Fee Structure

Little Birds is a 60 place Nursery offering child care for 38 weeks of the year operating as part of Leigh Academy Dartford, part of the Leigh Academies Trust.

Please Note: Entitlement to a Free Early Education place does not offer a guarantee of a place at any one provider or particular pattern of delivery.
 

Funding options – One intake per year in September

A child born on or between 1st April and 31st August will be eligible for a free place from September, following their third birthday.  

  • 15 hours funding – All 3 to 4-year-old children in England can get 570 hours of free early education or childcare per year. This is usually taken as 15 hours a week for 38 weeks of the year.
  • 30 Hours Funding – Each parent (or sole parent in a single family) will need to earn over £120 per week (or £112.80 if you are aged 21-24) and no more than £100k per annum from paid employment, which entitles a child to up to 30 hours’ free childcare per week.  This is usually taken as 30 hours a week for 38 weeks of the year.  This is applied for via the Government website and will need to be updated termly.

Funding and session times will be agreed with the Nursery Manager prior to your child starting Nursery.

All children have to attend 5 days a week, whether this be 5 morning sessions, 5 afternoon sessions or 5 full days.  This pattern of attendance helps the children feel more settled within the setting, supports building stronger relationships with staff and the other children and provides a greater opportunity for them to make good progress.

As we are part of Leigh Academy Dartford we are able to utilise the resources and environment around us to provide a stimulating and exciting learning experience whilst encouraging the children to develop a sense of independence.

Our pattern of funded hours from September 2022 are as follows:

  • 08:30 – 14:30  – Monday to Friday (5 days per week) 30 hours.
  • 08:30 – 11:30 – Monday to Friday (5 days per week) 15 hours.
  • 11:30 – 14:30 – Monday to Friday (5 days per week) 15 hours.
  • 15 hours Government funded placement will consist of 5 morning OR 5 afternoon sessions.
  • 38 weeks per year – term time only.

We do not split funding with other providers. Our nursery is fully funded by your government funding: this means we will need all 38 weeks of your child’s funding. If you plan to put your child in a nursery provision during late July and August, you may not have the full 38 weeks of funding available. If we are informed of this by Kent, we will have to charge you for the missing hours of funding.

Sessions Fees

  • Main AM Session: 8:30am-11:30am – £18.00
  • Main PM Session: 11:30am-2:30pm – £18.00
    • Late Collections: Children must be collected promptly at the end of their session/day. Should a parent fail to collect their child on time, a late collection fee of £5 every 5 minutes will be charged.

If you decide to take your child out of our nursery, we will need one term’s notice.