Fees and Funding
Stretched Government Funding
At Playaway, we want to make accessing your government-funded childcare hours as flexible as possible. Therefore, we offer the stretched funding, which allows you to spread your child’s funded hours over 51 weeks of the year.
Normally, government funding is based on 38 weeks of the year, corresponding to term time. With stretched funding, we extend your funded hours across 51 weeks, so your child can attend nursery more regularly throughout the year.
For example:
If your child is entitled to 15 funded hours per week, stretched funding allows you to use 11.17 hours per week across 51 weeks instead of 15 hours over 38 weeks.
If your child is entitled to 30 funded hours per week, stretched funding can reduce this to around 22.35 hours per week across 51 weeks.
Please note – Your child is only entitled to funding from the term after they turn 9 months.
From April 2025, government guidance requires nurseries offering funded places to clearly show any charges for consumables and additional services (Enhanced Provision). At Playaway, we have always been transparent about what we offer, and this information is published here for parents.
What Government Funding Covers
Government funding provides a basic Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provision, which includes:
Small world figures, role play resources, puzzles, books, and basic craft materials
Sand and water play
Loose parts and construction toys
Staffing that meets minimum government ratios
This funding ensures nurseries can provide a statutory EYFS curriculum that meets government requirements.
What Government Funding Does Not Cover
Some items and experiences are not included in funding, such as:
Meals, desserts, and snacks
Nappies, wipes, and sun cream
Extra activities like beach walks, specialist teachers, gardening, cooking, music, or special events
High-quality additional resources such as sensory equipment, woodwork tools, gardening supplies, baking materials, or specialist educational sessions
At Playaway, we believe early years education should be rich, engaging, and hands-on. To provide experiences beyond the basics, we offer Enhanced Provision, which incurs additional costs.
Charges for Consumables & Enhanced Provision
When accessing government funding and opting to include Consumables, the weekly charges are:
11-hour Funded Children – £11 per week
– £5 towards consumables – £6 towards enhanced provision
22-hour Funded Children – £22 per week
– £10 towards consumables – £12 towards enhanced provision
Opting in - What’s Included
Parents who opt in to Consumables Charges will receive:
• Healthy morning and afternoon snacks
• Consumables such as nappies, wipes, tissues and sun cream
• Specialist learning experiences, including beach walks, gardening, allotment sessions, and cooking
• Enrichment programs such as Let’s Grow, Boogie Beats and yoga
• Additional learning resources, including sensory equipment, baking supplies, art materials, and school readiness programs
• Seasonal gifts, events and family fun days, such as Summer, Christmas and more
Opting Out – Funded Hours Only
Parents who opt out of Consumables Charges will receive:
• Access to the basic EYFS provision
• Funded hours free of charge
Opting out means:
• Parents provide all snacks for their child, in line with our Food Policy
• Parents supply their own consumables (nappies, wipes, Tissues, sun cream)
• Some enhanced provision experiences may not be included (such as fun days, offsite trips & enhanced provision activities such as external providers), but we will always ensure a high standard of care as an alternative.
• Additional hours or ad hoc bookings are not available