AGE OF ADMITTANCE:
We provide OUTSTANDING high quality, inclusive care and education for children from the age of two and a half years to five years.
HOURS OF OPENING AND COSTS:
(Costs applicable from April 2023)
Monday to Friday:
Morning sessions: 9am to12.30pm = £27.93 (Non-funded rate)
AM Sessions are available for two year olds up to the term following their third birthday when they become eligible for 3 Year old Government funding, however individual circumstances will be considered I.e for settling in period, children with additional needs.
Afternoon sessions: 12.30pm to 3.30pm = £23.55 (Non-funded rate)
Availability of afternoon sessions only is limited.
Full day sessions: 9am to 3.30pm = £51.87 (Non-funded rate)
FULL FEE RATE (Non-funded hours) : £7.98 per hour (April 2023)
A 10% discount will be applied for children attending 5 full days per week.
All fees and service charges are subject to review.
We are open term time only (up to 41 weeks per year) and parents will be invoiced for the total number of weeks we are open within each term. Our terms will coincide with local mainstream schools as much as possible, however The Mulberry Bush will occasionally overrun the school term. We do not close for additional staff training days. FEEE funding may be spread over the full term pro-rata to the maximum termly allowance set by the local authority (stretched offer)
We request children attend for a minimum of two sessions per week and a minimum of two full days from the term after their third birthday. Any holidays or absence within term time will be charged for within the terms invoice and any sessions missed cannot be made up or reimbursed.
The Mulberry Bush does not make any charges for bank holidays or when the nursery is closed for holidays. However, you will not be able to access the free funded hours for Bank holidays or if the setting is closed I.e lockdown/COVID.
FREE ENTITLEMENT:
We are registered for Government funded Free Nursery Entitlement (FEEE) for children from the term after their third birthday, until they start mainstream school. Any parent wishing to access their full FEEE funded place with no additional services or hours may do so. This must be agreed at registration or with a full terms notice of changing the agreed terms and conditions of registration. You can be assured your child will still receive quality care and education under the terms of the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework (EYFS). Any extras over and above what is expected of the EYfS provided by the nursery such as snacks, book bags, puddle suits, graduation packs, extra curriculum activities and sundry items will be charged on an individual basis or you may provide your own and withdraw your child from any extra curricular activities. We will not be able to provide the individual teaching time across the Montessori curriculum. We offer the option of the free entitlement only of 15 hours across 5 afternoon sessions. These sessions will be limited to allow for children attending or booked in for morning sessions to increase to full days at three years old as per our terms and conditions.
Whilst your child will always receive outstanding care and education within the EYFS the high levels of one to one teaching across the Montessori curriculum will not be available on a free place.
All parents are entitled to claim for 15 hours of free nursery care per week for a maximum of 38 weeks per year. The number of funded weeks per term will be set by Essex County Council (ECC) and may not always match the nursery term as we open for up to 42 weeks per year, your funding entitlement may be stretched across the full week’s we are open, so long as you do not claim more than the maximum termly amount. Any requested hours over and above the allocated funding allowance claimed as set by ECC free entitlement will be charged at the full rate. Some parents will qualify for 30 hours Free entitlement, this is not universal, but an additional 15 hours funding is available to parents who meet the eligibility criteria. You can check your eligibility at: www.gov.uk
To claim the 30 hours FEEE parents will need to enrol their child for full days only (from the term after their 3rd birthday). There is an expectation that parents will enrol their child for a minimum of 2 full days per week, in line with the nursery term times.
ADDITIONAL SERVICES AND CHARGES (Please note, this is included in non-funded sessions)
The Mulberry Bush prides itself on always aiming to go above and beyond with outstanding, quality provision. We maintain high adult to child ratios of qualified and experienced practitioners who facilitate the substantial one-to-one engagement across the Montessori Curriculum which enhances each child’s experience and promotes positive learning outcomes. We provide substantial, healthy balanced snacks, extracurricular activities, parties and events. These features and services are embedded within our provision and we value our inclusive and equality ethos where every child is included and supported to achieve the best outcomes. In order to maintain this high level of service we ask parents to contribute by agreeing to pay an optional all-inclusive service charge on funded sessions to enable us to continue to provide these additional services over and beyond the EYFS requirements and expectations for high quality provision. (see terms and conditions for additional services). We understand that while there is a lot of choice for quality early year’s settings in the local area, parents choose to place their children with us for many reasons, including these additional services.
ALL INCLUSIVE ADDITIONAL SERVICES AND CHARGES: £13.50 Per day
April 2023: (subject to annual review) (APPLICABLE TO FREE ENTITLEMENT FUNDED SESSIONS ONLY – OPTIONAL)
We offer an all inclusive additional service package that for one set price provides all sundry items such as snacks, parties and celebrations, outings, graduation packs, puddle suits, Mulberry Bush book bags/activity bags and shared resources, extra curriculum activities including the exceptionally high adult to child ratios of qualified and experienced practitioners that provide individual teaching time across the Montessori curriculum.
Our fees and charges are transparent, there are no hidden costs, the agreed all inclusive additional service charge is calculated on a day rate of £13.00 on funded places only. Service charges will be subject to annual review each year.
Parents will be given a terms notice of any fee or service charge increase.
We aim to ensure our registration procedure, pricing structure and terms and conditions are clear, transparent, easily accessible for parents and prospective parents and promotes equality opportunities and inclusion.