How to access funding to support your child’s place at Castle Lane Day Nursery in Market Harborough
Depending on the age of your child and your own personal circumstances, there may well be funding out there to help support your child’s place at Castle Lane Day Nursery in Market Harborough.
Working Parents funding code (30 Hours)
Parents working between the equivalent of 16 hours a week at National Minimum Wage (£195 per week or £10,158 a year from April 2025) and £100,000 adjusted net income may now be eligible for 30 hours of funded childcare for their children aged at least 9 months. Places are funded from the term after your child turns 9 months old until they start school.
Parents must provide the nursery with your HMRC code, complete a Castle Lane funding form and provide a copy of your child’s birth certificate or passport.
There is sundries cost for these sessions with an opt out option detailed below.
Target 2 Year funding
Parents of 2-year-olds can also access 15 hours a week of funded early education if they receive additional forms of support. This includes support like being on Universal Credit and earning less than £15,400 a year, or if your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan, or has been looked after by a local authority. Places are funded from the term after a child turns 2.
Parents Must provide the nursery with a Target 2 code provided by Leicestershire County Council, complete a Castle Lane funding form and provide a copy of your child’s birth certificate or passport.
There are no sundries costs charged for Target 2 Year funding.
Universal 3-year funding
All parents of children aged 3 to 4 in England can access a universal offer of 15 hours of government funded early education from the term after their child turns 3. It doesn’t matter how much you earn or how many hours you work.
Parents Must complete a Castle Lane funding form and provide a copy of your child’s birth certificate or passport. No code is required.
There are no sundries costs for the AM session (8-1). However a PM session has a sundries cost with an opt out option detailed below.
Sundry fees at Castle Lane Day Nursery
The government, in its Statutory Guidance ‘Early Education & Childcare’, section A1.30 details that “Government funding is intended to deliver 15 or 30 hours a week of free, high quality, flexible childcare. It is not intended to cover the costs of meals, other consumables, additional hours or additional services.”
As a result, parents at Castle Lane Day Nursery are therefore charged a sundry fee for their children attending both 10 and 5 hour funded sessions.
The governments’ guidance requires Local Authorities to “Ensure that providers are aware that they can charge for meals and snacks as part of a free entitlement place and that they can also charge for consumables, such as nappies or sun cream, and for services such as trips and specialist tuition. Local authorities should ensure that providers are mindful of the impact of additional charges on parents, especially the most disadvantaged. Providers, who choose to offer the free entitlements, are responsible for setting their own policy on providing parents with options for alternatives to additional charges, including allowing parents to supply their own meals or nappies, or waiving or reducing the cost of meals and snacks.” (A1, 31).
Section A1.35 requires that “providers are completely transparent about any additional charges when a parent first takes up their child’s free place, for example, for those parents opting to purchase additional hours or additional services.”
Sundry fees at Castle Lane Day Nursery
What do sundry fees cover at Castle Lane?
Sundry fees at Castle Lane cover the cost of the following:
• Meals
• Wipes
• Suncreams
• Milk
• Winter/summer hats
• Additional outings
• Daily Blossom updates
• Extra provisions such as yoga, superstar sports, nursing home visits
How are the sundry fees broken down?
AM session (5 Hours Funding) – 8am-1pm = £8.00
PM Session (5 Hours Funding) – 1pm-6pm = £8.00
Full Day Session (10 Hours Funding) – 8am-6pm = £14.00
Can I opt out of paying sundry fees?
New guidance issued by the Department of Education makes it clear that nursery providers must provide an ‘opt out clause’ in relation to sundry fees for funded sessions. This means that parents must be given the opportunity to opt out of paying sundry fees altogether.
What happens if I choose to opt out of paying sundry fees?
Choosing not to pay the additional sundry fee will mean that the services and supplies covered by the fee will need to be provided by the parents or carers themselves. These include:
• Meals
• Wipes
• Suncreams
• Craft supplies
• Milk
• Winter/summer hats
• Additional outings
• Daily Blossom updates
You will therefore be required to supply your child with the following items at the start of each session:
AM Session – 8am-1pm – 5 hours funding
| Breakfast Cereal | Hoops, Shreddies or Rice Krispies Snack Fruit |
| Lunch | Packed Lunch comprising sandwich, crackers, or rice cakes. Vegetable sticks, fruit, cereal bars (Soreen). No crisps or chocolate. Must have ice packs in lunch box |
| In nappies | Nappies. Wipes. Nappy sacks. Nappy cream. Tissues |
| Winter months | Warm hat |
| Summer months | Summer hat and suncream |
| Medication | Calpol or ibuprofen |
PM Session 1pm-6pm – 5 hours funding
| Snack | Vegetable sticks |
| Tea | Packed Lunch comprising sandwich, crackers, or rice cakes. Vegetable sticks, fruit, cereal bars (Soreen). No crisps or chocolate. Must have ice packs in lunch box |
| In nappies | Nappies. Wipes. Nappy sacks. Nappy cream. Tissues |
| Winter months | Warm hat |
| Summer months | Summer hat and suncream |
| Medication | Calpol or ibuprofen |
Full Day 8am – 6pm – 10 Hours Funding:
All items detailed on both AM and PM tables.
Additional costs for extracurricular events
In addition to supplying the above, any parent or carer opting out of the sundry fee will be charged for their child taking part in the following extracurricular events:
• Yoga (Preschool – Friday AM) = £2.00
• Superstar Sports (Preschool – Monday PM) = £2.00
• Care Home Visit (Pre School – Wednesday PM) = £1.50
• Park Visit (All Room – Ad hoc) = £1.00
Any other external outings including farm park, walks within the community, or extracurricular activities will be charged on an ad hoc basis.
Labelling foodstuffs and clothing
Please note that it is essential that all items are clearly labelled with your child’s name, date and allergies contained. Food products must not contain nuts. This is essential as we are a nut free setting.
Both lunch and tea pack lunches must be boxed separately, and both supplied to the nursery with ice packs as they can only be stored at room temperature. Please note that we cannot reheat any food at nursery.
How can I opt out of paying sundry fees?
If you wish to opt out of paying sundry fees for funded places, please email the office, confirming that you wish to opt out and that you will provide all additional items on a daily basis. Please note that we require a month’s notice to make any changes to your current provision.
If you are happy to continue supporting the cost of the sundry charges and for your child to continue to be provided with all meals, snacks and extra items, then you do not need to contact the office.
Can I opt out of sundry charges for Forest School?
No, forest school sundry costs are mandatory as Forest School is considered an extracurricular provision.