Exwick Ark Parent Information | Childcare Provider

Parent Information

Sessions
Term Dates 2026
Term Dates 2027

At The Exwick Ark nursery we offer a choice of year round or term time only care and you only pay for the times that you need. Unlike other nurseries there is no expensive retainer if you choose to spend the school holidays with your child.

We also aim to be as flexible as we can with the sessions we offer, so that where possible we fit our childcare around your needs. We are happy to take last minute bookings, where we have spaces, to enable you to keep those appointments and meetings that are frequently necessary as a busy parent!

Our session times are

Morning	Afternoon	School day	Midi day	Full day
7.45-12.45	12.45-5.45	9.15-3.30	8.15-3.45	7.45-5.45

Term dates January 2026 to December 2026 (for children attending term time only hours)

First day of term	Last day of term	Half term Hols (inclusive dates)	Notes
Jan 5 th 2026	2 nd April 2026	16 th to 20 th Feb 2026	Bank Holiday 1st Jan 2026
20th April 2026	17th July 2026	25 th to 31 st May 2026	Bank Holidays 3 rd April 2026 6 th April 2026 4 th May 2026 25th May 2026 31st Aug 2026
7 th September 2026	18th December 2026	26th October -30th October 2026	The Exwick Ark is open until 4pm 24th Dec

Important dates for everyone

Easter 2026

Closed Good Friday 3 rd April to Sunday 12th April, inclusive. Re-opening on Monday 13th April 2026.

Christmas 2026

Exwick Ark Closed 24th December 2026 at 4pm to 3rd January 2026, inclusive. Re-opening on 4th Jan

2027

Bank Holidays 2026

1 st January 2026

3 rd April 2026

6 th April 2026

4 th May 2026

25 th May 2026

31st Aug 2026

25thDecember

28th December

Term dates January 2027 to December 2027 (for children attending term time only hours)

First day of term	Last day of term	Half term Hols (inclusive dates)	Notes
Jan 4 th 2027	25th March 2027	15th to 19th Feb 2027	Bank Holiday 1st Jan 2027
12th April 2027	16th July 2027	31st May - 4th June 2027	Bank Holidays 1 st January 2027 26th March 2027 29th March 2027 3 rd May 2027 31st May 2027 3oth August 2027 27th December 2027 28th December 2027
6th September 2027	17th December 2027	25th October -29th October 2027	The Exwick Ark is open until 4pm 24th Dec

Important dates for everyone

Easter 2027

Closed Good Friday 26th March 2027 to Monday 29th March 2027 inclusive. Re-opening on Monday

2nd April 2026.

Christmas 2027

Exwick Ark Closed 24th December 2026 at 4pm to 4th January 2026, inclusive. Re-opening on

Tuesday 3rd Jan 2028

Bank Holidays 2027

UK bank holidays in 2027

1 st January 2027

26th March 2027

29th March 2027

3 rd May 2027

31st May 2027

30th August 2027

Fees
Sessions
Term Dates 2024/2025

Exwick Ark Nursery Fees From April 2024

Half day - £47.50
Full day - £88.07
School day - £59.38
Midi day - £71.25
Hourly - £9.50
Lunches - £3.90
Consumable charge - £1.08/hr funded

Information about help with childcare costs can be found on the website www.childcarechoices.gov.uk or on the following tabs.

You can use government funding to pay for any of our sessions.

Fees are reviewed in the spring each year.

Our session times are

Morning	Afternoon	School day	Midi day	Full day
7.45-12.45	12.45-5.45	9.15-3.30	8.15-3.45	7.45-5.45

Term dates September 2024 to July 2025 (for children attending term time only hours)

First day of term	Last day of term	Half term Hols (inclusive dates)	Notes
Sept 9^th 2024	Dec 20^th 2024	28^th Oct to 1^st Nov 2024	Some schools have a longer half term break
Jan 6^th 2025	4^th April 2025	17^th to 21^st Feb 2025	Bank Holiday 1^st Jan 2025
22^nd April 2025	18^th July 2025	26^th to 30^th May 2025	Bank Holidays 21^st April 2025 5^th May 2025 26^th May 2025 25^th Aug 2025

Important dates for everyone

Christmas 2024

Close at 4pm on 24^th December 2024 re-open 2^nd January 2025

Easter 2025

Closed Monday 14^th to Monday 21^st April, inclusive. Re-open on Tuesday 22^nd April 2025

Bank Holidays 2025

1^st January 2025
21^st April 2025
5^th May 2025
26^th May 2025
25^th Aug 2025

Advance Notice:

Easter 2026 is Friday 3^rd to Monday 6^th April 2026

Calculate Nursery Fees

Please use our fee calculator below to get an understanding on how much you could save.

Funding Information

Government Funding for Childcare

There are many ways of getting help to pay for your childcare. Information about the support you can receive can be found here.
https://beststartinlife.gov.uk/childcare-early-years-education/.

Please visit yourself to get the most up to date information.

(The current offer is explained here for those taking a term time only childcare place. Not all nurseries off term time only places so the funding is spread over the whole year meaning fewer hours per week, but the same total hours per academic year.)

Eligible working parents and carers of children aged 3 - 4 can get an additional 15 hours of childcare support, bringing the total support they can get up to 30 hours a week. Eligible working parents of 2-year-olds can also access 15 hours of childcare support.

Some parents of 2-year-old children may also be entitled to 15 hours childcare support, if they receive some additional forms of government support. Please note, if you’re eligible for both the working entitlement and the 15 hours for families receiving support, you cannot take up both offers, and should apply for the 15 hours for families receiving support. You can do this by contacting your local authority.

