FAQ - BANES

Intro

All 3 to 4-year-olds in England can get 570 hours of free early education or childcare per year. From September 2017, the government increased the free early education or childcare for families who meet certain criteria to 30 hours a week (if used over 38 weeks a years)

When will my funding start?

Children may only start accessing the funding entitlement from the term following their third birthday AND for the extended entitlement the term following receipt of their eligibility code from HMRC. For the purpose of funding, terms are defined as:

Autumn Term
Spring Term
Summer Term

Parents are encouraged to apply to HMRC's Childcare Service in the term before their child turns three in order to access a place in the term following their child's third birthday.

How many hours of funded childcare will I receive?

All 3 to 4-year-olds in England can get 570 funded hours per year. If your child attends nursery all year round this equates to 12 hours per week for 47.5 weeks per year with an unfunded period, each year. If this is taken during term-time only, this would work out as 15 hours a week over 38 weeks of the year.

What is the Extended Entitlement and how do I apply?

For families who meet certain criteria then they can apply for an additional 570 hours of funding, bringing the total funded hours to 1140.

To claim the Extended Entitlement funding, you will need to apply for an eligibility code at www.childcarechoices.gov.uk. Your National Insurance number will be used to check employment status. If you are eligible for the Extended Entitlement you will be issued with a code. This is the code that the nursery needs together with your National Insurance number - we can then claim the funding on their behalf. The code needs to be re-validated every three months to remain eligible. You will be sent a form to sign giving the nursery permission to check your code.

How can I use my funding?

You can use all or some of their funded hours. Please speak to your nursery manager to discuss which sessions best suit your needs. You can pay for additional hours on top of the funded hours at the Pre School Hourly Rate. There is no day rate for funded children.
You can split your funding between more than one setting. You should let accounts know as soon as you are aware that funding is being split so we can ensure we allocate and claim the correct hours.

What happens if my child does not attend nursery for any reason?

When your child is not able to attend nursery for any reason normal fees will apply. There is no discount for sickness or holiday. We worked hard to find a method that would enable Snapdragons to viably offer the Extended Entitlement without restriction to parents. In order to do this, we were unable to offer discount for sessions not attended.

Why am I no longer getting the full-time discount now my child is funded?

The 10% discount will no longer be applied when a child is in receipt of Early Years funding. instead, the Additional Services Charge will be reduced to £0.10 per funded hour.

Do children in receipt of early years funding qualify for sibling discount?

Yes, if both children are attending for three full days a week or more, a 10% discount will be deducted from the eldest sibling’s bill. Often this is the eldest child who may be in receipt of early years funding, the discount will be applied to their chargeable sessions. Not the additional service charge.

Why are there unfunded weeks each year?

Due to the way that funding is calculated for children attending AYR there will be a number of unfunded weeks each year. In 2020/2021 that unfunded period will cover August. This gives parents whose children are leaving for school at the end of the year the option to end their booking when the funding finishes in July.
For any children who are not leaving there will be no funding available and all sessions must be paid in full.

What is the Additional Services Charge?

At Snapdragons we will apply an Additional Services Charge, currently £1.70 in BANES, for each funded hour allocated to a child. The Early Years funding covers only the delivery of the Early Years Framework therefore we apply the Additional Services Charge to cover meals, snacks, consumables and resources. Please note that the ASC applies to all funded hours allocated to a child. Any absences from nursery are charged as normal.

The ASC is calculated for the whole funding period based on the total number of funded hours we will pass on in the term. This total charge will then be divided equally across the months covered by the funding period.

Can I join Snapdragons mid-term and transfer my funding from another setting?

The transfer of funding must be agreed in writing with your previous childcare provider before we are able to offer the funding at Snapdragons.

BANES Council will approve an increase in funded hours providing it’s for more than four weeks of the term, this applies to children joining Snapdragons or children already attending.

What is the Additional Services Charge?

At Snapdragons we will apply an Additional Services Charge, currently £1.30 in Wiltshire, for each funded hour allocated to a child. The Early Years funding covers only the delivery of the Early Years Framework therefore we apply the Additional Services Charge to cover meals, snacks, consumables and resources. Please note that the ASC applies to all funded hours allocated to a child. Any absences from nursery are charged as normal.