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38 Weeks, 42 Weeks & All-Year-Round Childcare in Streatham

38 Weeks, 42 Weeks & All-Year-Round Childcare Options in Streatham
At Little Cedars Nursery in Streatham, we offer a range of three main options for weekday childcare and early years education. Some families require all-year-round childcare for their under-five child. Others may prefer (or, if funded through Government schemes, only be eligible for) “term-time” cover over 38 weeks of the year. Between those two options, Little Cedars Nursery also now offers a ‘midway’ solution that provides childcare cover for 42 weeks. In today’s post, we clarify how the options work and differ over the course of the year, including in calendar form so that parents can see the differences graphically. See our overview below and click the calendar image for a larger view. If you have any questions, use one of the contact options at the end of today’s post and we’ll be happy to help.

Calendar showing the academic year with options of 38, 42 and all-year-round childcare at Little Cedars Nursery, Streatham.

All-Year-Round Childcare

Our all-year-round childcare option does pretty much “what it says on the tin” and provides weekday childcare and early years education right across the year. Apart, of course, from that week or so when we’re closed over Christmas/New Year and on inset days and public holidays. So, it’s a great solution for busy parents.

38 Weeks of Childcare

Our 38-week childcare option is particularly well-suited for those families whose childcare is funded through one of the key Government childcare schemes. These typically fund a child over 38 weeks of the year. However, do talk to us (or your childcare provider if not Little Cedars Nursery) if you would like to explore the possibility of stretching the hours out over more weeks of the year.

The term dates and holidays for the 38-week option match very closely with those of most schools*, so are often referred to as ‘term-time’ places. So, if you have an older child at school as well as a child at nursery or preschool, your under-five child’s timetable should synchronise well if they attend using the 38-week option.

* Term dates sometimes differ a little from school to school. Check yours here.

The 38-week option also ties in with the legal minimum number of days that childcare settings like ours are required to be open each year (190 days when the nursery must be open to children plus 5 inset days for staff training and development).

42 Weeks of Childcare

Little Cedars Nursery has also introduced a childcare timetable that’s somewhere between the all-year-round and 38-week options. With our “42-week” childcare option, under-fives at Little Cedars Nursery are looked after over four more weeks of the year than provided by the 38-week option. This will give greater flexibility for families, particularly where parents simply cannot take as much time off work as there are school breaks. For example, childcare is provided during the school half-term break in February, during one week of normal school closures between spring and summer term in early April, and during two weeks of the school summer holidays in late July/early August. Take a look at the calendar provided above to see how the three options differ across the academic year.

Days when children don’t attend, common to all three options, are:

  • Inset days when we’re closed to childcare provision while staff attend training and development sessions.
  • Bank holidays and public holidays when, like virtually all businesses, the nursery is closed.
  • The week or so between the start of Christmas and the New Year, when the nursery is closed.

Check Out our Competitive Fees

You can check out our competitive childcare fees here. There are a few things to note therein:

  • Fee-paying places have slightly longer sessions, with morning sessions starting at 7:45 am and afternoon sessions finishing at 6:15 pm. In contrast, term-time Government-funded places begin a little later at 8:00 am and the afternoon sessions finish at 6:00 pm.
  • Lunch hour occurs between 1:00 pm and 2:00 pm.
  • For some children receiving government-funded hours, additional fees may be required for meals.
  • The standard £85 daily fee and £46 half-day fee are reduced, in effect, for those attending all year round.
  • Fee-paying siblings of children already attending the nursery are eligible for a 13% discount.

Fees and details are correct at the time of writing (31 October 2024).

High-Quality Weekday Childcare at Little Cedars Nursery, Streatham

Little Cedars is a nursery & preschool offering high-quality childcare in Streatham, near Tooting, Tooting Bec, Tooting Common, Tooting Broadway, Furzedown, Balham, Norbury and Colliers Wood.Ofsted rates Little Cedars Day Nursery as a Good ProviderDo you have a baby, toddler, or child under five in or around the Streatham area? If so, do consider us today for your childcare provision. As you can see above, we have several options that will suit a variety of different family situations. We also support many Government-funded free childcare schemes for eligible families. What’s more, we’re way more than just a childcare provider; we nurture every child to bring out the best in every area of their learning and development, enabling them to thrive and be ‘school-ready’ by the time they leave us to begin primary school.

