Fees & Session Times

The pre-school is open 38 weeks each year and is closed during school holidays. We provide care and education for children aged 2 to 4.

Opening Hours
Drop Off Morning Lunch Afternoon
Monday 8.30 8.30 – 11.30 11.30 – 12.30 12.30 – 15.30
Tuesday 8.30 8.30 – 11.30 11.30 – 12.30 Closed
Wednesday 8.30 8.30 – 11.30 11.30 – 12.30 12.30 – 15.30
Thursday 8.30 8.30 – 11.30 11.30 – 12.30 12.30 – 15.30
Friday 8.30 8.30 – 11.30 11.30 – 12.30 12.30 – 15.30

Fees

We offer 3 hour morning or 3 hour afternoon sessions as well as full daycare. From September 2023 our fees are £16.50 per session (3 hours) or £38.50 for a full day (a total of 7 hours). We offer flexible childcare with extra wraparound hours at an hourly rate of £5.50 an hour, which must be booked in advance.

Fees must still be paid if children are absent in order to keep their place at the pre-school. If your child has to be absent over a long period of time please talk to a senior member of staff.  There is an annual administration fee of £25 when starting at the preschool and a consumables cost of £1 a week per child (this is for fruit, snack, baby wipes, sun cream and activities supplies when your child is at the preschool). If you have any issues with payment, please let us know and we will do our best to help.

Child playing with building blocksKent County Council offers Free Early Education universal funding for three and four-year-olds which is 15 hours a week. There is extended Free Early Education funding for three and four-year-old for up to 30 hours. https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk to see the criteria.

A parent/carer declaration form will need to be completed every term and your hours must be booked. The required form is available from the pre-school manager. We do need to see your child’s birth certificate.

The preschool offers two delivery patterns for the Universal Free Early Education (15 hours) which does not include the lunch hour which is not compulsory and not part of the funding, however, if lunch is required for your child you do need to be book this on a daily basis on the self-registration form when entering the pre-school. This is offered as a wraparound and is only charged if your child attends. Any other hours wraparound booked need to be paid even if your child does not attend.

The second delivery pattern for the free extended funding (30 hours) includes the lunch hour payment, parents must provide a healthy packed lunch for their child.

All children eligible for funding will be informed by the pre-school before the start of a new term. Please see the Manager for clarification as there is also free for 2-year funding depending upon your entitlement, please ask if you think you may qualify.

Snacks and Meals

The pre-school makes snacks a social time at which children and adults eat together. We plan the menu for snack time so that they provide the children with healthy and nutritious food. Do tell us about your child’s dietary needs and we will make sure that these are met.

We offer a supervised lunch hour for children. This is intended to get the children used to socialising with their peers and preparing them for school. This lunch hour costs £5.50; but parents must provide a healthy packed lunch for their child/children

Due to health and safety please do not pack grapes, peanut butter/chocolate spread also no yogurts in tubes (frubes).

Please advise us if your child has a food allergy/intolerances so that we can make sure that your child’s dietary requirements are individually met.