At St James’ Nursery, we take pride in being a charity-run establishment, driven by our commitment to providing high-quality childcare while keeping fees as low as possible. Our mission is to create an inclusive and nurturing environment for your little ones.

No Top Up Fees! 

A one-off payment of £10 non-refundable registration fee for all new nursery starters, reserves the child’s place and covers the administration and initial costs.

Hourly rate £5.00 for 3-year-olds and above

Hourly rate £7.60 for 2-year-olds

Breakfast Club Rate £4.50

After School Club  Rate £5.00 per hour

We also accept government funding for 2, 3 and 4-year-olds. To see if you qualify for 2-year-old funding or to find out more visit www.dorsetforyou.com/twoyearolds  or telephone 01305 221066.

Children who have reached `the term after their third birthday’ are automatically entitled to free entitlement vouchers amounting to 15 hours per week for 38 weeks per year. Starting in Dorset this April, children may be entitled to an extra 15 hours a week funded childcare. St James’ Cottage Nursery will be offering places for the extra funded hours, subject to availability. Parents will need to register their interest by visiting www.dorsetforyou.gov.uk/30hours   Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) came into effect in April 2015 where childcare providers can claim an extra 53 pence per hour for funded 3 and 4-year-olds, forms will be given to parents to see if you qualify. You may use your free entitlement across a maximum of two providers. Please contact us and we will be more than happy to talk through your options.

We review our fee structure annually.

Employer Child Care Vouchers & Government Tax-Free Childcare

An increasing number of employers are offering these vouchers as part of their employee benefits package. A taxpayer can save about £1000 per year when the maximum value voucher is used. This is possible by the employer supplying vouchers to their employees and deducting the voucher amount from the employee’s gross pay before tax and NI are deducted.

In the first instance, you will need to speak to your employer to see if they run a scheme that you can join. If not then don’t despair as often employers wait to be asked before offering to start a scheme. A third-party company usually administers the vouchers.

The Government has started to roll out its new Tax-Free Childcare Scheme which parents can sign up to.  This will help parents pay for childcare, for every £8 a parent pays into the Childcare Account the Government will add an extra £2 to their account. Parents will then be able to pay for the nursery from this account. We at  St James’ Cottage Nursery have already signed up in readiness for this new scheme.

Notice & Terms

• Sickness/illness any absence due to sickness/illness will still be charged.

• Holiday If you book holidays during term time any sessions will still be charged to retain your child’s place.

Cancellation Notice.

• Short Notice Booking: Bookings made within 7 days require full payment if cancelled with less than 48 hours notice.

• Advanced bookings: Repeat bookings on a termly basis require 4 weeks’ notice for cancellation; otherwise, full payment will be required.

Fine / Penalty Notice

• Late collection charges please make sure you have collected your child by the booked time this is to keep the child/staff ratios correct at all times.  If a child is collected 10 minutes after their booked session ends parents will be fined £5 per child, and £5 for each subsequent half hour.

• Late collection after 6 pm if a child is collected 10 minutes after 6 pm parents will be fined £20 per child. Charges are per child not 1 charge per family.

• Fees: Once fees are due, please ensure that they are paid by the 14^th of the month.  Failure to do so will automatically incur a £10 charge and a subsequent £10 for each week that it is outstanding. Returned cheques will also incur a £10 fine. Please refer to our late payment policy on the website.  Our bank details are TSB Sort code 30-99-68 Account 23494860.

If you are experiencing financial difficulties, please speak to the manager so that a payment plan can be arranged to avoid unnecessary late payment fines.