Sessions and Fees

A standard rate of £8.50 per hour (pro rata) will be charged from January 2024.

At Leigh Lollipops Nursery, our fees are set at a competitive level in order to maintain a sustainable and well-equipped preschool setting.  We endeavour to keep our fees as low as we can, but never lose sight of our core ethos to provide a caring, supporting, engaging and fun environment for our young learners. Our fees aim to cover staff wages, hire of the Hall, materials, insurance and every day running costs. We also supplement our income with fundraising.

Self-Funding

Fees are charged per hour (pro rata). Fees are payable in advance at the start of each term (3 times a year). We will issue an invoice at the start of each term requesting payment for fees of the self-funded hours owed.  A charge of £30 will be incurred if fees due are not paid on time.  Fees that are not paid within 10 days will become subject to an interest charge of 8%. Where fees are more than one month in arrears, the Head of Nursery reserves the right to withdraw that child's place.  Ater 30 days of non-payment, the Nursery will commence debt recovery through the small claims court for the fees owing, plus interest, and a debt recovery charge of £75.

Fees can be paid by direct bank transfer, online banking, mobile banking, standing order, childcare vouchers or by cheque in a clearly marked sealed envelope for the attention of the Nursery Administrator and Registrar.

Please note that fees are still payable if your child is absent. Please note that fees are reviewed annually to ensure overheads are covered.  We will provide notice of at least one term if fees have to be increased for any reason.

Funding

We accept all forms of government Early Years Funding (FEET, 15 hours, and 30 hours) for eligible 2, 3 and 4-year-olds.  The use of funding can be used in any combination and can also be used to cover all of our charges, including Breakfast Club and Lunch Club.  Any hours used outside of the funding entitlement will be self-funded and charged accordingly.

Grant for 2-year-olds

If your child is 2 and you receive means-tested benefits such as income support, jobseeker’s allowance or child tax credit (see 2 year old entitlement application form for full list) you may be entitled to claim FEET funding of up to 15 hours per week. If you are awarded funding, you will continue to receive it up to your childs 3rd birthday, even if your circumstances change. Please speak to the Nursery Administrator and Registrar for details of the full criteria and an application form.

Grant for 3 and 4-year-olds

Every child is entitled to an Early Years Grant from Surrey County Council the term after their 3rd birthday. Your child is entitled to claim up to 15 hours EYE funding per week. You will not be billed for sessions your child receives a grant for. You can share grants between different providers. If you wish to change your child's grant allocation at any time you must inform the Nursery Administrator and Registrar in writing. Failure to do this could result in duplicate grants being claimed and the Nursery reserves the right to reclaim any monies from the parents/carers.

Consumables and Additional Services/Activities Charge

The level of Early Years Entitlement (EYE) funding for 3 and 4 year olds (currently £4.87 per hour) is insufficient to cover our essential expenditure on staff salaries, hall hire, insurance, and basic consumables such as milk, art, and craft materials, cooking ingredients, wet wipes, tissues, sun cream, printer ink, sand, topic resources, and extra activities, etc.  Offering government funded places to 3 and 4-year olds, results in the Nursery suffering a significant financial shortfall for every hour that we are open: this is simply not sustainable.

Government funding is intended to cover the costs of The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework.  In December 2016, the Department for Education issued guidance on charging for additional costs and stated that “Parents can therefore expect to pay for any meals offered by the provider alongside their free entitlement. Parents can also expect to pay for other consumables or additional activities offered by the provider”.

At Leigh Lollipops Nursery, we do this by way of the Consumables and Additional Services/Activities Charge. 

The charge for ‘Consumables and Additional Services/Activities’ includes, but is not limited to, basic consumables such as any foods supplied; milk; craft supplies and materials (with the exception of crayons, paint, glue, or paper); topic resources; sensory/messy play resources; hygiene and personal care products; the cost of supplying Learning Journey Folders; basic printing costs including photographs; a contribution towards the costs of replacing and purchasing new resources, toys and pieces of equipment on a regular and ongoing basis as required; additional services/activities items, includes, but is not limited to, the completion of your child’s Learning Journal Folder; activity resources; all the food stuffs used in our regular cooking and baking sessions, including the paper/cellophane bags and cardboard boxes supplied to take these items home; supply of conversation bags; any additional activities offered outside of the statutory EYFS curriculum; special events and celebrations; a contribution towards the costs of paying for outside services and any additional costs involved with the provision of these; a contribution towards educational visitors, educational visits/outings - including walks in the local area - where we are required to work to much lower adult to child ratios than those stipulated for when caring for children on the premises; providing your child with hi-visibility vests to wear on walks. Please note, these lists are not exhaustive. 

