From 1 September 2025, the following arrangements will be in place:

Archbishop Wake CE Primary School manages the childcare provision in Blandford:

Archbishop Wake CE Primary School Nursery offers childcare and early education for children from 0 – 5 years.

Archbishop Wake CE Primary School Wraparound Care and holiday provision is for children up to 11 years.

Opening Hours:

Our provision is open 50 weeks per year 8am – 6pm. The setting is closed:

• the last week of August
• a week over the Christmas period
• bank holidays
• up to 5 INSET days

Applications

We encourage families to apply for a childcare place as soon as possible; however, we may need to prioritise allocation of childcare places. We will give priority to:

• children whose Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) names the setting or the neighbouring school
• children or families with exceptional medical or social need
• children who are looked after, subject to a special guardianship order, child in need or child protection plan
• children whose parents/carers are working and are entitled to government-funded childcare places
• children whose parents/carers are entitled to low-income/non-working government-funded childcare places
• children who have a sibling at the nursery already
• children who have a sibling in the neighbouring school
• children of members of employees who were recruited to fill a vacancy for which there is a skills shortage
• other children

We are able to reserve places for no more than 6 months in advance of a child’s start date. For families taking any private hours, a registration fee of £50 is required. Should families wish to extend this 6-month period, families are required to pay their fees in full from the 7^th month onwards to continue to hold the place open.

Waiting list

Waiting lists are kept in order of the oversubscription criteria noted above in application section.

Places on lists are not prioritised according to how long a child’s name has been on that list or by the age of the child or by whether the sessions are funded or bought. It is possible that a child’s position in the list could go down on a list as well as up.

 

Early Education Funding

Early education government-funded places are offered for eligible children, the term following the date they turn 9 months old.

 

If a child is born (or reaches 9 months) between:	Funding can be claimed from:
1 January and 31 March	1 April, following the child’s birthday
1 April and 31 August	1 September, following the child’s birthday
1 September and 31 December	1 January, following the child’s birthday

 

The government provides funding in two ways:

Universal Offer (for all families):

• 15 hours per week (term time only: 38 weeks per year), which equates to 570 hours per year

Extended Offer (for working families):

• 30 hours per week (term time only 38 weeks per year) which equates to 1140 hours per year

In Dorset, we also provide a third option:

1.  Stretched Offer where funding can be spread across 50 weeks instead of term time only

This funding will be paid up until the time when the child reaches compulsory school age if the parent chooses to defer or delay entry into school. There is a legal requirement that all children begin full-time education by the beginning of the term following their fifth birthday.

Read more about childcare funding options available.

Fees and Charges

From 1 September 2025, the following arrangements will be in place:

1. Early Education Funding Entitlements (EEF)

Blandford Nursery will offer EEF hours 5 days a week, Monday to Friday for 6 hours a day from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm.

Families can access less than 6 hours per day from this core block; however, for children to benefit from their entitlements, they will need to attend for at least 2 x 3-hour sessions per week between the hours of 9:00 am and 3:00 pm.

For parents only accessing EEF hours, there will be:

• no registration fee charged
• no compulsory additional charges for those hours will be made
• a request for a voluntary contribution of £0.75p per funded hour towards the *Food & Consumables costs

2. Privately paid for early education and childcare hours

For hours taken outside of this core EEF block, e.g. from 8:00 am to 9:00 am and from 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm, there is a charge of £7.50 per hour.

For families accessing any privately paid hours, including those accessing some EEF hours, there will be:

• A non-refundable registration fee of £50 will be charged to reserve a childcare place.

An additional £0.75p per hour *Food & Consumables costs (see below)

Fees are:

• due monthly in advance.
• payable by families for periods of child absence, as the child’s place is kept open for them

Fees are not:

• payable during unexpected closures outside of operating hours. Credits will be applied to accounts for unexpected nursery closures, or fees paid can be refunded upon request. Any Government funding will be returned to the local authority if applicable.

Payment Methods:

• Accepted payments include childcare vouchers, tax-free childcare accounts, and credit/debit cards.
• Payments are made through Nursery in a Box

Childcare cost support

There are a range of childcare options to support parents with costs:

• Tax-Free Childcare
• Universal Credit for childcare
• 2-year-old funding for eligible children
• 30 hours of funded childcare for eligible children

Non-Payment and Cancellation

Non-payment may result in suspension or loss of childcare place; however, we encourage families to speak with us as soon as possible if they foresee an issue in being able to pay their nursery fees.

Cancellation requires 4 weeks' written notice, or payment in lieu. If your child is in receipt of Early Education Funding (EEF), the setting will retain funding for the relevant notice period. 

Booking patterns

Booking patterns are available on the following basis:

• 50 week ‘all year round’ or
• 38 week ‘term time only’

Children can attend for 2, 3, 4 or 5 days a week booking pattern (minimum of 2 days per week, whether families have EEF or privately funded places).

Availability of additional places

Weekly (on a Thursday), families will be offered the option to purchase additional nursery places that may be available for the following week, subject to availability. This provides flexibility for parents/carers needing extra childcare support on short notice. These sessions will be allocated on a first-come come-first first-served basis.

Fee Structure for Additional Places: The fee for additional nursery places will be charged at the standard daily rate, or if applicable, the option of accessing any remaining entitlements for the child. Parents/carers interested in securing extra places should contact the nursery administration as soon as possible in the preceding week to confirm availability.

Nursery in a Box

Archbishop Wake Nursery uses a secure online system called ‘Nursery in a Box’ to manage the enquiry, registration, payment and invoicing process as well as recording information relating to children’s learning and development. Families are encouraged to download and use the Nursery in a Box Parent App.

Parents/carers are provided with personal access to their child’s records and are encouraged to contribute information. Full support on how to use this system will be provided to parents/carers when children join the setting.

Once a child leaves the setting, the records will be deleted; however, there is a requirement to retain some records, including safeguarding and accident/incident records. These will be kept until the child turns 21 years and 3 months. See Confidentiality Policy for more details on data protection.   Parental agreement forms for early education funding are required to be retained for 3 years, plus the current term.

Annual fee review

Fees are generally reviewed annually in the spring term with at least one month’s notice of changes to take effect from 1 April each year. Decisions related to fee increases are made by the school in association with the Trust.

Occasionally, national policy may require us to review how we deliver early education entitlements and childcare sooner than within this proposed fee review period. We will always aim to provide at least one month’s notice of any changes. 

The current fees are always advertised on our website: www.archbishopwake.dsat.org.uk

 

*Food & Consumables costs:

Personal Care Items:

• Tissues

• Sun cream
• Hand soap
• Towels (paper or cloth)

Food:

• Snacks (fruit, crackers, etc.)
• Breakfast

Arts and Crafts Supplies:

• Paint
• Paper
• Glue
• Crayons, pencils, markers
• Craft materials (glitter, feathers, foam shapes)
• Playdough ingredients (flour, salt, oil, etc.)

Cleaning and Hygiene Supplies:

• Disinfectant wipes
• Cleaning sprays
• Bin bags
• Toilet paper

Learning and Play Materials (if used up or replaced regularly):

• Sensory materials (e.g., rice, pasta, shaving foam)
• Baking ingredients (used in cooking activities)
• Gardening supplies (seeds, compost)

Miscellaneous:

• First aid supplies (plasters, antiseptic wipes)
• Disposable aprons or gloves
• Seasonal items (e.g., decorations for holidays)

Children are provided with drinks and snacks at regular morning and afternoon snack times; however, we do not provide lunch and ask families to provide children with healthy packed lunches. As the number of children with nut allergies is increasing, the nursery and school are both NUT-FREE settings.