Charging

Government funding is intended to deliver 15 or 30 hours a week of free, high-quality, flexible childcare. Families must be able to access the hours free of charge.

There must not be any mandatory charges for parents or carers in relation to the funded hours. Government funding is not intended to cover the costs of meals, other consumables, additional hours or additional services.

What you can charge for

You can charge for the following in connection with the free hours:

• Meals and snacks eaten by the child
• Consumables to be used by the child, such as nappies or sun cream
• Extra optional activities such as events, celebrations, specialist tuition (for example, music classes or foreign languages)
• Other activities not directly related or necessary for the effective delivery of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework

Any additional charges in connection with the free hours must be voluntary and not a condition of access to a child taking up their place. You should be mindful of the impact of additional charges and deposits, especially on disadvantaged parents or carers.

Deposits

You can charge parents or carers a deposit to secure their child’s free place. However, this must be refunded in full within a reasonable time scale.

Private paid hours

You should charge for additional private paid hours in line with your own terms and conditions. Using private hours should not be a condition of access to a free place.

What you can't charge for

• Top-up fees (the difference between the funding rate and your rate)
• The supply or use of any materials, for example, craft materials, crayons, paper, books, instruments, toys, or other equipment or learning resources that are necessary for the effective delivery of childcare
• Business running costs
• Registration fees as a condition of taking up a child’s free entitlement place
• Non-refundable deposits as a condition of taking up a child’s entitlement place
• General charges, for example, non-itemised enrichment charges, sustainability charges, business continuity charges, additional charges, enhanced ratios, hourly rates, or any other supplementary charges on top of the free hours
• Any additional fees

Funding policy

Providers offering the early years entitlements are responsible for setting their own policy on providing families with options for alternatives to additional charges. 

This policy must offer reasonable alternatives that allow parents to access the entitlement for free, making any additional charges optional or voluntary.

At a minimum, the policy should include:  

• Refundable deposits attached to early years entitlement hours
• Additional optional costs attached to the early years’ entitlements, broken down into: food charges, non-food consumables/extras charges, and activities charges
• Alternatives to optional extra charges, which must offer reasonable alternatives that allow parents or carers to access their entitlement for free
• Pattern of delivery of early years entitlement hours

You can find more information about additional charges in the statutory guidance and provider agreement.