are a registered credit, please speak to our nursery manager who can help and guide you through the process.  Find out more about the Universal Credit.

Yes, we have a number of workplace nursery partners.  Please call our Central Support on 020 7384 0322 to find out if your company is signed up or to find out more about how to sign up.

There are varying levels of support available to fund childcare and these depend on your personal circumstances.  Review the government schemes and see what’s right for your family.

With more employers recognising the challenges of family life, it’s worth checking if your employer provides any childcare schemes or incentives.