Pricing and funding

Pricing and funding

Welcome to First Steps Nursery. Here you have direct access to all relevant nursery prices.

Should you have any questions regarding our nursery pricing structure, please contact our team.

The only exception to the below is when your child is entitled to Government-funded hours. This currently applies to two-, three-, and four-year-old children,

October 2023
Nursery Fees
0-2
years
2-3
years
3-5
years
*Cost via in-house salary
sacrifice scheme (approx. 35%)
0-2
years
2-3
years
3-5
years
Full day
8am-6pm
£63 £62 £57 £40.95 £40.30 £37.05
Morning session
8am-1pm
£40 £39 £37 £26 £25.35 £24.05
Afternoon session
1pm-6pm
£40 £39 £37 £26 £25.35 £24.05
Full-time place
8am-6pm (Monday to Friday)
£59.85 £58.90 £54.15 £38.90 £38.29 £35.20
Early session (incl. breakfast)
7am-8am
£11.50 £11.50 £11.50 £7.48 £7.48 £7.48
Lunch £3.50 £3.50 £3.50 £2.28 £2.28 £2.28

Please note: we are open all year round with the exception of Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, where full fees are refunded – full fees will apply the rest of the year and when the nursery is closed on all other public bank holidays

*Salary sacrifice savings are based on a basic rate of tax payer – costs/savings may vary due to individual tax status. Please note that the in-house nursery salary sacrifice scheme is available only to Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust staff who are on a permanent or substantive contract, subject to meeting the eligibility criteria.

What funding options are available?

Nursery discounts: First Steps Nursery provides a 5% sibling discount to the eldest child when siblings attend our nursery. A further 5% discount is awarded to any full-time attendance (Monday to Friday).

In-house salary sacrifice scheme: Salary Exchange is a scheme we are running for all Royal Devon NHS employees that enables you to exchange some of your pay for childcare at First Steps Nursery. To find out how much you could save, please contact rduh.childcarefinances@nhs.net

Childcare vouchers: We are registered with and accept most childcare vouchers from employers. Vouchers are non-taxable and exempt from National Insurance contributions by employees. Both parents are eligible to claim childcare vouchers providing they’re both in employment. Please note that as of October 2018, the childcare voucher scheme has closed to new applications.

Tax credits: You can find out if you and your partner are eligible to claim any element of tax credits here. Awards are based on personal circumstances. Depending upon these, you may be able to access help with the cost of childcare. Further criteria states you must be working a minimum of 16 hours per week.

Tax-Free childcare: Parents can pay nursery fees through a Tax-Free Childcare account if eligible. For every £8 you pay in, the Government adds £2, up to a maximum of £2,000 per child per year. This equates to up to £500 every three months.

Government-funded childcare:

**New funding entitlement information coming soon**

Subject to meeting criteria, you may be eligible for government-funded childcare for children aged two, three, and four. Available for only 38 weeks of the year, First Steps Nursery have a solution to make this stretch over the full 50 billable weeks. Speak to us now for more details.

  • Two-year-old funding: If your child is two years old you may be eligible to receive 15 hours of funded childcare per week for 38 weeks of the year. At First Steps Nursery we award this by stretching it across the 50 billable weeks of the year. Check if you meet the relevant criteria by accessing the Government site.
  • Three- and four-year-old funding (universal and extended entitlement): All children aged three and four years are entitled to 15 universal hours funded childcare per week, over 38 weeks of the year. A further 15 hours if booked (extended 15 hours totalling 30 hours per week) to working families. Parents will need to register and check if they are eligible for the extended 15 hours, but parents can usually get 30 hours childcare if you (and your partner) are in work and each are earning at least the National Minimum Wage of Living Wage for 16 hours a week and earn less than £100,000 per annum.

Funded childcare is available the term after the child’s 2nd or 3rd birthday:

  • Born between 1st April and 31st August: Funding eligible from 1st September
  • Born between 1st September and 31st December: Funding eligible from 1st January
  • Born between 1st January and 31st March: Funding eligible from 1st April

Please note that all funding is only available for 38 weeks of the year. It will be apportioned by First Steps Nursery and at your request if your child attends more than one setting. How you choose to use your funding is at your own discretion.

For further advice and guidance on funded childcare and what additional support is available, please visit Childcare Choices and the childcare calculator. Please note that the nursery salary sacrifice scheme is in-house and so won’t be listed on any government website.

In addition to the above funding, there is also a number of additional sources of funding available that can be used to support individual children and raise the quality of childcare that we offer:

  • Disability access funding (DAF): The Disability access fund is money that childcare providers can use to support children with disabilities or special educational needs. The aim of the DAF is to help give children who are disabled access to free childcare, by making reasonable adjustments to their settings or helping with building capacity.
  • Inclusion funding: The early years inclusion funding is a budget to provide support for children aged three or four years old who have low-level or emerging special educational needs or disability (SEND), and because of these require more support.
  • Early years pupil premium (EYPP): Early years pupil premium is additional funding for early years pre-school settings to improve the education they provide for disadvantaged three- and four-year-olds including, but not restricted to, those adopted from care

Last updated: January 31, 2024

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