Resources & Information

Session Times & Fee’s

Session Times

For children attending a morning or afternoon session the times are as follows:

8:45am – 11:45 am (not including lunch)

9:15am – 12:15pm (including lunch club)

12:15pm – 3:15pm (children can bring lunch if they want too, we ask where possible that this is something small to eat)

For children attending all day, the times are as follows:

8:45am – 2:45pm / 9am – 3pm / 9:15am – 3:15pm / 8:45am – 3:15pm

Fees

Fees will be charged at a rate of £7.50 per hour for non-funded 3 – 4-year-old children or children going over their allowance of hours. For children aged 2 will be charged at a rate of £8 and £8.50 for 1 year olds From September 2026. If your child reaches the age of 3 part way through the first half term, the second half will be charged at the 3 year old rate.

Fees are reviewed annually by the Board of Directors to stay in line with the rise of the minimum wage and the rate of inflation.

A Voluntary New starter fee of £40 is charged in advance of a child’s start date. In return you will receive a book bag and polo top, additional uniform is available to order through preschool.

Additional service charge

At Twiggs Lane preschool, your child’s Government-funded hours (15 and 30 hours) cover the cost of childcare in the early year’s foundation stage.

An additional service charge will be applied to directly support the cost of providing a wider range of engaging, high quality activities and experiences for your child.

This is optional, and parents/carers may opt out but we ask you to speak to us directly to arrange alternatives.

The Additional Services Charge is broken down as follows

Snack 50p per half session
Sundries such as Nappies, wipes and suncream
Waterproofs for wet weather play
Celebrations and festivals, including Christmas, Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Christmas party, and end-of-term party
Outside visitors and special services
Enhancing continuous provision to enrich children’s learning and experiences (e.g. real foods, herbs in kitchens, hatching chicks, ducks, seasonal activities, science experiments, investigative activities, higher staff ratios, food related activities, enhanced sensory experiences, food tasting (festivals)
Professional communication app also known as Famly for instant communication ease and feedback

Total optional charge:

£2.50 per half day
£5.00 per full day

Parents who wish to opt out of this charge can contact the Preschool to discuss alternative arrangements.

Funding & Additional Service Charge

Funding

All children qualify for free education from the term following their 3rd birthday for up to 15 hours funding per week during term time only, for a maximum of 38 weeks per year. The maximum number of hours each child is allowed to claim is 570 hours per year.

Your child will be eligible for 3 Year funding as follows

Child’s 3^rd Birthday falls between:

1^st April – 31^st August – Eligible from 1^st September (Autumn term)

1^st September – 31^st December – Eligible from 1^st January (Spring term)

1^st January – 31^st March – Eligible from 1^st April (summer term)

Working Families 30 hours funding 9months until your child starts school

Some Children may be Eligible for 30 hours funding.

Parents should check their individual qualification criteria by visiting the web site: https://beststartinlife.gov.uk/

Please be aware that this is also limited to 1140 hours per year.

Each child’s eligibility can be shared between Twiggs Lane Preschool and one other nursery/pre-school/childminder during the same day, however, you can have up to four providers in total. Their details must be detailed on the funding form.

Once we have received the funding form, we will collate all the hours and liaise with any other providers before sending our claim to the local education authority.

2 Year Funding 15 hours (Non Working families)

Twiggs Lane Pre-school is registered to accept funded two-year-old children. If you meet the requirements to receive two-year-old funding for your child and have been successful in your application, you will be given a unique reference number to enable us to submit a funding form for your child. Further information is available should you require it at: https://beststartinlife.gov.uk/

Tax free childcare

Tax-Free Childcare can help with the cost of paying for childcare.

You’ll need to set up a childcare account, which both you and the government will pay into. You can then use this money to pay your childcare provider.

For every £8 you pay into the account, the government will top it up by £2.

Please find more information about setting up an account by visiting https://www.gov.uk/tax-free-childcare