We believe every child should have the opportunity to learn, play, and flourish in a caring environment where they feel happy, confident, and valued.
We know that the cost of childcare is an important factor for many parents. That’s why we’re committed to helping families make the most of the government funding and childcare support available. Whether you’re returning to work, increasing your working hours, or simply exploring your options, our team is here to make the process as straightforward as possible.
There are a number of funded childcare schemes designed to support families at different stages. If you’re unsure which funding you’re entitled to, we’ll happily talk you through the available options, explain how they work, and help you access the support that best suits your family’s circumstances. Our aim is to make outstanding early years education accessible, giving every child the opportunity to enjoy the very best start to their learning journey
At Little Weavers, we offer funding for eligible working families from 9 months old, as well as funding for 2, 3 and 4 year olds for children who live in England.
The funding available is for up to 30 hours per week for 38 weeks a year. We spread the funding across the year, over 51 weeks. Applications for eligibility are through HMRC via a Childcare Account through the Government Gateway.
Please visit Best Start in Life – Best Start in Life to find out if you are eligible for funding to help towards childcare costs.
You can also find details of Tax free childcare on this website which can also provide a significant saving each month, and can be used alongside the government funding.
Early years funding always starts the term following the child turning of eligible age. It is not possible to apply for the working parent entitlement in the same term you wish to start. Funding can only be accessed from the start of a term.
Details of how to apply, check eligibility and obtain your code, can be found using the following link: Best Start in Life – Best Start in Life Once you have received your code you must reconfirm your eligibility every 3 months with HMRC to continue to be able to claim the funding. If you do not re-confirm every 3 months you will lose your entitlement.
It is the parent’s responsibility to reconfirm their eligibility every 3 months. Failure to do so will result in the entitlement ending and you paying for any hours used at our private rate. Depending on when you first apply, you may find you need to reconfirm your eligibility before your child starts accessing a funded place.
Eligible working parents can access up to 30 hours a week of funded childcare, across 38 weeks (term time) of the year, to a maximum of 1140 hours. Parents must obtain an eligibility code from HMRC through the government gateway.
Here at Heathfield House Day Nursery we are open 51 weeks of the year and for ease of budgeting purposes and to make the entitlement more suited to working parents, we provide the early years entitlements over the same number of weeks. This gives you slightly less hours per week but over more weeks of the year. This is known as stretching. For children entitled to 30 hours offers from September, this gives you 22.35 hours per week.
The working parent entitlements are set up to be as seamless as possible for you to move through the different entitlements. Once you have applied for one, and subject to you continuing to reconfirm your eligibility on time, you only need to apply for the first entitlement as you use the same eligibility code across the subsequent ones.
For those parents who are in employment and eligible to this entitlement and the working parent entitlement for children from 9 months, it is possible to apply for the two entitlements and use a maximum of 30 hours across both. The added benefit of doing this is that you only have to reconfirm with HMRC for 15 hours, not 30.
For the initial 15 hours that is linked to receiving additional government support, families apply directly to Warrington Borough Council at www.warrington.gov.uk/twoyearfunding
Here at Heathfield House Day Nursery, we are open 51 weeks of the year and for ease of budgeting purposes, and to make the entitlement more suited to working parents, we provide the early years entitlements over the same number of weeks. This gives you slightly less hours a week but over more weeks of the year, This is known as stretching. From September 2025, this gives you 11.17 hours a week.
For parents that can claim this type of 2-year funding, , a 38-week contract may be possible (school terms according to Warrington Borough Council term dates). The government funding is not intended to cover meals and snacks. For convenience, if you would like us to provide these there is a charge of £7 for morning sessions (including breakfast and lunch) or £2 for afternoon sessions (afternoon tea only). If parents prefer not to pay for the meals and snacks, they can bring a packed lunch as outlined in our ‘Nutrition and Meal time Policy’.
Meal and snacks are not included in the funded hours therefore there is a charge of £2.00 for breakfast, £5.00 for lunch and £2.00 for afternoon tea. If parents prefer not to pay for the meals and snacks, they can bring a packed lunch which must align with our ‘Nutrition and Meal time Policy’ which is attached and can also be viewed in nursery – please change prices within this to £2.10 for breakfast, £5.30 for lunch and £2.10 for afternoon tea. Also remove the “which is attached bit” so jujst says it can be view in nursery.