3 & 4 Year Old Early Education Funding
Universal Hours (15 hours funding)
Every child attending The Mulberry Bush Nursery is entitled to 15 hours universal funding per week, 38 weeks a year from the term after the child’s 3rd birthday. Children can claim this free education in a multitude of ways.
EXTENDED HOURS (30 Hours Funding)
From September 2017 working parents may be able to claim a further 15 hours known as ‘Extended’ hours entitling them to 30 hours a week free nursery education. Parents can check their eligibility at www.childcarechoices.gov.uk. You will be required to enter your personal details and will be given an eligibility code which we will be required to check. You must give us this code by the end of the previous term to receive the funding for the following term. Full details will be explained on this website. You are required to check and update your details every 3 months. The 30 hours can be claimed term time only, or stretched over the term, you can also share the hours over more than one provider.
The ‘Extended Hours’ will be offered subject to availability of sessions and sustainability. If availability is limited we will offer the ‘Extended Hours’ to those children who have been attending the nursery for the longest period time. We reserve the right to review our offer termly.
We will try to clarify any points you may be unsure of or you may telephone The Suffolk Childcare Information Service on 0345 6080033.
We offer stretched entitlement at The Mulberry Bush Nursery which allows you to claim 15 hours a week but use them over 51 weeks of the year allowing for continuity of payments if you attend full time.
Funding is issued termly in the Spring, Summer and Autumn. Should you wish to move your child to a different nursery mid-term unfortunately the funding does not move with them, there will be a charge for the remainder of the term at the full nursery rate.
In the event of there being more children than places available we shall give priority to funded four year old children then funded three year old children.
We are an inclusive practice and will not refuse a place on the grounds of a child’s attainment, gender, race, religion, language, culture or any special educational needs the child may have.
The Mulberry Bush will be funded for the ‘free’ time by a grant, which we will receive directly from the L.E.A. We receive our funding termly, if you require your child to attend more than 15/30 hours a week you will be invoiced for the additional hours on a monthly basis.
You are able to claim your child’s nursery grant through more than 1 setting. Pre-schools automatically receive funding above private nurseries. Once we have established and agreed space and session times with you we will provide you with a parent declaration form, which you must complete and return to us by head count day. We must also see original evidence of your child’s date of birth. We then have to submit your child’s details to the L.E.A., together with the agreed number of sessions your child is attending for. If your child attends with another provider we shall make contact with them to confirm how many sessions you shall be using with them. You will not be eligible for funding exceeding more than 15/30 hours a week between both practitioners.
Children receiving grant funding may choose not to attend The Mulberry Bush Nursery during the recognised half term breaks, Easter, Summer and Christmas Holidays. Please advise us if you would like your child to attend term time only. Term time only children are not entitled to holiday on top of this or a refund for sessions missed during term time. It is not possible to swap sessions for children who are absent from nursery due to illness.
2 Year Old Funding
This is a scheme that allows eligible children to receive free early years care and education from the term after their second birthday. Eligible children can claim up to 15 hours free early years care a week for 38 weeks a year. Parents can opt to take this entitlement as stretched entitlement enabling them to use less hours over 51 weeks of the year. This is part of a national offer from the Department for Education (DfE) and has been developed to improve outcomes for identified two year olds who would benefit from accessing high quality early years and childcare provision. For further information please pick up a leaflet from the cloakroom or contact the office.
2, 3 and 4 year old funded children will not receive holiday entitlement.
Children in receipt of any funding cannot swap their booked sessions. They need to advise the nursery of any absence so the child can be removed from the register. Additional sessions can be booked if required subject to availability and will be charged at the hourly set rate.
Meals are not included in the funding, there is an additional charge per meal as stated in our fees table. Alternatively you may send in a pack lunch for your child.