Little Cedars Nursery is located in Streatham and is just a stone’s throw from Tooting Common. So, we will suit families requiring childcare nurseries in Streatham, Streatham Common, Streatham Hill, and Streatham Park as well as those looking for good nurseries near Tooting, Tooting Broadway, Furzedown, Balham, Norbury and Colliers Wood.

Contact us today, book a free guided tour of the nursery, message us or ask us a question — we’ll be happy to help:

Apply for a Place Arrange a Visit or Message Us 020 8677 9675
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Free Childcare for Children from 9 Months – Now Available in Streatham

Free Childcare for Children from 9 Months – Now Available in Streatham

Childcare funding is now available for eligible children from just 9 months of age.Last year, we announced some radical new childcare funding plans outlined in the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s 2023 Spring Budget. Today, we’re happy to confirm that one of the schemes went live this month (September 2024), meaning several hours of free childcare per week are now available for eligible children and babies as young as just 9 months of age. It will be a great help for eligible families, whose children may now be able to benefit from free childcare hours from 9 months of age right up until they start school. In today’s post, we’ll explain the rules around eligibility, exactly how many free childcare hours babies and children can get, and some of the measures we’ve put in place at Little Cedars Nursery to deliver the expanded childcare service to eligible Streatham families.

How Much Free Childcare Will Eligible Babies & Children Get?

The new scheme we’re talking about today is effectively an extension of the existing ‘15 hours’ scheme for 3 and 4-year-olds of eligible working families. It’s been rolled out this month (September 2024) to eligible children aged from just 9 months and effectively means that some children will now be eligible to receive free childcare hours from 9 months right up until they reach official ‘school age’.

  • Since the start of this month (September 2024), eligible children from 9 months to the age of 3 can now receive 15 hours* of free childcare per week.
  • That joins up nicely with the existing “Universal Entitlement” scheme where all children aged 3 and 4, who live in England, can get 15 hours* of free childcare each week already, thereby taking their free childcare provision right up to school age.
  • Note too that, if your family circumstances fit the same criteria outlined below, eligible children aged 3 and 4 could see their free childcare entitlement increase from the previous 15 hours* to 30 hours* per week under the scheme we highlight today for working families.
  • Next year, from September 2025, the Government’s plan is to also expand the childcare entitlement for children aged 9 months to 3 years to 30 hours* for those who are eligible. We’ll cover how that works separately once it’s available next year.

Children, families and the economy should all benefit from the new childcare funding for children aged 9 months to 3 years.As well as helping families financially, the scheme expansion should help children begin their early years education even earlier, for many, which has been shown to be hugely beneficial to them. The free childcare provision will also help many more women back into the workforce. Children, families and the economy should all benefit.

* For the 15-hour schemes, eligible children can access 570 hours of free childcare per year, or it’s 1140 hours per annum for the 30-hour equivalent. Those hours are usually spread over 38 weeks of the year. However, some providers may allow some flexibility, e.g. fewer hours per week over more weeks of the year. Your specific childcare provider will be able to confirm whether such flexibility is available at their particular setting. At Little Cedars, we will try to accommodate you wherever possible.

Who is Eligible for Free Childcare for Babies From 9 Months?

The revised 15-hour and 30-hour schemes (depending on age) that are now available from this month (Sept 24) apply to children of eligible working families. The three key eligibility criteria for children aged 9 months to 4 years (inclusive) are outlined below.

Both you and your partner (if applicable):

  1. Must expect to earn the equivalent of at least the National Minimum Wage or Living Wage for a minimum of 16 hours per week (on average) during the course of the next three months. That’s currently £183 per week for those over the age of 21 but the figure will be less for those who are younger or in an apprenticeship;
  2. Must not be earning an adjusted net income over £100,000 during the relevant tax year;
  3. Must have a National Insurance number.

