Funding Information Guide

At Sunbeams, we create a nurturing environment where children flourish and develop into confident, curious learners.

We understand childcare costs matter to families. We’re here to help you access available support, including Tax-Free Childcare and government-funded early years places.

You can find our options for using funding HERE.

When is funding available?

How old is your child?

Eligible working families will be able to claim 30 hours of funding. Working families must meet the following criteria: you, and any partner, must each expect to earn on average more than £195 per week, this is equal to 16 hours at the National Minimum or Living Wage, and one income must not exceed £100,000 per year.

If a parent is on maternity, paternity or adoption leave, the date they plan to return to work may affect when the family can access the funding support. If they plan to return to work from parental leave or start a new job within 31 days of the start of term, they can apply for a childcare code at the same time as everyone else.

Families will need to apply online as normal but will then receive a letter in the post within 1 to 2 weeks, enabling them to access their entitlement.

If your return to work date is more than 31 days after the start of term you’ll be able to access your entitlement from the start of the following term.

For Parents of 2 Year Olds Receiving Some Additional Forms of Government Support:
 
Some families may qualify for 15 hours of funding if they are already in receipt of income support or similar benefits. This is separate to the 15 hours available for eligible working families, and cannot be used in conjunction to the working family entitlement.
 
You can check if you qualify for these 15 hours on the government website or by speaking to your Health Visitor.
 
You may be issued with a funding code in a format similar to the following examples – TYF803-2309-9JM1H3F9 or ZL-LJC5-NON8.

If eligible for both streams of funding, we’d encourage you to access this support over the working parent entitlement funding.

These hours cannot be used in addition to the hours below.

Working Parent Entitlement:

Eligible working families are now able to claim 30 hours of funding. For all eligible working families.

Working families must meet the following criteria: you, and any partner, must each expect to earn on average more than £195 per week, this is equal to 16 hours at the National Minimum or Living Wage, and one income must not exceed £100,000 per year.

All children aged 3 & 4 are eligible for 15 hours of funding per week, over 38 weeks of the year. You do not need to apply for these initial 15 hours; they are known as the universal entitlement and are available to everyone regardless of their circumstances.

In addition to the universal 15 hours, some families may be eligible for the working parent entitlement. This consists of an additional 15 hours per week, over 38 weeks of the year. You will need to meet the eligibility criteria and apply for these hours, see our page below on how to apply.

Both the universal and working parent entitlement are available to children from the term after their 3rd birthday until they leave us for school at age 4.

Working families must meet the following criteria: you, and any partner, must each expect to earn on average more than £195 per week, this is equal to 16 hours at the National Minimum or Living Wage, and one income must not exceed £100,000 per year.

When shall I apply for funding?

You must apply for your code during the term before you will be using the funding. Please provide us with the code as soon as possible. HMRC have had technical issues in the past meaning that parents have almost lost out on their funding for the first term.

For 30 hours funding you are also required to renew your code (check eligibility hasn’t changed) every 3 months. If you do not do this within the 3-month period, the funding will be lost. It is your responsibility to renew your code.

If this is done on time your code should remain the same.

 If your child turns 2 or 3 between:
 You must have applied for, received and given your code to us before:
 You are then eligible for a funded place from:
 1 April – 31 August
31 August
 1 September
 1 September – 31 December
31 December
 1 January
 1 January – 31 March
 31 March
 1 April

Enhanced Provision Charge

An Enhanced Provision Charge is applied to all funded hours delivered for parents who select Option 1 to include food, consumables, experiences above the EYFS & outings. More information on this can be found here.

This option guarantees your child’s nursery place year-round with preferred days (subject to availability).

Funded hours will be allocated across days to maximise your benefit, and you may choose to pay for additional hours/days beyond the funded allocation.

Additionally, at Sunbeams we pride ourselves on delivering a level of quality over and above that which is required by the EYFS, working to make our nursery a wonderful setting for your children.

This fee is subject to annual review.