We have just released the new fee structure for April 2024. We have tried to make minimal increases, however we are sure you are very aware that the living wage, cost of living and resources costs have grown significantly over the last year.
Funding and term time information
If your child is registered as term time, you will not automatically be booked for sessions during the holidays. Holiday sessions may be requested but cannot not be guaranteed.
If your child is registered as a full-time child, holidays will automatically be booked with normal sessions. However you will not be able to claim funding for the holiday period. This is also applicable to preschool children who previously booked non term time sessions.
If you are unsure if your child is registered as full time or term time, please let us know.
If you wish to change your child to become a term time only child, this can be done in writing with a months’ notice. Please email Hayley if you wish to change your registration from full time to term time only.
Split payments
We will no longer be offering a spilt payment option. From April 2024, parents will need to pay the invoiced amount created by Blossom each month, rather that splitting payments evenly over the year. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause however we are finding that the funding is creating additional administrative work, resulting in us being unable to offer spilt payments.
Invoicing and payments
Parents receive and can view their invoices on the Blossom App. Can we please remind parents that invoices will be generated on or around the 25th of each month and are expected to be paid by the 8th of the following month. Please talk to the office if you have any difficulties regarding payments.
Funding code responsibilities
Can we please remind parents that checking your funding code remains your responsibility. Codes need to be reconfirmed every 12 weeks; you will receive an email from the government gateway via your childcare account. If your working circumstances change, resulting in you no longer being eligible for the childcare code, you will receive a grace period until the end of the term. Parents must provide us with a completed funding from, birth certificate and code to access funding.
Sundry costs
Please note that the new government funding is not ‘free childcare’. The sundry costs cover meals, snacks, toiletries, wipes, creams, outings/trips and also art and craft resources. In order to provide you and your child with high quality childcare, we must use sundry charges to allow for the continuous improvement of our setting.
We thank you for supporting and trusting Castle Lane Day Nursery. It is a pleasure to provide your child with a warm, nurturing stimulating and fun early years’ experience. Should you have any questions or comments please feel free to either email, ring, or pop into the office.
Kind Regards
Harriet, Vikki and the Castle Lane Team