Funding Policy

Government Funded Early Education Policy Purpose Little Starlings Nursery is committed to providing high-quality early education in accordance with current Government funding guidance. This policy explains how funded childcare is delivered within our nursery and outlines the optional services available to families. Government Funded Entitlement Children who meet the Government eligibility criteria are entitled to receive funded early education hours. Government funding covers the delivery of early education and childcare only. It does not cover the full cost of additional services, meals, snacks, consumables or enrichment activities provided by the nursery. Funded Session Pattern Little Starlings Nursery delivers its funded provision through its established session model. Our standard 15-hour funded place is offered across three morning sessions per week, subject to availability. Parents wishing to discuss alternative attendance patterns are welcome to speak with the Nursery Manager. Requests will be considered where operationally possible and in line with local authority funding requirements. Optional Enhancement Package Parents may choose to purchase our Optional Enhancement Package to enhance their child's nursery experience. The package currently costs £18.00 per attended day and includes: ● Learning resources and educational materials ● Arts and crafts resources ● Science and cooking activities ● Gardening activities ● Drama and music sessions ● Enhanced learning opportunities ● Access to the Tapestry online learning journal ● Observations, assessments and end-of-term reports ● End-of-term celebrations ● General classroom consumables ● Non-food consumables including tissues, wipes, soap and hand sanitiser ● Lunch Club supervision (lunch not included) The Enhancement Package is optional and is not a condition of accessing a funded place. Healthy Snacks Little Starlings encourages all children to enjoy healthy snacks during nursery sessions. Parents who do not purchase the Food Consumables option are asked to provide a suitable healthy snack for each funded session. Where a snack has not been provided, the nursery will supply an appropriate healthy snack to ensure that no child goes without. A charge of £1.50 per day will be added to the next invoice to cover the cost of the snack provided. Additional Hours Any childcare attended outside a child's funded entitlement will be charged at the nursery's published session rates. Funded hours will always be shown separately on invoices at no charge. Late Collection Parents should collect their child promptly at the end of each session. Late collection charges apply after the agreed collection time and are charged at £10.00 per 15 minutes (or part thereof). If you are delayed, please contact the nursery as soon as possible. Review of Charges Charges for optional services and consumables are reviewed periodically and may change in line with increases in staffing, resources and operating costs. Parents will be given reasonable written notice of any changes. Policy Review This policy will be reviewed annually or sooner if Government funding guidance or local authority requirements change.