Funding Support at Ripe Nursery School

Everything you need to know about funding

Early Years Funding is government funding provided to support early education and childcare for young children, from 9 months to 5 years, dependent on eligibilty. This funding is distributed to local authorities and then allocated to early years providers such as ourselves. Here at Ripe Nursery School we offer funding for:

Universal 15 Hours (for all 3- and 4-year-olds) - Every child aged 3 and 4 is entitled to 15 hours per week of funded early education or childcare, this commences the term after they turn 3 years .
Extended 30 Hours (for eligible 9 months to 5 years) - Working parents may qualify for 30 hours. Eligibility is based on income and work status, you can check this using our checker below or the government Best Start in Life website. This commences the term following the child turning 9 months.
15 Hours for Disadvantaged 2-Year-Olds - Some 2-year-olds are eligible for 15 hours funding a week if families meet certain criteria (e.g., low-income families, EHCP, looked-after children).

About early years funding at Ripe Nursery School

What options are there
for my child depending on their age

Childcare costs and funding charges

What's The Cost?

Peek at your week to
find out what your
total costings could be for funding

What funded childcare looks like at Ripe Nursery School

What Does Funding Look Like?

Learn about how funding is delivered at Ripe Nursery School

How to apply for funded childcare

What steps do you need
to take to apply
for funding

Frequently asked questions about childcare funding

A list of frequently asked questions
that we get for further information

How Old Is Your Child

From September 2025, eligible working families will be able to claim 30 hours of funding.

Working families must meet criteria: each adult must expect to earn over £195 per week but not more than annual income of over £100,000/year.

Parents on leave can still qualify if they return to work within 31 days of term start. Parents on leave will still be eligible for funding for previous children already claiming funding, this will not cease to stop whilst on leave. You can apply up to 16 weeks before your child turns 9 months for funding to receive the code but you cannot commence this until the term after they turn 9 months.

For Parents of 2 Year Olds Receiving Some Additional Government Support: Some families may qualify for 15 hours of funding based on income support benefits.

All 3 & 4-year-olds get 15 hours of universal entitlement following the term after their 3rd Birthday. Working parents may qualify for the additional 15 working entitlement hours.

You will need to meet the eligibility criteria and apply for these hours, see our page below on how to apply. Both the Universal and Working Parent Entitlement are available to children from the term after their 3rd birthday until they leave us for school at age 4. This can continue until the term after their 5th Birthday for summer born children deferring a year.

Working families must meet the following criteria: you, and any partner, must each expect to earn on average more than £195 per week (equal to 16 hours at the National Minimum or Living Wage), and one income must not exceed £100,000 per year.

2-year-olds: Some families may qualify for 15 funded hours based on income-related benefits or other criteria. Check eligibility and how to apply below.

3-4 year-olds: All children get 15 universal hours; working families may get an additional 15 hours (30 total) if eligible. See how to apply below.

When is it available?

Your child will qualify for funding starting the term after their birthday. For babies under 1, this is the term after they turn 9 months. Terms usually start in September, January, and April.

Select birth month:

Your child's birth month	–
They turn nine months in	–
They are eligible from	–

How many hours of childcare can you get per week?

Working Families

Sep 2025
30
(term-time only) hours

Families Receiving Some Additional Forms Of Government Support

Sep 2025
15
(term-time only) hours

Working Families

Sep 2025
30
(term-time only) hours

All Parents

Sep 2025
15
(term-time only) hours

Working Families

Sep 2025
30
(term-time only) hours

What does the funding look like at Ripe Nursery School?

At Ripe Nursery School, we stretch the funding to offer it throughout the year. Your child’s annual funding entitlement of either 570 hours or 1140 hours will be applied to your booking. A child eligible for 30 hours will receive 22.5 hours per week all year round, except for closures at Christmas and Bank Holidays. We also offer funding term time only meaning you use either 15 or 30 hours per week . At Ripe Nursery School, we offer funding between 9am and 3pm. We believe our offer is truly excellent, offering a range of sessions whereby you can increase ‘education’ sessions to include Breakfast Club 8–9 and Afterschool Club 3pm–4pm. Please note: these are charged at an additional rate. As an Early Years setting we recognise the significant cost of childcare and strive to ensure we are as family accessible and competitive as we can be within the local area. The Early Years funding covers only the basic delivery of the Early Years provision.

The Early Years funding covers only the basic delivery of the Early Years Framework and is not designed to cover all of the consumables and other extras that help Ripe Nursery School deliver an exceptional experience for your children. Any further consumables are to be added then this will be communicated with parents/carers at the time of requirement. Any absences such as sickness or holidays from preschool are charged as normal fees. Please refer to our absence policy.

Your Invoice

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Fully funded day
Fully funded day 9.00am – 3pm includes 6 hours of funding applied between 9am–3pm. Additional costings for Breakfast and Afterschool Club. Please see the attached invoice example for costing estimates for each age range.

