Early Years Government Funding
Government funding can be applied when children become eligible.
The Nursery will submit a claim through the local authority each term.
All families must complete a government funding claim form in advance of wanting to claim for their child.
Further information about how to claim can be sought via the Nursery Office.
The nursery is a full year nursery - we do not offer term time only places. Funding will be stretched over the 50 weeks we are open. If families do not want to use the setting during the school holidays, their child’s space will be protected when they don’t attend, but our full fees and charges will apply whether their child attends or not.
Families using The WonderWorks may be entitled to claim up to 570 hours of government funded childcare hours per year (known as the universal 15 hours childcare offer).
Those working families with children who earn more than the UK minimum/living wage for 16 weeks per year, may be able to claim up to 1140 hours of government funded childcare hours per year (known as the 30-hour extended offer). Families must:
·Sign a funding form held at the nursery to claim these hours, this form will be reviewed termly, and updated annually.
· Provide any applicable funding codes to the nursery for the nursery to claim these ‘free’ hours back.
Government News and future planning- In September 2025, the 15 hours for working parents of children under 3 will expand to 30 hours, meaning eligible working families will be able to claim 30 hours of childcare all the way through from the term after their child turns 9 months to school age.
Consumables Charge
From April 2025, we will no longer charge additional consumables fees. Our new fee structure will be fully inclusive. Please see our Standard Fees policy -2025 for more information.
How to check if parents are eligible
The Childcare Choices website provided by The Government explains what families are eligible for. The WonderWorks do not have any say about eligibility and responsibility for checking and meeting eligibility for funding is for the family to do. The nursery team will happily offer advice, support, and signposting if necessary.
Childcare Choices | 30 Hours Free Childcare, Tax-Free Childcare and More | Help with Costs | GOV.UK
Extended (30 hour) offer
If eligible for the extended offer, the parent will receive an 11-digit eligibility code via the Childcare Choices website. Before a parent can take up a place they must present their code, national insurance number and child’s date of birth to the Nursery Manager so they can check that the code is valid. Families should share their code as soon as they receive it. Families cannot take up their extended place until the nursery has validated their code.
Every three months parents will need to confirm that the details they previously entered on their application are up to date. The government will send direct email reminders to do this. If this is not done the code will expire and the funding withdrawn. At this point the child will only be eligible for the universal (15 hours) offer, until the code can be validated again, and the following funding term starts. This could mean an extended period (perhaps 3 months or so) where the parent would be responsible for paying for the non-funded hours booked. Therefore, it is essential that families keep on top of validating their codes.
When does the funding start?
This is set by the Government and put simply parents can claim from the term AFTER their child turns 9months, 2 or 3 (depending on meeting eligibility criteria)
If a child's birthday is between...1 January – 31 March
Families can start using their free hours from... 1 April
If a child's birthday is between...1 April – 31 August
Families can start using their free hours from... 1 September
If a child's birthday is between...1 September – 31 December
Families can start using their free hours from... 1 January
Tax Free Childcare from birth to 11 years old (17 if they have a disability)
Some families may also be eligible for the Tax-Free Childcare scheme. For every £8 paid into the online childcare account the government will pay in £2. Families can get up to £500 every 3 months (up to £2,000 a year) for each child to help with the costs of childcare. This goes up to £1,000 every 3 months if a child is disabled (up to £4,000 a year).
Families can simply use the topped-up money to pay childcare fees through the online account. Families must reconfirm eligibility for Tax-Free Childcare every three months and will get a text reminder to do this.
Families cannot get Tax-Free Childcare at the same time as claiming Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, Universal Credit, or childcare vouchers.
The WonderWorks are registered to receive payment towards fees through the Tax-Free Childcare service.
The added benefit to this scheme is that when your child moves onto ‘big school’ the September after they turn 4, you can still use this scheme to pay for ongoing childcare like wraparound care, after school clubs or other activities.
The Childcare Choices website will offer advice and support.
Childcare Choices | 30 Hours Free Childcare, Tax-Free Childcare and More | Help with Costs | GOV.UK
Funding and Bank Holidays- Christmas Closure
We close for 2 weeks over Christmas and New Year for essential maintenance, deep cleaning, team training, and a rest period, which aligns with the closure schedules of the industries we support. No funding will be claimed during this period.
For weeks outside of the Christmas closure period if your child is scheduled to attend on a bank holiday, we will make every effort to allocate your funding to another day within the same week. Please note that funding cannot be carried over to a different week.