Fee Support At Over The Rainbow

Everything you need to know about funding

At Over The Rainbow Day Nursery we are able to accept all funding depending on our availability.

The government guidelines are that a child may be entitled to 30 hours of funding from either the term after they turn 9 months old, the term after they turn 2 years old, or the term after they turn 3 years old.
 
As we are not a term time only setting, we stretch our funding over 52 weeks of the year.
To find out if you are eligible for the 30 hours Early Education Entitlement you can visit http://www.thebeststartinlife.gov.uk

If you are eligible, you will be provided with an 11 digit code that you should share with us, we will then be able to apply the funding to your account. This code will need to be re-confirmed by you every 3 months and you should receive email reminders of this from the government. Failure to reconfirm your code could result in the funding being withdrawn.
All eligible children are entitled to 1140 hours of free Early Years provision per year. With the stretched offer, the 1140 hours will be taken over 12 months. Parents will be offered up to 21.92 hours a week funding.
 
Guidance of this is as follows:-
Child turns 9 months, 2 years or 3 years between 1st January and 31st March - Funding can be accessed from the Summer Term, which is April (Code MUST be applied for and issued BEFORE 31st March)
 
Child turns 9 months, 2 years or 3 years between 1st April and 31st August - Funding can be accessed from the Autumn Term, which is September (Code MUST be applied for and issued BEFORE 31st August)
 
Child turns 9 months, 2 years or 3 years between 1st September and 31st December - Funding can be accessed from the Spring Term, which is January (Code MUST be applied for and issued BEFORE 31st December)
 
Some 2 years olds "may" be entitled to funding from the Local Authority. If a 2 year old is eligible, parents will be provided with a 6 digit code. For this, a child is entitled to 15 hours over 38 weeks - please contact us for information on this.
 
Similarly, if a child is not eligible for the 30 hours funding. ALL children are eligible for 15 hours funding from the term after their 3rd birthday. Again, if your child falls into this category, please contact us for more information.
 
Our funded hours include small additional charges for essential items that are not covered by government funding. These include all meals freshly prepared by our in-house chefs in our 5 star food hygiene rated kitchen, consumables such as wipes, creams etc and all extra curricular activities that make our curriculum unique and varied.
 
Government funding does not cover the cost of these items, nor is it intended to. Our inclusive approach ensures every child enjoys the same experiences, opportunities, and high-quality teaching. The additional charges will only be applied to fully funded sessions.


 

Placeholder 1
About Funding

What options are there 
for your child at
different ages

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What's the cost?

Peek at your week to
find out what your 
total cost could be

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Charges

Learn about what 
charges may apply
for your funded hours

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How to apply

What steps do you need
to take to apply
for funding

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FAQ

A list of other questions
that we get asked

How Old Is Your Child

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

Working families entitlement must meet criteria.

Parents on leave can still qualify if they return to work within 31 days of term start.

You will need to meet the eligibility criteria and apply for these hours, see our page below on how to apply. The universal entitlement is available to children from the term after their 3rd birthday until they leave us for school at age 4.

The working parent entitlement is available to children from the term after they turn 9 months old, 2 years old or 3 years old until they leave us for school at age 4.

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.

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. Working parents may qualify for the additional 15 hours (30 hours in total), over 38 weeks of the 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-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.

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

Now
30
(term-time only) hours

Families Receiving Some Additional Forms Of Government Support

Now
15
(term-time only) hours

Working Families

Now
30
(term-time only) hour

All Parents

Now
15
(term-time only) hours

Working Families

Now
30
(term-time only) hours

*38 weeks a year. Eligibility criteria apply. Over The Rainbow apply a food & consumables charge alongside the funded hours and also stretch the funding over 52 weeks per year.

What does the funding look like at Over The Rainbow?

At Over The Rainbow, 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 over 52 weeks. If your child is eligible for 15 hours, you will receive 10.96 hours per week all year round. A child eligible for 30 hours will receive 21.92 hours per week all year round.

We offer a limited number of term-time only places: Please speak to the office about availability for these.