Your hours can be used per week for 38 weeks of the year (during school term time). You may be able use your hours for up to 52 weeks if you use fewer than your total hours per week. Check with your childcare provider to find out if this is something they offer.

You can use Tax-Free Childcare or Universal Credit Childcare whilst claiming your 15 or 30 hours of childcare support.

The Expanded Offer:

From April 2024, eligible working parents of 2-year-olds can access 15 hours childcare support. By September 2025, most working families with children aged between 9 months and 5 years old will be entitled to 30 hours of childcare support. (the child needs to be 24 months by the end of the previous funding period - 1/9-31/12, 1/1-31/3, 1/4-31/8)
The changes are being introduced gradually to make sure that providers can meet the needs of more families. This means that:

From September 2024:

15 hours childcare support will be extended to eligible working parents of children from the age of 9 months to 3-year-olds. (the child needs to be 9 months by the end of the previous funding period - 1/9-31/12, 1/1-31/3, 1/4-31/8)

From September 2025:

Eligible working parents of children from 9 months to school age will be entitled to up to 30 hours of childcare a week.
Like the existing offer, depending on your provider, these hours can be used over 38 weeks of the year (during school term time), or up to 52 weeks if you use fewer than your total hours per week.

How many hours childcare can you get per week, if using a term time only place?

Reduce 15 hours to 11 hrs for an all year round place and 30 hours to 22.5hrs for an all year round place.

Age 9 Months - 2 Years (Working Families):

15 Hours - Sept 2024
30 Hours - Sept 2025

Age 2-3 Years (Families Receiving Government Support):

15 Hours Now

Working Families:

15 Hours Now
30 Hours Sept 2025

Age 3-4 Years (All Parents):

15 Hours Now

Working Families:

30 Hours Now

Combining Schemes That Give Help With Childcare Costs:

Any of the following schemes:

Tax-Free Childcare:

Age 0 - 11 or 16 if disabled
Working Families: Get up to £2000 per child

Tax Credits:

Age 0 - 15 or 16 if disabled
Working families: Claim back up to 70% of costs

Universal Credit:

Age 0 - 16
Working families: Claim back up to 85% of costs

Can be used with:

15 hours childcare:

Age 9 - 23 months
Working families

15 hours childcare:

Age 2
Families getting some form of government support

15 hours childcare:

Age 3 & 4
All families

15 or 30 hours childcare:

Age 2 - 4
Working families

Tax Free Childcare

Tax free childcare is for working families including the self employed in the UK. For every £8 you pay in, the government will add an extra £2 up to £2000 per child per year.

Tax Credits

Tax credits are for working families and can pay up to 70% of childcare costs.

Employer Childcare Voucher Schemes

We are registered with various childcare voucher schemes.

Universal Credit

Is for working families claiming universal credit and covers up to 85% of eligible childcare costs.

Support while you study

This provides weekly payments from care to learn if you are at school or sixth form college. Help is available through your college if in further education or a weekly grant if you are in full time higher education.

Meals and Snacks

Healthy Meals

We believe in real food for our children and we cook all our meals on site. Our cook is a vital part of our team. We cook as much as possible from scratch and don’t use pre-prepared sauces, we prefer to make our own using fresh ingredients. We have a rolling four-week menu, designed specifically to ensure that the children are eating what they need.

The dishes range from traditional English home cooking to more exotic tastes from international cuisines, and include properly-balanced nutritional elements. We are able to cater for allergies and dietary requirements.

Healthy and nutritious meals

We also believe an integral part of family life is enjoying a meal together, and likewise a most enjoyable social event is sharing a meal with friends. We carry this philosophy through the nursery and all children take their meals together.

Famly: Our early childhood platform

We love using Famly, an all-in-one early childhood platform, that gives you real-time updates on your child’s day straight to an app on your phone.

With Famly, you’ll be able to access pictures, videos, and announcements via the newsfeed, or your child’s profile. At the click of a button, you can update permissions, report sickness and holidays, pay your bill, and send direct messages to us whenever you need. At the same time, there’s a bunch of admin tools and support, that will give our staff even more time to spend with your children.

What’s expected from me as a parent?

Once you register your child with us you’ll receive a separate Welcome Email from Famly guiding you through how to set up your Famly account as a parent.

When you get the email, all you need to do is to follow these steps:

Activate your free Famly account by following the guide in the Welcome Email which you will receive. Your account will already be set up for you, and all you have to do is to create your personal password.
Confirm the info on your child’s profile. The first time you log in, we highly recommend that you go to your child’s profile and confirm that the information is correct. If anything needs to be changed, you can do this yourself directly on the profile or by informing us.
Set your account preferences and notifications. You can adjust your notification preferences within your profile settings on the app.

We love using Famly and are sure you will as well.

The Exwick Ark Information

Policies and Procedures

Up to date Policies and Procedures can be found in the staff room for the Nurseries and in the lobby at the Out of School Club. The Policies and Procedures on this site are not always the most up to date ones. Particularly relevant policies for parents/carers are available to parents/carers for them to read when a child starts with us. All our policies are designed to offer the best possible experience for the children and families in the group. Our policies are reviewed on an annual basis and comments and suggestions from parents are always welcome.

Parent Information

Calculate Nursery Fees

Funding Information

Meals and Snacks

Healthy Meals

Famly: Our early childhood platform

The Exwick Ark Information

Policies and Procedures

Useful Information

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