Costs & Funding
Our charging structure
Many and possibly all of your hours will be paid for by Government Funding. At St. Mary's pre-school, some of our provision is over and above that required by the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework and so we make a charge for these, including
outings, trips to our forest school area, and extras such as sun cream (which it is easier for us to provide than have 30 different bottles!)
We will ask you to pay an amount for these each term depending on the number of sessions your child takes up. From September 2026, this charge will be £12 for the term for each weekly session. i.e:
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if your child does 2 sessions a week, you will pay £24 for the term or
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if your child does 5 sessions a week, you will pay £60 for the term or
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if your child does 10 sessions a week, you will pay £120 for the term
(A session is a morning or an afternoon attendance. Lunch clubs do not count as a session for the purposes of calculating these fees.)
It is possible to opt out of this fee - Please speak to us about this.
NB. We no longer exclude lunch club from the funded entitlement. If you are entitled to any funding, this hour will now be included along with your morning and afternoon sessions up to the limit of your entitlement.
Any hours over and above your Funded Entitlement will be charged at the following rates:
Children aged 2: £9.50
Children aged 3 or above: £8.60
All children aged 3 & 4 are eligible for 15 hours funded entitlement.
Your child may also be eligible for Local Authority 2yr funding or working families funding from the age of 9 months. Please see https://beststartinlife.gov.uk/childcare-early-years-education/15-and-30-hours-support/ to find out what funding applies in your case.
An additional *registration fee of £25 will be charged, to put your child's name on our waiting list, and a £90 *enrolment fee - which includes a backpack & polo shirt (optional) - when your child comes to start.
* Please note, these fees are refundable (less any costs of uniform and rucksack), shortly after 'headcount day', if only Funded Entitlement sessions are taken up.