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Fees & Funding
Information and support on how to fund your child’s nursery journey.
What funding is currently available?
Scotland
15 & 30 hours funded childcare
Children aged 3 and 4 years old can receive funded hours up to 1140hrs a year (30hrs a week term time), as well as some 2-year-olds being eligible for funding (visit your local council website to find out what you are entitled to).
England
15 & 30 hours funded childcare
Children aged 9-months-old from ‘eligible working families’ will receive 570hrs a year (15hrs a week term-time) of funded hours, from September 2025.
Children who are 2 to 3-year-old from eligible working families will currently receive 570hrs a year (15hrs a week term-time) of funded childcare.
Children aged 3 and 4 years-old will receive 570hrs a year (15hrs a week term-time) unconditionally. However, an additional 570hrs (15 hours a week term-time) will be provided on top of the existing 15hours, subject to meeting working family criteria.
Please visit www.childcarechoices.gov.uk to find the options available to you and to apply for your code to receive the additional funded hours.
All nursery spaces are subject to availability and fill very quickly, so we recommend you place your enquiry for a personal tour as early as possible, to ensure you get the sessions and start date you require.
Please contact us today so we can best support and advise on any questions you may have.
Nursery Fees
Nursery fees are nursery specific and will be made available to you on request.
How to Pay
You can pay your nursery fees via Tax Free Childcare, Childcare Vouchers, Thrives ‘Parent Zone’ App or by setting up a Direct Debit. Unfortunately, we do not accept cash or cheque.
What Extras are Included at my chosen Nursery?
Thrive nurseries currently provide Nappies, Wipes, Formula milk, Meals and Snacks within our fees. Some ‘Extra Curricular’ activities are also included in your fees, however these ‘Extra Curricular’ activities vary by nursery depending on location, accessibility to classes and variation of what’s on offer in their local area. Please get in touch with us today so that you can get a feel for what’s included across our nurseries in and around your location.
What do our fees include?
Nappies, formula milk and Wipes
Our nurseries provide Nappies, Formula milk and Wipes. Speak to your nursery manager if you need more information.
Healthy, well balanced Meals and Nutritious snacks
Children are provided meals and snacks that are designed to give them the best start in life and help them thrive throughout the day at nursery. Find out more about what is provided here
Free Settling in Sessions
Having your child start nursery is a big step for the whole family. Our settling in sessions are designed to put both you and your child at ease and to make sure starting nursery is as smooth as it can be. Find out more about how these work here
Our child-centred quality Early Years Care and Education
Our curriculum includes and adheres to the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, while offering a hands-on approaches to encourage the skills your child will need in the nursery and beyond. Find out more here
Access to a wide range of quality resources and equipment
Our nurseries provide an extensive range of resources to encourage children to learn through play. We favour naturalistic learning resources and make fantastic use of our outdoor equipment, promoting free-flow and Child-led learning.
Access to E-Learning Journals
Our E-Learning Journals via the ParentZone app allow you to see your child’s activities at nursery with the click of a button. Your little one’s Keyworker will upload images and notes about your child’s development, any useful updates from their day and participation in activities at nursery for you to access wherever you are.
Newsletters and Parent Evenings
We understand this time in your child’s life is crucial to development and our relationships with parents are key. Our regular newsletters and parent evenings keeps you in the know, specifically about your little one and what’s happening within your nursery.
Sports and Physical Development
As part of our curriculum we are committed to ensuring children are physically active for a minimum of 3 hours per day. Our Physical Development Champions at each nursery design children’s general physical activities based around movement, raising the heartbeat and exercising the cardiovascular system – as well as promoting confidence, teamwork and social skills development.
Fundraising Activities
Taking part in fundraising activities helps children to learn about others that live differently, or are in disadvantaged situations and understand how we can help them. Fundraising events are good fun and a great way to bring children, families and communities together.
Outdoor Time & Forest School sessions
Forest School is an inspirational process that offers our children opportunities to develop their self-confidence through hands on learning experiences in our woodland gardens and outdoor classrooms.
Graduation Ceremonies
We celebrate the big move to primary school with a special graduation ceremony each year – caps, gowns, the works!
Music, Dance and Creative Arts
Generally within our nurseries all of our children out with classes will be introduced to music, dance and creative arts as it is already a huge part of our curriculum. Some of our nurseries also offer specific classes such as Baby Ballet and Street Dance, Rhythm Time, Music Mischief Classes, Petite Acting Academy Classes and Boogie Bugs.
Language and Story time
Within our curriculum and nurseries all of our children will be provided with a space to develop their speech and language every day during their time at nursery, as well as learning through play and Story times in our cosy corners.
Cooking and Baking activities
Wherever we can we encourage children to partake in preparing their meals at nursery. We love to see our preschool children take pride in their culinary creations and enjoy healthy and delicious food.
Wellbeing activities
Wellbeing, physically, mentally and emotionally has a huge importance within our curriculum and daily life at our nurseries. Alongside our approach, some of the nurseries have a mini farm, nursery pet, occasional ZooLab visits or theraponies visits to not only stimulate learning but so beneficial to mental health.
Tax Free Childcare
Tax free childcare is a government scheme to help working parents with the cost of their childcare. Aimed at families with children aged 0-11 or up to 17 if their child has a disability, the scheme can save families up to £2,000 per child per year or £4,000 for a child with a disability.