At Over The Rainbow, we offer funding alongside a Food & Consumables charge (FCC) for each funded session. We believe our offering is truly excellent. However, we recognise the significant cost of childcare and want families to understand what the FCC covers and how it is calculated.

Food & Consumables Charge

ALL food, freshly prepared each day by our in-house cook in our 5 star rated purpose built kitchen, which caters for all dietary requirements and allergies. Consumables, such as wipes and creams. Enhanced ratio activities, such as attention bucket, cooking sessions etc. Extra curricular activities (including a mix of music sessions, sports sessions, yoga sessions, French sessions, phonics sessions) and celebrations (such as Easter gifts for the children, Christmas gifts, Nursery birthday cards, graduation ceremonies and much more) Administrative changes to your booking patterns, visits from outside agencies like the farm etc. In addition to this, it provides access to our online daily diary system, which provides a daily update of your child including a daily picture, information on what they have eaten, nappy changes, sleeps etc to ensure parent partnership with the care of the children.

Peek at your week

Please use this tool as a guide only. For an accurate forecast of your monthly invoice please contact the accounts team directly.

 

Fully funded day
Fully funded day, 10 hours of funding applied. 8am - 6pm session offered.
Fully funded half day
Fully funded half day, 5 hours of funding applied. Either 8am - 1pm or 1pm - 6pm sessions offered.
Part funded day

A part funded day for the 30 hours would be where we apply the remaining 1.92 hours of funding.

This would leave an amount payable by parents of £76:36 for a full day or £32:34 for a half day

Private session charge

Our full day charge is £95 from 8am - 6pm. (We can offer a 7:30am drop off or a 6:30pm collection for an additional £10:00 per session)

Food & Consumables charge

We charge £25 per fully funded full day and £12:50 per fully funded half day session. We do not apply a food & consumables charge for part funded days.

How to Apply

1

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 Over The Rainbow

Once you have your code, submit it to Over The Rainbow 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.

Learn more ↗

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.

Learn more ↗

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 our nurseries to pay for your childcare fees.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What funding is available for my child?

If your child is 2 years old and your are receiving additional support, you may be entitled to the universal 15 hours of funding.

If your child is 3 years old, you are entitled to the universal 15 hours of funding from the term after your child's 3rd birthday.

If you are a working family and meet the criteria, you may be entitled to 30 hours of funding with effect from the term after your child turns 9 months, 2 years or 3 years.

2. When can I apply for funding?

You can apply for the funding at any point and may be issued an 11 digit code. The code will be valid from the term after your child turns 9 months, 2 years or 3 years.

3. How do I apply for an eligibility code?

If your child is 2 years old and your are receiving additional support - you can apply to Havering Council for a 6 digit code.

If you are a working family and meet the criteria - you can apply at www.thebeststartinlife.gov.uk

4. What happens after I apply?

You will be provided with a code, which you will need to pass on to us, we will then advise you further.

5. What is the food & consumables charge?

This is a charge added to each fully funded session, which covers all of the food provided during the session, consumables such as wipes and creams, enhanced activities, extra curricular activities and everything that we offer which is not covered by the basic EYFS.

6. Can I combine funding schemes?

As a family, you should ony be eligible for one type of the funding, however you are able to use the Tax Free Childcare Scheme alongside the 30 hours funding.

7. How do I submit my eligibility code?

On registering your child, we will provide a form for you to complete, your funding code will be on this form.

8. What if I miss reconfirmation?

If you miss the reconfirmation, it may mean that you will not be eligible for the funding until the following term, when you have re-applied.

9. Can I still use Childcare Vouchers?

Yes, although this scheme has now stopped, if you are an existing user of the childcare voucher scheme we can still accept these.

10. What support is available through Universal Credit?

Depending on your circumstances, Universal Credit could pay up to 85% of your childcare costs. However Universal Credit do not pay towards the food & consumables charge.

11. Where can I find more information?

Further information can be found by contacting our office or at www.thebeststartinlife.gov.uk