Fees & Funding

Understanding Your Fees & Funding

Explore our session prices and discover the government-funded childcare support your family may be eligible for.

Apply for Funding

Understanding Your Entitlement

Am I Eligible for 15 or 30 Hours of Funding?

Your entitlement depends on your child’s age, your working circumstances and whether your family receives certain forms of support.

Up to 30 Hours

For Working Families

You may be eligible if your child is aged between nine months and four years old and you meet the government’s working-parent criteria.

  • You and your partner, if applicable, are working or starting work
  • You each usually earn at least the equivalent of 16 hours a week at the applicable minimum wage
  • Neither parent expects to have an adjusted net income above £100,000 a year
Check Your Eligibility
15 Hours

For All 3 and 4-Year-Olds

Every three- and four-year-old in England is entitled to 15 funded hours each week for 38 weeks of the year.

  • No employment requirement
  • No household income requirement
  • Available from the term after your child turns three
Learn About 15 Hours
15 Hours

For Eligible 2-Year-Olds

Some two-year-olds can receive 15 funded hours where the family receives certain benefits or the child needs additional support.

  • Families receiving certain qualifying benefits
  • Children with an EHCP or Disability Living Allowance
  • Children who are looked after or have previously been in care
Check 2-Year-Old Funding
Still unsure? Our team can help you understand which funding option may apply and how your funded hours can be used at Shooting Stars.

Our Prices

View Our Fees

Select your preferred Shooting Stars nursery to view its current nursery, holiday care and wraparound care prices.

View Fees

Please select a nursery to view its fees.

Open 50 Weeks a Year

Use Your Funded Hours Your Way

Government-funded childcare is normally calculated across 38 weeks of the year. At Shooting Stars, families can use their full weekly entitlement during term time or stretch the same annual hours across all 50 weeks that we are open.

Option One

Use Your Funding During Term Time

You can use your complete weekly entitlement during the standard 38 funded weeks of the year.

30-hour entitlement 30 hours a week
15-hour entitlement 15 hours a week

Option Two

Stretch Your Funding Across 50 Weeks

You can spread the same annual entitlement across the full 50 weeks that Shooting Stars is open.

30-hour entitlement 22.8 hours a week
15-hour entitlement 11.4 hours a week
30 hours × 38 weeks 1,140 hours per year
15 hours × 38 weeks 570 hours per year

Your chosen arrangement will depend on your child’s attendance pattern and available sessions. Our team will help you find the option that works best for your family.

Plan Your Childcare

Estimated Fees Calculator

Choose the type of care you need and enter a few details to receive a simple estimated weekly and monthly cost.

01

Estimate Nursery Care

Enter the total number of childcare hours you require each week.

hours
How this estimate works

Nursery care is estimated using an average price of £10 for each chargeable hour. Any funded hours are deducted before the estimated fee is calculated.

02

Estimate Wraparound Care

Wraparound Care is calculated across the 38-week school term.

sessions
How this estimate works

Breakfast Club and After-School Club are estimated at an average price of £15 per session for 38 weeks of the year.

Your Estimated Fees

Nursery Care

Estimate
Estimated weekly cost £0.00
Estimated monthly average £0.00
Estimated annual total £0.00

Please note: Consumables, meals, snacks and any other additional charges are not included in this estimate. This calculator is intended as a guide only and does not represent a confirmed quotation.
GOV.UK Tax-Free Childcare

Tax-Free Childcare

Get £2 for Every £8 You Pay

Tax-Free Childcare is a government scheme that helps eligible working families with the cost of childcare.

You pay money into an online childcare account and the government adds £2 for every £8 you contribute. You can then use the account to pay registered childcare providers.

£2 Added for every £8 you pay
£2,000 Maximum yearly top-up per child
Eligibility

Who Could Be Eligible?

  • You and your partner, if applicable, are working
  • You each usually earn the equivalent of at least 16 hours a week at the applicable minimum wage
  • Neither parent expects an adjusted net income above £100,000
  • Your child is generally aged 11 or under, or under 17 if disabled
Using Your Account

What Can It Pay For?

Tax-Free Childcare can be used towards different types of registered childcare.

Nursery Care Breakfast Club After-School Club Holiday Care
Paying Through Famly

Keep Your Payments Connected

Your Tax-Free Childcare payments can be linked with your Famly account, making it easier to use them towards your Shooting Stars fees and keep track of your payments.

Visit the Famly Page
Apply for Tax-Free Childcare More Information

Eligibility depends on your individual circumstances. The GOV.UK application service will confirm whether your family qualifies.

Help With Childcare Costs

Universal Credit Childcare

If you receive Universal Credit and pay for registered childcare so that you can work, you may be able to claim back part of your childcare costs.

Up to 85% of eligible childcare costs may be paid back through Universal Credit, subject to the current limits and your individual circumstances.
Universal Credit

Could I Be Eligible?

  • You must normally be in paid work or starting a job within the next month.
  • If you live with a partner, you will usually both need to be working.
  • There is no minimum number of hours you must work.
  • The childcare must help you work or prepare to start work.

How Does It Work?

  • You normally pay your childcare fees to Shooting Stars first.
  • Report the payment through your online Universal Credit account as soon as possible.
  • Universal Credit assesses the payment and adds any eligible reimbursement to your Universal Credit award.
  • Keep your Famly invoices and payment records as evidence.

What Can It Cover?

  • Nursery care
  • Breakfast club
  • After-school club
  • Holiday care
  • Eligible paid hours in addition to funded childcare

Important to Know

Universal Credit Childcare and Tax-Free Childcare cannot be claimed at the same time. You may, however, be able to claim Universal Credit Childcare towards eligible paid childcare needed in addition to your 15 or 30 funded hours.

Your entitlement and the amount you receive will depend on your individual circumstances. Universal Credit makes the final decision about eligibility and payments.

Official GOV.UK Resources

Useful Universal Credit Links

Check the full guidance, start a claim or report childcare payments through your existing account.

Check Childcare Guidance Apply for Universal Credit Sign In & Report Costs Use a benefits calculator →

A Quick Funding Reminder

Keep Your Funding Active

The action you need to take depends on which funded childcare entitlement your child receives.

30 Hours Working Parent Funding

You will receive an 11-digit eligibility code to give to Shooting Stars. You must sign in to your childcare account every three months to reconfirm your details and keep your funding active.

Universal 15 Hours — Age 3+

All children aged 3 and 4 can receive the universal 15 funded hours from the term after their third birthday. You do not need to apply for an HMRC eligibility code for these hours.

Please remember: the no-code rule applies only to the universal 15 hours for children aged 3 and 4. Other funding offers may require eligibility confirmation.

Reconfirm My Details