Nursery Funded Places

What funding is available?

Free Early Education Entitlement (FEEE) is a government funded scheme designed to offer all children access to early education prior to starting school.

Different funding is available depending on the age of your child and your household circumstances.

WHAT FUNDING IS AVAILABLE

Different funding is available depending on the age of your child and your household circumstances. Visit www.childcarechoices.gov.uk to find out which funding you may be entitled to. Here is a brief overview:

UNIVERSAL HOURS

EXTENDED HOURS

3-4 YEAR OLDS

Up to 12 hours from the term after third birthday. No eligibility code required

Up to 12 hours from term after third birthday. Requires eligibility code, apply at Best Start in Life - Best Start in Life

Eligible
2 year olds

Up to 12 hours from the term after second birthday. If you receive certain benefits, you may be eligible, apply through Bristol City Council www.bristol.gov.uk/freeplacesfortwos

N/A

2 year olds from working families

N/A

Up to 24 hours from the term after second birthday. Requires eligibility code, apply at Best Start in Life - Best Start in Life

9 months + from working families

N/A

Up to 24 hours from the term after 9 month birthday. Requires eligibility code, apply at Best Start in Life - Best Start in Life

When will my child receive their funding?

Each year is split into three terms, starting on the 1st of September, January and April. Your child’s birth month will define when their funding will start.

2nd, 3rd or 4th birthday

1 Jan - 31 Mar

1 April - 31 Aug

1 Sept - 31 Dec

ELIGIBLE FROM

April

September

January

UNDER 2'S BIRTH MONTH

Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar

April, May, June

July, Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov

9TH MONTH "BIRTHDAY"

Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec

Jan, Feb, Mar

April, May, June, July, Aug

ELIGIBLE FROM

January

April

September

Can I use the funding for any of my sessions?

In the nursery, funding can be used for a 9am-1pm or a 1pm-5pm session.

In Farm Adventurers, funding can be used for a 9am-12pm or a 1pm-4pm session (age applicable).

You are of course welcome to purchase additional hours outside of your funded sessions, for example you may wish to buy an 8am-9am or 5pm-6pm slot in nursery or choose to extend your Farm Adventurers session to cover the 12pm-1pm lunch time. Any hours not covered by the funding will be charged at the current sessional rate.

Are there any
other costs?

We ask all families to pay a consumables charge on every funded session. The government funding we receive per hour for your child’s place is only for education purposes specified in the Early Years Foundation Stage.

It does not cover the costs of the full-service provision we provide. The charge is vital to support the financial stability of our charitable organisation and is calculated to reflect the gap between the government funding and the full-service provision.

The consumables charge covers the costs of:

Meals and snacks
Trips and outings
Spare clothing
Nursery trips to Farm Adventurers
Special events
Sun cream
‘Forest School’ type activities

Consumables charges will only be applied to sessions where you receive funding. These charges are incorporated into the session cost for privately paid forsessions.

You will be charged the complete consumables package; you cannot select elements of the charges.

If you choose to opt out of paying the consumables charge, we will require a term’s notice:

For Autumn Term: you will need to let us know by 1^st April
For Spring Term: you will need to let us know by 1^st September
For Summer Term: you will need to let us know by 1^st January

By choosing to opt out of consumables charges, this will mean the additional items listed above will not be available to you and you will be required to provide these items.

Can I make changes to my funding claim part way through a term?

Unfortunately not! Once we have submitted your claim we are unable to make amends until the start of the next term.

Please be aware that when signing the funding form you are agreeing to use your funding with us for the entire term. This is slightly different for Eligible two year olds (those applying through Bristol City Council), who only need to give one month’s notice to move to another provider.

Can I claim with more than one setting?

Yes, you can split your funding claim between no more than two providers but you must ensure you do not overclaim the funded hours you are entitled to. Bristol City Council will ask you to repay any overclaimed funding. Please ensure you advise both providers if you wish to split the funding.

Eligible two year olds (applying through Bristol City Council) can only claim funding with one provider.

Where can I find more information?

Our Fee Paying Policy and our Admissions Policy cover how we administer the funding in more detail and can be found on our website. Or visit Best Start in Life - Best Start in Life for general funding information.

What other financial help is available?

Tax Free Childcare - If you’re a working parent/carer you can get up to £500 every three months to help with the costs of childcare. You can apply at Best Start in Life - Best Start in Life

Universal credit for childcare – for working families who aren’t receiving Tax-Free childcare, you can receive up to 85% of eligible childcare costs. Apply at Best Start in Life - Best Start in Life

Starting school

From 1 September after your child is 4 years old, all funding is transferred to your chosen school even if your child has a staggered start or is not due to start school until part way through September. This means that no funding is available for sessions agreed after 31 August.

If you are deferring your child’s start at school or have not accepted your offered school place and have joined a waiting list, you may be entitled to claim – please speak to us about your options.

GET IN TOUCH

Please note a £20 administration fee is applied to all new waiting list applications. This is non-refundable and helps cover the administration costs of managing the waiting lists. It is not and should not be seen as a guarantee of, or deposit on, a place.

Please be aware we currently have longer waiting lists for places for children aged 3 and under.

NURSERY APPLICATION FORM

DOWNLOAD FEE STRUCTURE

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