Funding
Daisy Chain Nursery at Wymondham College
Funding Policy and Fees 1st September 2025 -31st August 2026
Early Years Funding is a national scheme, administered by host local authorities. Funded hours are available according to your child’s and your family’s working status. The funded entitlements will be delivered consistently so that all children accessing any of them will receive the same quality and access to provision. Daisy Chain Nursery is at liberty to choose how to offer Early Years Funding as long as the following criteria are met:
Funded childcare must not exceed 10 hours in a single day.
Funded childcare must be used between Daisy Chain’s opening hours of 8am to 6pm.
Funded childcare can be split between Daisy Chain and no more than 1 other Nursery School.
Daisy Chain is an all-year-round childcare provider - term time only places are not available. A registration fee is chargeable for non-funded places and parents will not be charged a “top-up” fee to recoup the difference between the amount received from the Local Authority and the current hourly rate.
Stretch explained.
15 hours of funded childcare over 38 weeks (term time) amounts to 570 funded childcare hours a year. When stretched, this offer amounts to 11 hours of funded childcare a week over 50 weeks of the year.
30 hours of funded childcare over 38 weeks (term time) amounts to 1,140 funded childcare hours a year. When stretched, this offer amounts to 22 hours of funded childcare a week over 49.8 weeks of the year.
Funding is available for a maximum of 10 hours per day.
When a family claims 22 funded hours per week and books 3 full days or more a week at nursery the remaining 2 funded hours per week will be allocated to the next chronological day and from the beginning of the day.
Fully funded places (where no additional hours are purchased) are offered subject to availability.
Please note – depending on your booked days, it is possible that you may have an over claim from your funding at the end of a funding term. If this happens, you will be contacted to make you aware, and this will be payable at our hourly private rate.
More information on the Early Years Funding eligibility criteria can be found here: http://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk
Essentials and Extras
Early Years Funding does not cover the cost of meals and snacks, non-food consumables, or additional hours. To cover costs not included in the Early Years Funding, we request that families pay for non-mandatory extras and essentials, and these will be recorded on invoices. We regret that families are not allowed to send children with packed lunches such that we can prevent the risks associated with allergies and storage.
Parents can choose not to pay the Essentials and Extras and or additional hours in accordance with the Funding Terms and Conditions.
Types of Early Years Funding
Supported 2-Year-Old Funding
Children will be entitled to 570 funded hours a year from the term after both the child has attained the age of two and the child or parent meets the eligibility criteria.
When a child is in receipt of Supported Two-year-old funding they will continue to receive their funded place until the point when the child becomes eligible for the Universal Funding, even if the child or parent ceases to meet the eligibility criteria during this time.
Only one type of Two-year-old funding can be claimed at a time.
Universal 3 and 4-Year-Old Funding
All 3 and 4 year olds are entitled to 570 funded childcare hours a year. Regulations require that we check your child’s age necessitating sight (and the copying) of a birth certificate or passport.
Working Families Funding
This is for qualifying working parents with a child aged 9 months to 4 years old. Parents apply for eligibility from HMRC via the Childcare Service Account, see below). Eligibility codes must be provided to us before the Early Years Funding can be claimed. Parents are responsible for re-validating the eligibility code every three months when reminded by HMRC. Failure to do so may result in the Working Families Funding being withdrawn.
Childcare Service Account: https://www.gov.uk/sign-in-childcare-account
Please note – it is the responsibility of parents to renew this code and inform us. If the code expires, and funding cannot be claimed, sessions will be payable at our daily rate.
Notice Period
Should you wish to cancel your child’s registration with Daisy Chain Nursery, we require 4 week’s notice.
Parent Declaration Form
Regulations stipulate that Daisy Chain must also enter into a separate funding agreement with parents, called the Parent Declaration Form.
Local authorities require that parents complete and sign Parent Declarations and if not signed and returned, Early Years Funding cannot be claimed and private fees will be charged.
Child absences
We must keep our Local Authority informed of child absences and the local authority has the right to recover funding payments made during periods of absences. Parents are responsible for paying Daisy Chain for any funding payments reclaimed by the local authority due to a child’s absence.
Booking schedules
We require parents to confirm their booking schedule before the start of a new term. Daisy Chain is unable to apply Funded Childcare to any ad-hoc sessions booked outside of the confirmed booking pattern at the beginning of the term. Daisy Chain is able to make permanent changes to booking patterns in accordance with the terms of the Parent Agreement and with one month’s notice.
The Role of the Local Authority
Each childcare provider enters into an agreement with the local authority to provide Early Years Funding. The local authority pays the childcare provider directly for the Funded Childcare it provides to the eligible children. Parents of eligible children do not have access to, or the right to access, the Early Years Funding paid by the local authority.
Special Educational Needs and/or Disability (SEND) Funding
Every local authority has a SEND inclusion fund to support providers in meeting the needs of individual child with SEND. SEND Funding is paid directly to the provider by the local authority. When deciding on the value of SEND Funding, the local authority must consider the number of children with SEND in the local area, their level of need, and the overall capacity of the local childcare market to support these children.
Daisy Chain will use SEND Funding to support children with any learning and developmental delay or special educational needs or disability by accessing specialist resource and equipment.
Disability Access Funding (DAF)
DAF is available to children in receipt of Disability Living Allowance and Early Years Funding. Local authorities are responsible for checking that the DAF eligibility criteria are met. It is a one-off annual payment directly to the provider. If the child changes provider during the year, the DAF will remain with the original provider. If a child attends more than one provider, then the parent must allocate the DAF to one provider. This funding cannot be shared across providers.
Daisy Chain will use any DAF to support making reasonable adjustments/adaptations to enable the child to have equal access to the provision in the same way as any other child or for resource that will be beneficial to the child.
Daisy Chain will liaise with the child’s parents and engage with any relevant professionals to ensure that DAF is spent appropriately.
Where we have more than one child accessing DAF we may use the money for all children to support an adjustment or purchase resource that will benefit more than one child.
Any resources purchased as part of DAF remain the property of Daisy Chain and can be used to support future children to access the provision. If a child moves provision, it is upto the discretion of Daisy Chain, whether to transfer any resource purchased using DAF to the new provider.
DAF will not be used for additional staffing costs.
Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP)
EYPP is additional funding that Daisy Chain can claim to help improve outcomes of eligible children. The local authority pays the EYPP directly to the provider.
EYPP is available to support children whose parents meet the eligibility criteria and are in receipt of Early Years Funding. Local authorities are responsible for checking that the EYPP eligibility criteria are met.
Eligibility criteria can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/get-extra-early-years-funding
Daisy Chain will use EYPP funding to support positive impacts on the child’s development.
Deprivation Funding
Deprivation Funding is paid directly to Daisy Chain by the local authority.
Depravation Funding is available to support children whose parents meet the eligibility criteria and are in receipt of Early Years Funding. Local authorities are responsible for checking that the Deprivation Funding eligibility criteria are met. Deprivation Funding is not child specific and can be used to support all children within the setting. Daisy Chain will use Deprivation Funding to close the gap in attainment of children in the nursery.
CURRENT FEES (Review April 2026)
Invoices are issued midway through the current month and payments are expected by the month end. The invoice will be itemised to provide clear and transparent information concerning the charges as agreed at registration. This allows parents to see that the entitlement is received completely free of charge and understand additional fees that have been applied.
