Early Years Funding & Charging Policy

1. Introduction

This policy explains how families access government-funded early education and childcare at Hatching Dragons, in line with the Department for Education's Early Years and Childcare Statutory Guidance (valid from 1 April 2026) and the terms of our funding agreement with the Local Authority.

It sets out:

which entitlements we deliver and how they are accessed
that all funded hours are free at the point of delivery
which additional hours and services are available to purchase, and on what terms
how families can access their entitlement without purchasing anything additional

We are committed to fair, transparent and accessible provision for all families.

2. Funded Entitlements We Offer

We are an Ofsted-registered provider delivering the following entitlements:

Entitlement	Who it is for	Hours
Early Learning for 2-year-olds	Eligible 2-year-olds (income and other criteria)	15 hours/week, 570 hours/year
Working Parent Entitlement (9 months to 2 years)	Children of eligible working parents from 9 months	30 hours/week, 1,140 hours/year
Working Parent Entitlement (2-year-olds)	Children of eligible working parents	30 hours/week, 1,140 hours/year
Universal Entitlement (3- and 4-year-olds)	All 3- and 4-year-olds in England	15 hours/week, 570 hours/year
Working Parent Entitlement (3- and 4-year-olds)	Children of eligible working parents	30 hours/week, 1,140 hours/year

Entitlements begin the term following the child becoming eligible. Families can check eligibility and apply at https://www.beststartinlife.gov.uk/.

We also accept Tax-Free Childcare, through which HMRC contributes towards the cost of any additional hours or services purchased.

3. Funded Hours Are Free at the Point of Delivery

All funded entitlement hours are delivered free of charge. There is no compulsory charge of any kind attached to a funded place.

Specifically, we do not:

charge a top-up, or present funding as a discount, deduction, subsidy or reduction against our fees
charge for materials, resources, equipment or activities necessary for the effective delivery of the Early Years Foundation Stage
charge for business running costs such as rent, staff wages, utilities, insurance or waste disposal
charge a registration fee as a condition of taking up a funded place
charge a non-refundable deposit or retainer as a condition of taking up a funded place
charge additional support costs for children with special educational needs or disabilities
require the purchase of additional hours, meals, or activities as a condition of accessing a funded place
apply non-itemised charges such as enrichment fees, sustainability fees, business continuity fees or enhanced ratio charges

Funded hours appear on all invoices at £0.00, itemised separately from any other charges.

Families may take up their funded hours in continuous blocks. We do not create artificial breaks in entitlement hours, for example over the lunch period.

4. Delivery Model: Term-Time or All Year Round

We operate as a day nursery across [51] weeks per year, rather than a 38-week term-time calendar. Families choose one of two arrangements:

All Year Round (pro-rated)

Annual funded hours are spread evenly across our operating year:

15-hour entitlement: 570 hours ÷ 51 weeks = 11.17 hours per week
30-hour entitlement: 1,140 hours ÷ 51 weeks = 22.35 hours per week

This provides funded provision throughout the year, including school holidays.

Deposits and registration fees

Registration fees are not charged to families accessing only their funded entitlement.
No deposit is required to take up a funded place. A family may access their full funded entitlement without paying any deposit.
Where a family chooses to purchase optional extras or additional hours, a deposit equivalent to the monthly fees (the amount of the optional extras/additional hours) may apply to that private arrangement. This deposit is fully refundable in all circumstances — returned when the child leaves (30 days after the child's leave date), or credited against a future invoice at the family's preference.
No deposit or retainer we hold is non-refundable, and none is a condition of accessing funded hours.

To discuss or change your arrangement, contact finance@hatching-dragons.com or the nursery management team.

We accommodate preferred patterns of hours as far as availability and staffing allow, and agree the pattern with each family in writing before the place starts.

5. Admissions and Access to Funded Places

Funded places are allocated on the basis of availability, in line with our Admissions Policy.

Meals and our excursions and outings programme are extras to our core curriculum. They are charged for separately, and paying for them is never a condition of accessing a funded place. Every family can decline them at any time (see section 8).

Support with the cost of extras

Where a family would like the extras but needs help funding them, they can discuss this with their nursery manager. The manager will review the family's circumstances and eligibility against our criteria, and consider on a case-by-case basis what relief can be offered alongside their government funding.

This support is discretionary and considered individually. It is not a fixed allocation, and it is not a condition of, or a limit on, access to funded hours.

Funded places are available across all our settings and all age groups we are registered for.
We do not limit the days or sessions on which funded hours may be taken, other than by genuine availability, which is the same constraint applied to all families.
We do not decline a funded place because a family chooses not to purchase optional extras, and we do not offer a place on condition that extras are purchased. Paying for optional extras is never a condition of accessing a funded place.
Registration fees and deposits are covered in section 4.
All children accessing funded places have equal access to our curriculum, activities and settings on the same basis as any other child.

