Term dates for 2026 to 2027
The full calendar for term-time places, plus the two weeks we close and the five days we do not.
Blog & articles
Funded hours, without the jargon
Fifteen hours, thirty hours, stretched or term time, and what the consumables charge actually pays for.
Funded hours are the single most confusing thing about nursery, mostly because nobody writes the numbers down. So here they are.
The entitlements
Eligible families get either 15 or 30 funded hours a week across 38 weeks of the year. Whether you qualify depends on your circumstances, not on us — we will point you at the check and help you fill it in, but we do not decide it.
Stretching
Thirty hours across 38 weeks is 1,140 hours a year. Spread across the 51 weeks we are open, that is about 22 hours a week. Most working families stretch, because nursery does not stop in August. Families who only need term time do not. The total is identical either way.
What funding does not cover
The hours themselves are free. Meals, nappies, wipes, suncream, waterproofs and trips are not, and we charge £6.50 a day for the lot. That is the whole of the extra; there is no separate trip fee, snack fee or registration fee.
Get the real number before you decide
Bring your pattern to the office and we will write out your actual monthly bill on paper, funding deducted, before you accept a place. It takes ten minutes and it is the only figure worth comparing between settings.
News
More from the noticeboard
Term dates, open mornings, menu changes and the occasional note about nits.
What actually happens in a settling week
Four sessions, one key person and a lot of standing quietly by the door. How we start children who have never been left before.
Mud is part of the curriculum
Why the garden runs in the rain, what we keep in the waterproofs shed, and the one kind of weather that keeps us in.
The kitchen, the four-week menu and the allergy folder
We cook on site for 46 children, 11 of whom cannot eat something. Here is how that works.
September places, and how the waiting list really works
Who gets offered first, how long the wait usually is, and why we will tell you to try elsewhere if we cannot help.