(Figures are correct as at September 2024).

Additional rules and caveats apply in certain specific situations including where you/your partner are foster carers, self-employed, starting a new job, earning a non-regular income, have a certain immigration status, are not working and in receipt of certain benefits/support, and others. Find out more about eligibility for the childcare funding scheme here and/or use HMRC’s excellent (and quick!) childcare funding calculator here to see how many free hours your child could be eligible for.

We’re Set Up for the Arrival of New Babies at Little Cedars Nursery, Streatham

Exterior of the new Caterpillars baby room at Little Cedars Nursery, Streatham.

Part of the interior of the new Caterpillars baby room at Little Cedars Nursery, Streatham.

 

Ofsted rates Little Cedars Day Nursery as a Good ProviderLittle Cedars is a nursery & preschool offering high-quality childcare in Streatham, near Tooting, Tooting Bec, Tooting Common, Tooting Broadway, Furzedown, Balham, Norbury and Colliers Wood.In readiness for the influx of babies taking up the new funding, Little Cedars Nursery has a brand new baby room. It’s a lovely, warm, homely area for little ones and a couple of photographs are shown above.

So — if you’re an eligible working family in Streatham with a child aged anywhere from 9 months to 4 years of age, we may be able to help with a funded nursery/preschool place. For everyone else, fees are competitive, value for money is high, and the quality of our childcare is hard to beat in the Streatham area.

Interested? Apply for a nursery place at Little Cedars and/or get started with your childcare funding application today:

Apply for a Place Arrange a Visit or Message Us 020 8677 9675

Officially a ‘Good Provider’ of childcare and early years education, Little Cedars is a high-quality nursery for babies and children under five in Streatham. We’re within walking distance of Tooting Common and will also be conveniently located for families near Tooting, Furzedown, Balham, Norbury and Colliers Wood.

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Little Cedars News Round-Up (Spring Term 2024)

Little Cedars Nursery: News Round-Up for Spring Term 2024
Today, we give you a glimpse into some of the themed activities and topics that children are getting involved in at Little Cedars Nursery this Spring term. They’re many and varied and give children insights into different subjects, elements of life that they may not yet be familiar with, different cultures, key dates, celebrations and traditions. Such insights will stand them in good stead educationally as well as socially — Children from Little Cedars Nursery mixing ingredients on Pancake Day.and many of them are simply great fun too!

One highlight from just this week, for example, was Pancake Day (a.k.a. Shrove Tuesday), which fell on 13th February this year. Children certainly enjoyed getting involved! The photo shows some of our nursery children getting involved in mixing ingredients. Later they could be seen rolling, kneading and shaping pancakes. The next day it was, of course, Valentine’s Day, giving children the chance to get creative and make or give cards if they so chose.

Learning Opportunities from the Spring Term Calendar

With this term running from early January until late March, there are many key dates and celebrations to draw children’s attention to. It’s a great way to broaden children’s horizons and help them learn about the wider world, society, different cultures and religions.

JANUARY

January saw many key dates arriving throughout the month. Examples included: • Martin Luther King Day on the 15th • Winnie the Pooh Day on the 18th • World Religion Day on the 21st • National Handwriting Day on the 23rd • Burns Night on the 25th • Australia Day on the 26th • the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch from the 26th to the 28th • and National Storytelling Week, which began towards the end of the month and stretched into the start of February, which we’ll come to below.

These, along with additional key dates not shown, represent great learning opportunities for children at Little Cedars Nursery in Streatham.

FEBRUARY

The start of February continued with the remainder of National Storytelling Week followed by additional key dates including • Chinese New Year and the Lunar New Year on the 10th • Shrove Tuesday (a.k.a. Pancake Day) on the 13th • Valentine’s Day, Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent on the 14th • Random Acts of Kindness Day on the 17th • World Thinking Day on the 22nd • plus additional key dates not listed.

These are great opportunities for children to discover new facts, understand new concepts, learn about different cultures, get creative, and so on.