Funded childcare information from Childcare Choices
The Current offer
Eligible working parents and carers of children aged 3 – 4 can get an additional 15 hours of childcare support, bringing the total support they can get up to 30 hours a week. Eligible working parents of 2-year-olds can also access 15 hours of childcare support.
Some parents of 9 month up to 3 year old children may also be entitled to 15 hours childcare support, if they receive some additional forms of government support.
Your hours can be used per week for 38 weeks of the year (during school term time). You may be able use your hours for up to 51 weeks if you use fewer than your total hours per week. Check with your childcare provider to find out if this is something they offer.
You can use Tax-Free Childcare or Universal Credit Childcare whilst claiming your 15 or 30 hours of childcare support.
The Expanded offer
From September 2024, 15 hours of funded support was extended for eligible working parents of 2-year-olds. By September 2025, most working families with children aged between 9 months and 5 years old will be entitled to 30 hours of childcare support.
The changes are being introduced gradually to make sure that providers can meet the needs of more families. This means that:
From September 2024
15 hours childcare support will be extended to eligible working parents of children from the age of 9 months to 3-year-olds.
From September 2025
Eligible working parents of children from 9 months to school age will be entitled to 30 hours of childcare a week.
Like the existing offer, depending on your provider, these hours can be used over 38 weeks of the year (during school term time), or up to 52 weeks if you use fewer than your total hours per week.
These schemes are only available to families living in England, although similar schemes are available in Scotland & Wales.
Eligibility
Eligible working parents in England will be able to access 30 hours of subsidised childcare per week, for 38 weeks of the year, from when the child is 9-months-old to when they start school. Please note that Thrive offer the 38 funded weeks over 51 weeks of the year (referred to as ‘Stretched’ hours) to ensure that you and your child have access to your hours over those vital holiday periods, often requiring cover.
This will be rolled out in stages:
- From April 2024, all eligible working parents of 2-year-olds can access 15 hours funded childcare per week
- From September 2024, all eligible working parents of children aged 9 months up to 3 years old can access 15 hours funded childcare per week
- September 2025 all eligible working parents of children aged 9 months up to 3 years old can access 30 hours funded childcare per week
What location are you in?
Scotland
Applying for 30 Hour Funded Childcare
In order to access funded childcare, you will need to confirm your eligibility and there are set cut-off dates for applying for funded childcare throughout the year dependant on the local authority that you reside in.
Acceptance of funded places within our nursery is dependent on our availability.
How Funding Applies to Your Nursery Fees
Following consultation with families, we ‘stretch’ the funded entitlement across the whole year, This equates to up to 22 hours of funded childcare per week which can be assigned to varied session patterns.
Scottish children are entitled to 1140hrs funding pro rata*, there are some caveats to cross boundary funding. Not all councils will accept children into a nursery if they reside in another council area or they may only get 600hrs.
Check what help you’re entitled to in Scotland here as different councils operate different start dates for eligible children.
England
Applying for 30 Hour Funded Childcare
In order to access 30 hours funded childcare, you will need to confirm your eligibility and collect a unique code through HMRC. Eligibility for funded childcare is income-based, and there are set cut-off dates for applying for funded childcare throughout the year.
You will then need to provide our nursery team with your unique code number, which will need be validated via the relevant Local Authority system in order for us to register your child’s place. Acceptance of funded places within our nursery is dependent on our availability.
Essential Extras
Bookings made under the funded contract are subject to supplementary charges, as per Department of Education Guidelines. These charges are designed to cover costs associated with hot lunches, healthy snacks and extra curricular activities over and above the basic funded provision, which the government funded rate received by providers, does not cover.
How Funding Applies to Your Nursery Fees
Following consultation with our current families, we have agreed to ‘stretch’ the 15 and 30 hour funding entitlement from term-time only to all year-round, which equates to 22 hours of funded childcare per week, depending on which term you join the scheme.
Apply for funding here
Tax Credits
If you receive tax credits, the amount you are eligible for may be affected by using childcare vouchers. You can check whether you would be better off taking childcare vouchers through this free online calculator.
Many families do not take advantage of the financial help that is available to them for the cost of childcare. Families on middle as well as low incomes may be entitled to financial support such as Child Tax Credit or Working Tax Credit. This extra help – called ‘the childcare element of working tax credits’ – is available to individuals on lower incomes to help with the cost of childcare. The amount received is dependent on your circumstances and income, but could cover up to 70% of your childcare costs.
To be eligible, lone parents must work 16 hours or more per week, for couples, both partners must work 16 hours or more or one partner must work 16 hours or more per week if the other is unable to work for specific reasons. To see if you are eligible for assistance, please visit: www.hmrc.gov.uk/taxcredits/start/who-qualifies/children/childcare-costs.htm
Paying your fees
Nursery fees are due in advance and we politely request payment is received on or before the 1st of each month. Some payment methods can take up to 3 days to reach us to please take this into consideration when arranging payments.
We offer payments via direct debit, via BACS transfer and other payment schemes once agreed with manager. We do accept all major credit and debit cards.
If you are having any difficulty with payment, please do let your Nursery Manager know and we can try and rectify the issue as quickly as possible.
Querying a bill?
If you are querying a bill you have received do notify the Nursery Manager directly of this and they will kindly look into it with assistance of our finance team.
*Some of our nurseries have a term time only offering, places are limited and not available at all nurseries.
