Orchard Nursery School
Fees, Opening Hours, and Admissions
Admissions Policy
We aim to make sure that all sections of the community have access to the setting through open, fair and clearly communicated procedures.
Places are offered on the basis of siblings first then strictly in order in which they are registered. If you wish to reserve a place for your child please fill in the interest form, which can be found on the enrolment page of this website. The office will contact you to offer a show round, then they will send a registration form and details to pay an Administration Fee of £50 per child. If places are unavailable, you can opt to be added to our waiting list as often places become available later on.
For more information on our Admissions Policy, click here.
Fees
An invoice is sent out via our parent portal, Famly, at the beginning of each month. Payments are due within 10 days of receipt of the invoice. A 5% surcharge will incur if late payment is received. Parents/carers should notify nursery if their invoice is not received.
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As of 1st April 2025, our hourly rate is £8.00 (this is made up of 2 parts: an hourly session charge of £6.50 and an hourly 'Consumable and Additional Services' charge of £1.50). As of 1st September, the session charge will increase to £7.00, making the hourly rate overall £8.50.
Meals are charged in addition to this. You may choose whether you send your child with a packed lunch or have a cooked lunch at a cost of £3.00 per day. An optional light tea is given to the children at 16:00 for £2.00 a day. Please see the homepage for a link to our menu.
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Please note that fees are reviewed each April.
Opening Times and Holidays
The Nursery is open throughout the year from 8:00am to 5:30pm Monday to Friday. We are always closed for about one week around Christmas and New Year and on all Bank Holidays. We may occasionally also close for staff training days.
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Term Time dates are:
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Spring Term 2025 : Tuesday 7th January - Friday 4th April
Half Term: Monday 17th February - Friday 21st February
Summer Term 2025: Wednesday 23rd April - Tuesday 22nd July
Half Term: Monday 26th May - Friday 30th May
Sessions
Our experience has shown that in order for children to settle at nursery, it is beneficial for them to attend at least two sessions a week. Therefore a minimum of two days must be booked when registering your child at the setting.
If you require extra sessions, these can be booked through the office. We tend to have more availability during the holidays, and so do feel free to enquire.
Your child’s place is booked solely for them, and staffing is arranged accordingly. Therefore, unfortunately we are unable to swap sessions.
If you wish to withdraw your child or cancel a session permanently, we require one month’s written notice.
Tax Free Childcare
Many of our families are eligible for tax free childcare as a payment method for their fees. This is a government scheme which enables you to pay childcare costs out of untaxed income. This can mean a further saving of up to £2,000 per child per year! For more information, please go to the Childcare Choices website which includes details on how to use it.
3 and 4 Year Old Funding
All 3 and 4 year old children are entitled to receive 15 hours funded childcare per week term-time only, up to 570 hours per year, from the beginning of the term following their 3rd birthday. This is known as the Universal Entitlement. This can be spread out across 52 weeks of the year, using less then 15 hours per week.
In order for the nursery to claim the funded entitlement all parents/carers of eligible children are required to complete a Parent Claim form on a termly basis. More information will be sent home for you about this at the appropriate time.
Some families meet certain criteria to enable them to claim an extra 15 hours per week meaning they can receive up to 30 hours per week during term time (or spread across 52 weeks as long as the maximum allowance of 1140 hours per year is not exceeded). We encourage all families to check if they are eligible to receive the 30 hours per week funding. To do this you will need to apply online at https://www.gov.uk/apply-30-hours-free-tax-free-childcare.
The government funding will cover the session charge of our fees but all parents are asked to pay the optional Additional Services and Consumables charge which is £1.50 per funded hour which covers all the lovely extra bits we do here at nursery.
If you would like more information on this, please contact Jo Lemon, the Nursery Manager, or Lisa, the Accounts Manager.
9 month funding and 9 month to 2 year funding
We are accepting Working Parent entitlement funding for eligible 2 year olds and under-2s. Further information can be found by visiting childcare choices.gov.uk
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The Norfolk County Council have produced a brilliant document that aims to support families to navigate the system and determine which entitlement applies to them. Drop us an email and we will be happy to send it to you.
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The government funding will cover the session charge of our fees but all parents are asked to pay £1.50 per funded hour to cover the snacks, consumables and additional services.​​
If you would like more information on this, please contact Jo Lemon, the Nursery Manager, or Lisa, the Accounts Manager.
Call
01603 813240
Address
Orchard Nursery School
Church Road
Ketteringham
Norwich
Norfolk
NR18 9RS
©2024 by Orchard Nursery School.