Your Nursery Questions Answered

MayGardens Little Learners are pleased to offer 30 hours funded childcare for all eligible families.

All 3 and 4-year-olds in England currently receive 15 hours a week government funded early education. If their parents are living and working in England, 3 and 4-year-olds may be entitled to 30 hours funded childcare, which is up to 1,140 hours per year in total!

If eligible you will be entitled to access the 30 funded hours from the beginning of the term following your child’s 3rd birthday. At Bright Horizons, we want to make sure that families of all attendance types can utilise this funding to its full potential. This is why we stretch the funding across 50 weeks as opposed to the term time 38 weeks period. This enables part-time families to access more of the funded hours than would otherwise be available to them if restricted under a term time structure. For more information about how this scheme works, please speak to the Manager.

Many families increase their child’s attendance at nursery as they move into the preschool class. An increase in the number of days children attend can help prepare them for the transition to ‘big school’. Three and four years old are especially keen to develop their social skills and a preschool environment can support this development especially well. Children also benefit from the expansive learning through play opportunities that a highly qualified early years professional can provide, ensuring they leave for school well prepared socially, academically and emotionally.

The parent (and their partner where applicable) should be seeking the free childcare to enable them to work. Parents must earn or expect to earn the equivalent to 16 hours at National Minimum or Living Wage over the coming three months.

Where a parent is in a ‘start-up period’ (i.e. they are newly self-employed) they do not need to demonstrate that they meet the income criteria for 12 months.

Parents must earn or expect to earn the equivalent to 16 hours at National Minimum or Living Wage over the coming three months. This equates to £120 a week for each parent over 25 years old or £112.80 a week for each parent between 21 and 24 years old and £56 a week for apprentices in their first year.

You can’t get 30 hours free childcare if you, or your partner, expect to earn £100,000 or more.

Your child/children must be either 3 or 4 years old. You can apply for funding in the term prior to your child’s 3rd birthday but the funding will not apply until the term after they turn 3.