Where we cannot offer a place because we are genuinely full, we will tell families promptly and, where helpful, signpost the Family Information Service:

Westminster FIS: https://www.westminster.gov.uk/families
Kensington & Chelsea FIS: https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/families

6. Parental Declarations

Before a child first takes up a funded place, we complete a parental declaration with the family. This records:

the entitlement being accessed
the number of funded hours
the weekly pattern of hours
any optional extras the family has chosen to purchase

Declarations are signed and dated by both the parent or carer and by Hatching Dragons, and are reconfirmed each term.

We issue declarations to families each term and support them in completing them on time. Where paperwork is delayed, we will work with the family and the Local Authority to resolve it. A child's entitlement is not withdrawn because of a paperwork delay. Where funding cannot be claimed for a period for reasons outside our control, we will discuss the position with the family before any charge is raised.

Termly cycle

Term	Period	Declaration deadline
Spring	January – March	December
Summer	April – August	March
Autumn	September – December	August

Families holding a working-parent code must reconfirm eligibility with HMRC every three months. Where a code lapses, statutory grace period rules apply and the child continues to receive funded provision to the end of the grace period.

7. Optional Extras

The following are available to purchase and are entirely optional. They are available to all families on the same terms, whether funded or fee-paying, and are never a condition of a funded place.

Optional extra	What it covers	Rate
Meals & snacks	Breakfast, lunch, tea and healthy snacks	£0.90 per hour attended
Enrichment & excursion extras	Off-site excursions to London museums, galleries, parks and cultural sites; modern languages (Mandarin and French); specialist enrichment sessions; international festivals and cultural programme	£0.70 per hour attended
Additional hours beyond the funded entitlement	Privately paid hours	fee dependent

Each item is priced on its own merits. Optional extras are not calculated as the difference between our full fees and the funding received.

Optional extras are itemised individually on every invoice, so families can see exactly what they are paying for.

8. Declining Optional Extras

Families may decline any or all optional extras at any time and keep their funded place in full.

Where a family declines:

Meals — families provide a packed lunch and snacks from home.
Excursions — the child remains at nursery with their key person and their group, following the full Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum.
Modern languages and enrichment sessions — the child takes part in the full Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum in their own room, alongside their peers, with no reduction in hours or quality of care.
Additional hours — the funded hours are delivered as agreed, with no obligation to purchase more.

No child receives fewer hours, less care or a reduced curriculum because their family has not taken up an optional extra.

To opt out, or to change what you have opted into, contact Cel Julieza, finance@hatching-dragons.com. Changes take effect from the next billing cycle.

9. Invoicing

Invoices are issued monthly and itemise separately:

funded entitlement hours, shown at £0.00, with the entitlement named and the hours and weeks stated
additional privately paid hours, showing the number of hours and the hourly rate
meals and snacks
enrichment and excursion extras

Each invoice also states the child's name and whether the funded hours are delivered on a term-time or all-year-round basis.

Funding is never shown as a discount, deduction, subsidy, credit or fee reduction.

Where an error is identified on an issued invoice, we correct it by credit note and refund any amount overcharged.

10. Absence and Notice

Funded hours are not charged for, so no charge arises from absence during funded hours.

For optional extras and additional purchased hours, 30 days notice is required for changes or withdrawal. Charges for meals and consumables are not raised for days a child does not attend, where notice has been given in line with our policy. Refunds in other circumstances are considered case by case.

We follow up all unexplained absences in line with our Absence Policy.

11. Additional Funding

Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) — additional funding for eligible children, used to support the quality of their early education. We claim this on behalf of eligible families with their consent.
Disability Access Fund (DAF) — supports eligible disabled children's access to their entitlement. We claim this where a child is in receipt of Disability Living Allowance, with parental consent and a copy of the award letter on file.

Neither fund is charged to families, and neither affects the hours a child receives.

12. Financial Support and Other Schemes

Families may be able to reduce the cost of any additional hours or services through:

Tax-Free Childcare — HMRC contributes towards childcare costs
Workplace Nursery Scheme, where a family's employer participates
Public sector and other discounts, where applicable

These apply only to additional hours and optional services purchased. They are not applied to, and do not affect, funded entitlement hours.

We aim to support families facing financial difficulty — please speak to us in confidence.

13. Transparency and Publication

We publish on our website:

this policy
our admissions criteria
current rates for all optional extras, additional hours, meals and consumables
what families receive if they decline optional extras

Where information is not available on our website, it is published via the Family Information Service.

14. Complaints

If a family is unhappy with any charge or with how their funded entitlement has been delivered, they should raise it with the nursery manager in the first instance.

15. Contact

Name: Joceale Julieza

Role: Head of CS and Sales | Finance Support

Email: finance@hatching-dragons.com

This policy is reviewed annually and updated in line with changes to DfE guidance on early education and childcare entitlements.