Childcare and early years education offers so much more than just a safe place to play. It’s where curiosity is encouraged, where friendships blossom, and where every day brings new opportunities to learn and grow.
You are investing in your child’s future, when you send them to any childcare setting. The first 1000 days in a child’s life are vital to their long term success. The true importance of Early Years education really needs to be understood and more valued, as this period is literally when your child’s brain is hardwiring the most.
The Shaping Us Foundation, championed by Kate Middleton (Princess of Wales) – explains the vital core areas of development
Research shows that children who attend high-quality early education and childcare between ages two and four perform better at every stage of school – with those early years creating a strong foundation for their future. Studies have also found that pre-school education plays a positive role in children’s development, and the quality of that early learning environment continues to benefit them as they grow.
Juggling work, family life, and childcare can feel daunting at times. But when you know your child is happy, nurtured, and thriving in the care of dedicated professionals, everything feels a little easier.
High quality childcare is expensive to deliver and you can choose where to take your child for their early education. NCN prides itself on it’s offer, but for many families there are charges associated with the childcare they access with us. We want to be transparent with our charges, so below you will find the full details of our offer.
To help you, we also share various ways in which your childcare costs can be made more affordable and answer the most common questions we receive, regarding our charges and offer.
We know that for many families pricing is a part of the decision making for which childcare provider they want to choose. We always recommend that families visit and view a number of settings, when they are weighing up the cost versus quality choice, and also talk to others in the community. We are proud of our reputation and hope that everyone who sends their child to our setting values and is happy with the investment they are making for their child’s future.
Our Fee Policy is very transparent and sets out in detail what your charges may be. T&C's do apply. If you are unsure of something, please do ask our team to explain it further, or we can create a detailed weekly or monthly cost estimate for you, so that you can budget for the work/life balance that you want.
The government offers childcare funding to all eligible families. The amount and the eligibility vary and it is a complex subject. However, this link takes you the website for more information. You may need you apply to receive the funded hours!
The Government recognizes that even with funding available to reduce the cost of childcare, most families will still need to pay towards their child's education. As such there is a secondary layer of help called 'Tax Free Childcare' whereby the Government returns taxes paid to eligible families (up to £2000 per year)
For working families claiming Universal Credit with children under 17. Claim back up to 85% of eligible childcare costs.
The Government may contribute to childcare costs if you are studying. There are a number of different options such as Care to Learn, Learner Support or Childcare Grants.
Q: I am not sure what childcare costs support is best for me?!
A: Please us the Childcare Support Checker to get help in your decision. https://www.beststartinlife.gov.uk/eligibility-checker
Q: I only want my child to attend NCN for 30 hours per week. Why do I have to pay anything?
A: The Government ‘headlines’ 30 hours of funded childcare, but this is only actually offered for 38 weeks of the year. NCN is open for 51 weeks of the year, so that is averaged to be 22.35 hours per week. If your child attends Term Time Only, there may still be charges as the Government also very clearly states that food is not covered by the funding and so NCN charges all children for food, as taken. The Government funding is not offered, for all the open hours, for all age ranges (please see Fee Policy)
“Government funding is not intended to cover the costs of meals, other consumables, additional hours or additional services.”
Q: Does NCN charge for consumables?
A: Many early years setting have chosen to charge parents for consumables. NCN does not charge for consumables. Any charges in a session are for the private hours taken only. The invoice sets out clearly the total monthly number of ‘free’ funded hours taken, versus private hours and each day is explicitly shown on the invoice detailing the number of ‘free’ funded hours and the charges for the private hours. This exactly matches the details in the later pages of our Fee Policy.
Q: Can my child attend just for 38 weeks per year?
A: Yes, we do offer Term Time Only options, however we strongly recommend for some children that All Year Round gives better continuity of care and is more settling for the children.
Q: My child attends 10 hours per day, why don’t all age groups have 10 hours funding per day?
A: Each childcare provider is able to offer its own design of funded hours. Although the Government contributes to your childcare costs, we are a private business and we are allowed to set our own fee structure, as long as it conforms to Government Guidance. The Government chooses to fund for childcare in three different ranges 0-2 year olds, 2-3 years old and 3-5 years old.
The Government funds the youngest children well, but funding for older children 3-5 year olds, is loss making for settings. As such, we vary our funding offer by age group to remain sustainable. Our Fee Policy explains this in full.
Q: Is payment mandatory?
A: We offer a range of different sessions, so that hopefully we can offer your family something that works for your work/life balance. We are very transparent about the charges for our sessions and food and offer a ‘NIL cost’ session, which is ideal for families who only want to access ‘free’ hours.
Any session charges, are for private hours (and the food provided within the attended hours) and these do need to be paid for. However private hours are not mandatory or a condition of your child receiving a funded place at our nursery.
Q: I do not want my child to have NCN’s food. Is there an alternative for me?
A: There is a packed food policy detailed on our Fee Policy which is our ‘reasonable alternative’ to nursery food. It does have criteria that must be followed and due to allergies packed food children may need to sit separately from all the other children, due to the risk of cross-contamination. Allergies are a BIG concern in nurseries and we have a very detailed process to try to manage the risks. We would prefer that all children ate our delicious homemade food, which we are so proud of.
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