Private session charge

Privately paid for session charges. Any hours attended per week in addition to your funded entitlement. This also includes Breakfast Club (8.00am-9.00am) and Afterschool Club (3pm - 4pm).

Total invoice amount

Total invoice amount for the month. This is seperated into Booking Patterns section (funding) and Extras (Lunches and Additional Private sessions).

Payment Date & Bank details

Invoice is due by the end of the month. Ripe Nursery School bank details. Our account details can be found on your monthly invoice. Reference to be your child's name. Payments can be made via Tax Free Childcare payments system.

How to Apply

Check Eligibility

Visit the government's eligibility checker to see if you qualify for any childcare support.

2

Apply for Childcare

If eligible, apply at the government’s application portal.

3

Await Eligibility Code

After applying, you'll receive an eligibility code. This may take up to 7 days to arrive.

4

Submit Code to Ripe Nursery School

Once you have your code, submit it to Ripe Nursery School using our validation form.

5

Regular Reconfirmation

Remember to reconfirm your eligibility every 3 months to maintain your childcare funding.

Other Schemes

For every £8 you pay in, the government will automatically add £2, up to the value of £2,000 per child per year. The eligibility criteria is the same as the working families criteria for funding above. You will use the same account that you created to access this funding to apply for tax free childcare.

Universal Credits Childcare

Universal Credit can pay some of your childcare costs while you work.

If you pay for childcare while you go to work, Universal Credit can pay some of your childcare costs.

Tax Credits

Extra Working Tax Credit to help cover childcare costs for existing claimants.

If you already claim tax credits, you can add an extra amount of Working Tax Credit to help cover the cost of childcare.

Childcare Vouchers

Discontinued, but existing users can still use them.

Childcare vouchers have been discontinued and you can no longer apply for these but if you are an existing user you can still use them at Ripe Nursery School to pay for your childcare fees. We accept a range of childcare voucher payments.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What funding is available for my child?

30 Hours of Working Entitlement Funding* for 9 months to 5 years onwards depending on eligibilty. 15 hours Disadvantaged 2 year funding* for families on income support provisions. 15 hours universal funding* for all 3/4 Year olds (from the term following their 3rd birthday).

2. When can I apply for funding?

You can apply for funding up to 16 weeks before your child turns 9 months as long as you are 31 days from recommencing from Parent Leave for Working Entitlement funding. The funding will not commence until the term after your child turns 9 months as long as you are 31 days from finishing your Parent Leave. From the term after your child turns 2 for disadvantaged 2 year funding, this will last them the full year until they transition to 15 hours universal funding. The term following your child turning 3 for 15 hours universal funding.

3. How do I apply for an eligibility code?

Please see our step by step application process guide section of our funding portal alternatively you can use How to apply | Best Start in Life website for guidance.

4. What happens after I apply?

You will have a childcare account set up which will allow you access to view secure message sent by Funding team. Once eligible you will receive your code into your message portal. This is usually an 11 digit code starting with the number 500 or 501. If you are deemed ineligble or they require further information from you, they will let you know this via your secure messages.

5. Can I combine funding schemes?

No, you are only eligible for 1 funding scheme at a time however you can claim funding and use the Tax Free Childcare/Childcare Vouchers scheme together to pay for invoices.

6. How do I submit my eligibility code?

On your Parent Admin app, there is 3 little dots on the bottom right, clicking that will bring the homepage up. Go into funding codes section and input your code and eligibilty date (this is the date you renewed and when your renewal window reopens again, this information is usually all available on your government childcare account.) Input all information and click submit, this will then come through to our team and be recorded on your child's account. You will also have an electronic form to complete with how you want to use your funding in setting that needs completing and giving in or emailing back. Please ask if you aren't sent or given one of these to one of the practitioners. It must be renewed every 3 months to remain eligible.

7. What if I miss reconfirmation?

If you miss reconfirmation then we recommend reconfirming as soon as you can, we ideally recommend before the start of a new term all parents check their accounts to ensure their codes are all up to date and see when their renewal is especially if it is coming up. If you don't renew before the start of new term then funding won't be eligible and you will be liable for full fee's for the term until your code is eligible again in the following term.

8. Can I still use Childcare Vouchers?

Vouchers have been discontinued to all new users however if your employer is already registered or you already have an account from previously using then these can be used and continued. Ripe Nursery School accept a wide range of voucher payment companies.

9. What support is available through Universal Credit?

If you are receiving universal credit or another income support method then you may be eligible for 15 hours* of 2 year old disadvantaged funding for your child, the term after they turn 2. Universal Credit also provide support with payments towards invoices received, reimbursing a percentage of your total childcare invoice. Please speak to your universal credit support for further information on this.

10. Where can I find more information?

Please ask of our amazing team if you have any questions of queries about funding within Ripe Nursery School. East Sussex County Council have a designated website for helping parents and families with young children with childcare and funding queries, using the link Best Start in Life for further overall funding information