Admissions, Fees and Funding

30 Hours Free Childcare 

To check eligibility for funded childcare, and to keep up to date with these changes, please visit www.childcarechoices.gov.uk.

Currently all 3- and 4-year-olds are entitled to 15 hours of free childcare a week, this is known as Universal Funding. The entitlement was extended from 15 hours to 30 hours per week for 3- and 4-year olds of working families, and for 15 hours for 2-year-olds from April 2024. Families where both parents or carers (or the sole parent/carer, if a one parent family), are working and earning the equivalent of 16 hours per week at the National Minimum Wage and no more than £100.000 per year will be eligible for the 30 Hours.

You will still be eligible if:

• One parent is working and the other has a disability or substantial caring responsibilities.
• A parent is away from work temporarily (sick or maternity)
• A grace period has been put in place by the government to assist parents whose employment circumstances change

Note: Please be aware that the entitlement to a free place does not offer a guarantee of a place at any one provider or a particular pattern of provision.

Chearsley CHUF can offer up to 27 of the 30 hours Extended Entitlement (9 sessions), for those Parents who are eligible.

Haddenham CHUF can offer the 30 hours Extended Entitlement (All 10 sessions) to those that are eligible, and space permitting. 

Both Settings are offering 15 hours to eligible 2-year-olds from April 2024, these are available across the five morning sessions only, space permitting.

CHUF is unable to offer any sessions to children under the age of 2-years-old and therefore does not accept funding for children younger than 2.

It will also be possible for parents to access their eligible hours through a second provider (Such as Childminder, nursery or pre-school, or by splitting funding between our Chearsley & Haddenham settings (Again subject to availability). Currently many of our children already access more than one provider to fulfil their childcare needs. Should you wish to find out more information regarding the 30 Hours scheme please visit ‘The Buckinghamshire Family Information Service’ at: www.bucksfamilyinfo.org.

To check eligibility for the Extended Entitlement and to keep up to date with these changes please visit www.childcarechoices.gov.uk.

CHUF Session Times

All of our sessions are three hours in length

Morning sessions run from 9.10am to 12.10pm (both settings are open every weekday morning)

Afternoon sessions run from 12.10pm to 3.10pm (Chearsley are not open on Fri afternoon)

Morning sessions are open to 2-, 3- and 4-year-olds

Afternoon sessions are open to 3- and 4-year-olds only

Lunch is incorporated into the first half hour of each afternoon session.

Late drop offs and /or early pick-ups are possible if session times coincide with school drop off and pick up

CHUF Fees and Funding

For unfunded children and additional sessions, our morning 3 hour session rate is £25 for 2 year olds.

The 3 hour session rate is £22 for 3 and 4 year olds
A full day will be made up of two three hour sessions and cost £44.00, including lunch

We ask for a voluntary consumable fee of £4 per session for funded 2, 3,and 4 years old children. This fee would be added to invoice at the beginning of each half term. Where parents are unable or unwilling to contribute, the invoice would be reduced.

Important Points for Universally Funded Children

• The funding starts from the term after the child’s third birthday

• Guidelines specify that the full 15 hours of funding can only be claimed over a minimum of 3 days
• The maximum claim over two days is 12.5 hours
• The minimum claim is 2.5 hours on any one day
• Once you have made your preference you will be committed to that choice for the whole term. Attendance for funded sessions is essential unless your child is ill or on holiday
• If your child attends a second provider, you are responsible for ensuring claims between both providers do not exceed 15 hours.

For Extended Entitlement criteria please see the section ’30 hours Free Childcare from September 2017’, which can be found at the top of this page.