These additional services/activities items are offered, over and above the statutory requirements of the EYFS framework, to enhance and deepen your child’s learning throughout their time at Leigh Lollipops; however, regrettably, we cannot offer these special additional services/activities for free to those taking up a government funded only place.

Consequently, parents of funded children will receive an invoice detailing their funded entitlement (EYE), along with the charge for ‘Consumables and Additional Services/Activities’ payable.  However, parents may opt out of paying this charge and provide all of their child’s consumable items as detailed above, and also confirm, by opting out, acceptance that their child will have limited access to the additional services/activities items offered: parents will have the same rights to access a free entitlement place for their child, regardless of whether or not they choose to pay the charge. 

Leigh Lollipops Nursery has an excellent reputation for the quality of learning, development, care and support it provides to our children, and we are keen to sustain this.  A huge contributory factor in this is the provision of the many and varied, special and enhancing additional activities, which are enjoyed by all our children, and are only made possible because of the Consumables and Additional Services/Activities Charge.  

As of 1 April 2023, the charge for ‘Consumables and Additional Services/Activities’ will be £1.00 per funded hour.  As of 1 April 2024, this will increase to £1.50 per funded hour.

The Nursery requires one full term's written notice if you wish to remove your child from the Nursery or cancel any of the sessions reserved.  A term’s fees will be incurred, or a term’s government funding claimed by the Nursery, if written notice is not received as requested. 

Help Towards Childcare Costs

Voucher Schemes

Every working parent is entitled to use between £97 and £243 per month, tax free from gross salary towards their childcare costs in the form of Childcare Vouchers. We recognise that such schemes are tax efficient and that Childcare Voucher Schemes might be a key benefit offered by your employer. In light of this, we are more than happy to work with parents where possible to join any Voucher Scheme you might use.

We are currently members of the following schemes:

• Edenred Voucher Schemes
• Kidsunlimited Childcare Vouchers
• Busy Bees Benefits
• Computershare Voucher Services
• Allsave Childcare Vouchers

If you would like to discuss your Voucher Scheme requirements with us, please call or email us and we will be happy to help.

You can read all about help towards childcare here.

Tax Fee Childcare Scheme

The Government’s Tax-Free Childcare scheme enables eligible working families to save 20% of their childcare costs. It is available for working parents with children under 12 (or under 17 for children with a disability). For every £8 you or someone else pays into the account, the Government will add another £2 up to a maximum of £2,000 per child per year (or £4,000 for children with a disability). This means that families will receive an extra £20 for every £80 they save towards childcare costs, totalling £100.

The scheme is available for working families where:

• both parents are in work or it is a single parent household
• each parent earns at least the National Minimum Wage or Living Wage for 16 hours a week and no more than £100,000 a year
• parents aren’t already receiving support through Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, Universal Credit or childcare vouchers.

It can also be used by parents who are:

• self-employed (newly self-employed parents will not have to earn the minimum income levels during their ‘start-up’ period)
• on paid sick leave
• on paid or unpaid statutory maternity, paternity or adoption leave

If you’re not working, you may still be eligible if your partner is working, and you get Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement Allowance, Carer’s Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance.

How can I register for the scheme?

You can apply for the scheme through the Government’s Childcare Choices website. You, and your partner, if you have one, will need your:

• National insurance number(s).
• Details of one or more of the following – your UK Passport, tax credits, P60 or a recent payslip.
• In some cases, additional checks may be needed to confirm whether you’re eligible. If you are found ineligible you will be told why.

Once you have opened your account it can be used to pay in money to use towards your childcare costs with a childcare provider who has also registered for the scheme. Grandparents, other family members and employers will also be able to pay into the account if they choose. You can find additional information about Tax-Free Childcare on the gov.uk website.

Uniform

T-shirt @ £8.50

Long sleeve t-shirt @ £9.50 

Sweatshirt @ £14.50

Backpack @ £15.00