MARCH

March 2024 is also jam-packed with key dates that can present great learning and discovery opportunities for children. Examples include: • World Wildlife Day on the 3rd • World Book Day on the 7th (we’ll certainly be making the most of that at Little Cedars Nursery) • the festival of Maha Shivratri on the 8th • Mother’s Day on the 10th — a wonderful opportunity for our children to make something creative for their mums • the start of Ramadan also on the 10th • St. Patrick’s Day on the 17th • the Spring Equinox on the 20th (it’ll be lovely to say goodbye to Winter!) • World Poetry Day on the 21st • the Jewish holiday of Purim (23rd to the 24th) • the Hindu festival of Holi (24th to the 25th) • Palm Sunday on the 24th, the Easter dates of Good Friday (29th), Holy Saturday (30th), and Easter Sunday on the 31st.

The 31st is also when the clocks go forward and we start to enjoy lighter evenings again — fabulous! With that in mind, we’ll be adding some Spring-focused content to the site, relating to the early years, in the coming weeks.

As well as looking at celebrations and festivities from the calendar like those above, we also explore additional topics with the children during the Spring Term.

Earlier in the term, nursery children enjoyed an array of fun, sensory activities involving colour and snow foam.Earlier in the term, for example, our nursery children enjoyed an array of fun, sensory activities. Using brushes, they explored primary colours and mixing to make secondary colours using snow foam. As well as learning about colours, this activity also helped them practise hand and eye coordination, get in tune with their senses and develop the small muscles needed for fine motor control.

In our minibeast hunt, children gathered around a tuff tray, spotting and ticking off different insects hidden in the soil.Another recent activity that proved to be a hit with our nursery children was the insect/minibeast hunt. As you can see in the photograph, children gathered around a tuff tray, spotting and ticking off different insects that we’d hidden in the soil. While these particular insects were only man-made representations, children can also use our free Minibeasts Poster to find real ones out in the garden or countryside. Spending time around nature is hugely beneficial to children, as we previously reported, so follow the bold links if you’d like more information.

Children love planting in our garden and learning about nature, responsibility, and caring for other living things.This term, with that in mind, there will be lots of planting in our garden. Children generally love this activity and it teaches them about nature, responsibility, caring for other living things and so much more.

We’ll also explore the topic of people who help us with the children. This may include a visit from the police, a postman and perhaps a short trip on a public bus. All such things will open children’s eyes to some of the facets Later in the Spring Term we'll explore the topic of baby animals.of modern society and even the jobs that people do.

Later in the Spring Term, we’ll explore the topic of baby animals and this is sure to delight the little ones! As with the planting activity, it should also nurture their caring side,We have exciting 'Play Sports Motion' sessions for children every Wednesday. helping them understand the need to be gentle, responsible and empathetic towards other creatures.

And don’t forget, we also have exciting sports sessions for children every Wednesday, through the external expertise of coach Mihai of Sports Play Motion. Sessions are filled with fun, ever-growing skills, teamwork and laughter. The children look forward to every session!

A 5-Star Nursery in Streatham

Our Streatham nursery is a homely, welcoming, five-star learning environment for under-fives

Little Cedars is a nursery & preschool offering high quality childcare in Streatham, near Tooting, Tooting Bec, Tooting Common, Tooting Broadway, Furzedown, Balham, Norbury and Colliers Wood.Ofsted rate Little Cedars Day Nursery as a Good ProviderIf you’d like to explore the opportunity of sending your baby, toddler, or preschooler to Little Cedars Nursery in Streatham, please get in touch. We regularly attract 5-star ratings and reviews and are officially a ‘Good Provider’ of early years childcare and education, so you know your child will be in good hands. Please select an option below to get started:

Apply for a Place Arrange a Visit or Message Us 020 8677 9675

Little Cedars is also near Streatham Hill, Streatham Park, Streatham Common, Furzedown, Tooting, Tooting Common, Tooting Bec, Tooting Broadway, Balham, Norbury and Colliers Wood, so may also suit families from those nearby locations.

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