Sessions & Early Years Funding

Little Lancing is open 7.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, 51 weeks a year. We are closed over Christmas from 1pm on 24 December (or the last working day before 24 December, if Christmas Eve falls at a weekend) to 1 January inclusive and on Bank Holidays. We do not offer term-time only childcare. We do not charge for Bank Holidays during the year when the nursery is closed.

We offer discounts for siblings and for 5 day bookings of standard days. Childcare voucher schemes and tax-free childcare are available - please let the Nursery Manager know if you are planning to use these.

At Little Lancing from September 2025 we will be offering the following to new joiners:

Standard Day: 8am to 6pm

Early Birds Breakfast Club 7.30am to 8am and Early Evenings 6pm to 6.30pm 

Early Birds and Early Evenings can either be part of a regular booking pattern, or booked as and when needed, subject to space being available.

We seek to make our fees as comprehensive as possible. Our main sessions are charged at two different rates, one for 0-3 years olds and one for 3+ year olds. 

Please note nursery fees are reviewed annually and any increase is applied from September of each year. Any changes in our Terms & Conditions and Admissions process and procedures are advised to parents with at least eight weeks' notice.

Our minimum booking period for new joiners is twenty hours per week. Parents requiring fewer than twenty hours should discuss this with the Nursery Manager.

Invoicing is either for four or five weeks at a time (depending on the number of Fridays in the calendar month) so that monthly invoices will vary accordingly. 

Little Lancing Fee ScheduLE 2024-25

Extra Sessions
We will be very happy to accommodate a request for extra sessions, subject to spaces. Please speak to the Nursery Manager to check availability. 

Early Years Funding
Little Lancing offers Early Years funded hours. We appreciate that this is not necessarily a straightforward process and suggest parents contact our Nursery Manager for more information. A brief summary is provided below of the arrangements from September 2024 when the funding for eligible working parents is extended to those with children aged 9+ months.

Local Authority Issued Funding for 2 year olds
We offer a limited number of places with Early Years Funding for those 2 year-olds eligible to access early years education. At Little Lancing this is for a total of 561 hours stretched over 51 weeks of the year (approximately 11 hours per week). This is subject to families meeting the Local Authority's eligibility criteria. West Sussex County Council issues a code to eligible parents which must be shared with Little Lancing.  Please contact the Nursery Manager for more information about which sessions are available for EY attendance. We currently have very limited spaces available to parents who wish to book funded-hours-only sessions.

Universal Funding for 3 & 4 year olds 
Little Lancing offers Universal Early Years Funding for all 3 and 4 year-olds. Provision starts from the term following a child’s third birthday up until they reach compulsory school age. All 3 and 4 year-olds are eligible to receive Early Years Funding, which Little Lancing stretches over the year and equates to 561 hours over 51 weeks (approximately 11 hours per week). Little Lancing will apply for this universal funding. 

Early Years Funding for Eligible Working Parents
From September 2024, Little Lancing will offer Early Years Funding for eligible working parents of children aged 9+ months to 2+ years.  Little Lancing stretches this over 51 weeks in the year to offer a total of 561 hours per year (approximately 11 hours per week). Provision starts from the term following the child having reached 9 months of age.

The nursery will continue to offer Early Years Funding for eligible working parents of children aged 3+. This funding is for an additional 11 hours a week, which combined with universal funding, gives up to a total 22 hours a week stretched across the year, giving a total up to 1,122 hours over 51 weeks.

Parents apply for funding codes through their government tax-free childcare account and share the code with the nursery office.

Changes in Early Years Provision from September 2025
We will review our Terms & Conditions and admissions criteria for September 2025 and these may change in light of the proposed extension of funding for working parents. Information will be sent out in good time.

Staff to Children Ratios
We are not currently planning to adjust the staff to child ratios, which were announced in 2023 as an optional change, as we do not believe it will benefit positively the experience of the children in our care.