Sessions & Fees | Ferndown day nursery

Sessions

From 1st April 2023

Early Start Day: 7:30-5.30 £65

Day Session: 8:00-5.30 £61.75

Morning Session: 8:00- 1.00 £34

Afternoon Session: 13:00-5.30 £30

Preschool Session: 9:00-15:30 £43.50

We are flexible with our session times, start and finish times, if you require different hours to the above please come have a chat and we will work something out to suit your needs. All hours are priced at £7 per hour.

Flexi Hours subject to staffing ratios

Fees are payable monthly in advance on the 1st of the month. Fees must still be paid if children are absent. We are in receipt of government funding for 2,3 and 4 year olds; where funding is not received then fees apply.

We ask parents to consider sending their child to us for a minimum of two sessions a week to ensure continuity for their child, which we believe plays an active role in the settling in of children within our setting.

A £100 deposit is required on booking your child’s place at Ferndown. The deposit is retained in full until your child leaves the nursery, i.e. to go to school or until four week’s notice has been given and final payment of fees received. If you are only using government funding deposit is not payable.

We are open for 50 weeks each year, closed for two weeks at Christmas and all bank holidays.

A limited number of term time spaces are available

Fees must still be paid if children are absent without notice for a short period of time. If your child has to be absent over a long period of time, please talk to the nursery manager: Sade who will be able to assist.

Funding for two year olds

Depending on your personal circumstances, your child may be entitled to 2-year-old funding. For more information, please have a look at: www.dorsetforyou.com/twoyearolds to find out if you are eligible. If so you can apply online or call: 01305 221066 for more information. Some parents will also be issued with a ‘Golden ticket’ directly from Dorset County Council. This automatically confirms your eligibility to receive the 2-year-old funding

Funding for three and four year olds

All families with a 3 and 4 year old child are eligible for the universal funding offer of up to 15 hours a week term time or a total of 570 hours taken throughout the year. this can be used term time or stretched over 50 weeks. (A child becomes eligible for the funding the term after their 3rd birthday).

Tax-free Childcare and 30 Hours Funding

Tax-free childcare and 30 hours childcare are two separate government schemes, to help parents with the cost of childcare. To qualify for either scheme, parents must be working and each earning at least £120 per week (on average) and not more than £100,000 per year. Parents can use Tax-Free Childcare alongside the 15 and 30 hours funding but can’t use it at the same time as they receive childcare vouchers, universal credit or tax credits.

Tax-free childcare

Parents are able to open a new childcare account and for every £8 you pay into your account; the government will pay in an £2. You are entitled to receive up to £2,000 government support per child per year towards your childcare costs. Payments to the nursery are then made directly from this account.

30 hours funding

The extended entitlement for 3 and 4 year olds will support parents to get back into work, or work more hours. If you are eligible, you can get an additional 570 hours funding a year, so 1140 hours in total either taken as 30 hours per week term time or stretched across the whole year. This is stretched according to the guidlines set out by Dorset County Council and may be slightly different each term.

Tax credits and universal credits for childcare

Depending on personal circumstances some families will qualify to receive either tax credits or universal credit to help with the cost of childcare

Childcare funding Guidelines

All 3 and 4-year-olds in England are entitled to 570 hours of free early education or childcare a year. We offer this as up to 15 hours each week for 38 weeks of the year (term time). The funding starts at the beginning of a new term following the child’s 3rd birthday as detailed below.

Child’s birthday

When you can claim

1 January to 31 March

the beginning of term on or after 1 April

1 April to 31 August

the beginning of term on or after 1 September

1 September to 31 December

the beginning of term on or after 1 January

You do not need to do any thing or apply for this, it is an automatic entitlement and the Nursery will process this on your behalf.

Your 2-year-old can get free childcare if you live in England and get one of the following benefits:

Income Support
income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
Universal Credit, and your household income is £15,400 a year or less after tax, not including benefit payments
child tax credits, and your household income is £16,190 a year or less before tax
the guaranteed element of Pension Credit
the Working Tax Credit 4-week run on (the payment you get when you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)
2-year-olds can also get free childcare if they:
are looked after by a local authority
have a statement of special education needs (SEN) or an education, health and care (EHC) plan
get Disability Living Allowance
have left care under an adoption order, special guardianship order or a child arrangements order
You may have to pay for extra costs like meals, nappies or trips.

Applying for help with your childcare costs

Check your eligibility and apply online on the government’s Childcare Choices website www.childcarechoices.gov.uk