The government has a scheme to help working parents with childcare costs by offering 30 Publicly Funded hours of childcare. Here at The de Lacey Montessori School we are keen to offer you the benefits of this offer, as well as the standard 15 hours funding offer.
As the funding rate the government pays us is not enough to cover our costs, we will only be able to offer two fully funded places at any one time. Please make sure that you explicitly request a fully funded place if this is what you would like to apply for, when applying, as these are allocated on a first come, first served basis.
We offer our remaining places with a small ‘additional services’ charge for the many services that we offer you over and above those that we are required to offer.
Although we are required to tell you that the government hours are ‘free’ it is much more useful to view them as a subsidy, which is what they are in reality.
The Additional Services’ that your fee will be paying for include the following:
• One-to-one Montessori teaching workshops every day, tailored to the unique needs of your individual child, allowing them to excel quickly
• Staff qualified well in excess of that required, including four Montessori qualified teachers, and an Early Years Professional
• A staff ratio that is always much higher than we are required to provide, so key persons have just 6 or so key children to focus on
• A staff team accredited in the delivery of the ‘Let’s Talk Together’ programme each and every day, all day, ensuring that your child has quality speech and language development input every time they interact with a staff member,
• A staff team accredited in the delivery of the ‘Healthy Early Years’ programme each and every day, all day, focusing on making healthy eating, physical activity, personal, social and emotional development and wellbeing an integral part of all we do,
• Forest School sessions for every child,
• Weekly specialist sessions in yoga, Tai-Chi, multi sports and music,
• A hot, healthy, freshly cooked vegetarian lunch prepared by our own cook on site daily,
To qualify for the 30 hours, either as a completely free place, or a subsidised place, you will need to prove your eligibility. The criteria is that both parents are working, with a lower threshold of 16 hours per week at minimum wage, and an upper income of £100,000 each. For single parents, it will be that the single parent works within these thresholds. You can check your eligibility and make your claim at www.childcarechoices.gov.uk (This is the same website through which you can apply for the Tax Free Childcare scheme).
Whether you wish to be put on the waiting list for one of the fully-funded “free” places, or to enrol your child for a fee-paying place, please apply quickly (stating which option you have selected) as places always go very quickly. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or would like a personalised quote.
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